All About the Maximum Earnings (M.E.) TEFL Certificate
and Advanced Skills Diploma Program

How do I qualify for the Diploma Course? You must first have completed our own TEFL Certificate Course (which now includes without charge Part II of the Diploma Course (Teaching English to Young Learners), or some other Certificate Course of at least 100 training room hours of interactive study. If you have not done so, you may take our TEFL Diploma Course Part I (Advanced Skills) course just on Sundays only, or even primarily at home, after completing our TEFL Certificate Course, and, if you elect to take the 6-week Certificate Course, you may enroll and pay for both online. (Please consult Our TEFL Course Fees for full information on precisely how to do this, however.)

Will doing just the Certificate Course get me a job? Doing only the Certificate Course has enabled more than 2,500 of our graduates to gain good employment, not only in Thailand but in 30 other countries across the world. Nothing 'gets' you a job, of course, but our course qualifies you for many, and this enables you to essentially choose where you want to work and enjoy a good income for your teaching efforts.

I am not very good in grammar. Could I learn to teach? In a word, yes. It is probable that you are quite good at applied English grammar, meaning you use it well (when you're careful) in your conversation and writing. What you mean is you have forgotten (or never learned) the terminology of grammar and would also be lost to explain how, why and when you construct sentences the way you do. Don't worry! All of this is part of the Certificate Course. In fact, the TEACHER'S GRAMMAR MODULE has a value of 230 GBP, but is included FREE in your course. After you finish your course, you will emerge confident in your ability then to explain grammatical elements to your students.

I am not a very good writer. Would my writing improve enough during the Diploma Course to qualify me to teach the advanced courses? You do not need to be a great writer to teach the courses you will be trained in through our Diploma Course. That said, you should focus on your shortcomings and ask our trainer for help, where needed. After all, the better you write, the more successful you are likely to be in any career. You will never have a better chance to achieve this than through taking our Diploma Course.

I am not an English native speaker, but I can read, write and speak well. Could I qualify for both courses? If you are good in English, you certainly do not need to be a native speaker! Some of our own best EFL teachers have come from such countries as The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, India and the Philippines, to name just a few. In fact, in achieving your level of ability in English, you may have acquired a better knowledge of English grammar and structure than most native speakers have. Finally, look in the bookstores for books about teaching written by great teachers. A large number of these authors were not born English native speakers! As for getting a teaching job, that is also no problem. Students quickly look past where you came from when they see that you use English so well, and that you have learned to apply so successfully the principles of good teaching.

Do I need a degree in order to teach, and would the Diploma Course help me to get a work permit anyway? Technically, yes, in some instances you will still need a university degree, and yes, if you have earned our Diploma, it will certainly help you get a work permit nonetheless.These days, of course, it is difficult to be fully accepted into any profession without a degree, in whatever country, and the same appears to be true for Thailand. We say 'appears', however, because with Thailand's severe teacher shortage, the fact of the matter is that if you are a trained teacher and a school wants to hire you, they can help you bend the rules by escorting you to the Ministry of Education to get the teacher's license you need for a work permit. Thousands of teachers have done this already! Furthermore, if you have completed our TEFL Advanced Skills Diploma Course successfully, even the Ministry of Education will be impressed, at least by your comprehensive teaching skills! In fact, in provinces outside of Bangkok the ministry, in alliance with the Teachers Council of Thailand frequently issue a teacher's work permit no questions asked, if one is a trained teacher and can prove it.

Is the Diploma Course accredited? Our TEFL training program is known to the Thailand Ministry of Education and is honorfed by universities here and abroad. Your TEFL Course Diploma will therefore will be very useful to you as a document, both here and in other countries. More importantly, however, good teaching skills cannot be faked: The comprehensive teaching ability you will have gained from both the Certificate and the Diploma Course will be apparent to, and prized by, everyone involved in the English education field.

Why doesn't anyone else offer this Diploma Course, and why do you feel your Academy is qualified to offer TEFL training at Diploma level? There is not much demand or need in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries for the traditional type of TEFL Diploma course, which dwells extensively on educational theory. Perhaps that is the reason nearly no one offers it. We ourselves have learned through decades of experience, however, that there is a huge demand here for a Diploma course that offers advanced skills and young learner training. Why others have not recognized or accommodated this need, we cannot presume to say, except that our own Academy has more often than not been the trail-blazer in providing courses which are needed, and when they are needed, whether by students or teachers. Having already successfully trained more than 1,000,000 Thai students of all ability and need levels (many of them through multiple courses, however!), we feel eminently qualified to offer our Diploma Course at this time.

- What to do before and after you arrive -

My budget is right. Do you offer any payment terms? To receive terms, you should first choose which TEFL Course or Courses you would like to do, then enroll accordingly online, paying 1/2 of the fees by credit card. You may then pay the other 1/2 of your fees about arrival to do your studies, or if you have elected the complete program, you may pay 1/4 upon arrival, and 1/4 after completion of the Certificate Course. Do note, however, that you should not come to Thailand so lacking in funds that you have to worry about whether or not you can get terms on your course fees. In other words, prepare well and time your arrival in such a way that you will not face any hardship. Living expenses in Thailand are low anyway, and you will soon get work after training. That said, we do not advise you to come here 'broke'!

Do my course fees pay for my food and housing while I'm in training? No, you pay your own. Our course fees are set at a reasonable level to help you to afford these expenses.

Will you help me find affordable housing? Yes, we will help you locate the housing that you need and desire, usually within easy walking distance of our Academy, after you arrive.

Will you help me get a job after the training is finished? We may hire you ourselves. We may tell you any information you don't already know about who's hiring, what they pay, and what it's like to work there. You will not, however, need any help from us in finding a job: The teacher shortage in Thailand is enormous!

Do I need to study any books before I start class? No. If you arrive early and pay your course fees, we will give you our course materials to look over before your classes start. However, even that is not necessary!

Will you help me to get a visa for Thailand, or should I get one on my own? Let us help you! Just enroll online and pay your fees by credit card. On the enrollment form is a space for your contact information. Mr Leigh Richards of our office will then contact you almost immediately and arrange to send to you (usually by fax) the documentation you need in order to get a multiple-entry non-immigrant-B or non-immigrant education visa, which will keep you legally in Thailand for up to 15 months (E-mail leigh@langserv.com). Acquire the non-immigrant-B visa from your own country, if you are able to: Do not wait until after you arrive! Neither Thailand nor any neighboring country will issue such a visa to you after you get here. The best you can do, with our paperwork, is a single-entry non-immigrant-B visa, which is good for three months only. Note: The above advice is for persons from the U.S.A, Canada, European countries or countries using English as a first language. If you are from any other non-English speaking country, or any other country using English as a second language, Mr Richards will provide you with the expert information and advice that will apply to you, though he may not be able to help you in the way above described owing to your own country's regulations. In that case, the non-immigrant education visa may be the one you will want (See Free Visa for full details.) Please understand, however, wherever you may be from, that we will be taking the best care of you that is possible, both before and after your arrival, and that this is always done without any charge to you by us.