Got Questions?
FlashStart - Unique TESOL Certification and Language LearningFrequently Asked Questions
Our well known and loved TESOL Certification course is breaking new ground…online!
This course takes the same amount of time as a live face to face course. However you can do it in your own time since it’s online. So you have a choice of attacking it a little at a time, or hitting it full on and immersing yourself and / or a group of your friends for three full days.
If you like you could choose to do the course over a series of evenings. Probably one night per week for 10 -12 weeks would see you easily complete it.
The Mindbranding© units though really need to be covered in three consecutive days. Although they don’t take three whole days.
Just a little time in the morning and again in the afternoon to achieve the tried and tested results. These can be done alone.
There is no group component to the Mindbranding© sections of the course.
For your convenience these have been grouped together in a separate course – Mindbranding Strategy in 3 Days which even has a separate TML (Teach Myself a Language) certificate.
When you sign up
for the TESOL Gold you receive two more certificates FREE – Public Speaking and Mindbranding.
Just some of our innovative courses and certificates making a difference in the world of language teaching and learning.
What is a FLASHstart TESOL Certification Course Like?
You won’t be studying theory!
Individually or In a Group? In order to experience the ‘experiential’ nature of this course, you need to get together with a group of friends or other students (perhaps others who are taking this course) and work the workshops and activities. However if you are taking this course on your own, you will still be able to learn the methods and absorb the information that will enable you to successfully teach spoken English. With a group: You’ll be out of your seat on your feet for much of the course as we role play and workshop you through whole brain teaching activities that focus on Audio, Visual, Tactile/Kinesthetic methods – not grammar rules, sentence dissection and other mind numbing theories. We can assure you that this course will be unlike anything you have done before!
What does TESOL mean? Is it different to TEFL or ESL?
I hear some people get a job without a certificate. Should I worry about being certified?
While it’s true some have been able to land jobs teaching with no experience and no qualifications, this usually leads to a lot of stress for the new teacher and low paid positions. If you’ve heard that you get the same pay, you’ve heard wrong. In our experience and that of others, the more certificates you can produce, the more pay you will be offered and the less they will hassle you. If you look like you know what you’re doing you’re more likely to inspire confidence in the school management and the students’ parents.
Think of it like this, if you have a broken axle on your car and you have the choice between a backyard self taught mechanic with no formal training or a certified licenced tradesman who is a professional, with which one would you trust your car repairs? Obviously, common sense dictates you’d choose the licenced mechanic with his certificates in plain sight up on the wall.
Further and probably more importantly, what will you say if the interviewer says, he’d like you to use western methods to teach the class. Or that it’s vital the students really enjoy your lessons so they want to come back next time. How would you respond? What specifically will you do in your demo class to show you can meet their needs?
The FlashStart TESOL certificate prepares you for this situation by showing you how to leverage the experience you likely already have in teaching in another area of your life. Perhaps in a voluntary capacity. We show you how to put together a winning resume’. How to walk into a room, pick up a textbook you’ve never seen before and start to teach a class in 90 seconds. You can feel confident, and eager to do the demo class knowing the methods you’ve been taught will blow their socks off.
At FlashStart, we are TESOL teachers. We have been through the job application process many times between us. Every time we need to go through it we are relieved that we have our certificates and can talk the talk with the interviewer. You will be too.
Why Do this Course Online?
Repetition –
Your membership never expires. So you have the opportunity to revisit your learning any time you want. If you’re not sure how a particular aspect of your teaching should go, you can simply log in and redo the unit/module. Stuck for ideas in your class? We give you class plans already put together so you don’t have to think too hard. Just login and download.
Availability and cost saving –
To take the face to face version of this course requires time off from work, and often travel and accommodation costs which considerably increases what you have to pay to get the same certificate. With the online version, the curriculum, and TESOL manual you receive are the same, but accessed from the comfort of your own home or wherever you want. By practising your new skills with a group of friends, the interactive components can be experienced just as if you’re taking the course face to face.
Any PREREQUISITES?
How much time is required to complete the course?
Does FlashStart offer employment?
How does one go about finding work once certified?
Any special equipment required?
Do I need to be an expert in English grammar to be a TESOL instructor?
What's in your course?
- 13 Modules containing
- 90 Units and
- 57 quizzes
- Extra resources for your career development
- TESOL Teacher’s Manual
Are there any tests?
Is there a practicum?
In two stages:
Observational practicum is achieved throughout the whole course with the use of practical demonstrations. The practice component of the practicum is achieved by your teaching student/s that you hand pick and walk them through a lesson using some of what you’ve learned.
I read on the Internet that only TESOL courses of 120+ hours are highly regarded by schools overseas. Is this true?
Total 120 hours 100 hours of swimming theory + 20 hours of actual swimming instruction
Do you really need the first 100 hours of instruction listed above in order to teach a child to swim? If your answer is Yes, then take a university level course because this is the kind of content that these courses usually offer. If your answer is No, then FLASHstart’s course will be sufficient just as it has been for thousands of others. FLASHstart’s TESOL Certification courses are not online digital experiences that focus on glottals*, fricatives**, sibilants***, and other extremely rare and irrelevant concepts that are useless in the vast majority of teaching situations. FLASHstart’s TESOL courses are not based on textbook theory, and mind numbing lectures given by tenured academics out of touch with realty but are more akin to European style teaching courses that focus on developing real-world skill sets and actionable knowledge as opposed to unactionable theories. Note: an educational professional we know took a 4 week on-line course from Cambridge University in England. His comment, ‘It didn’t prepare me in any way for actually what I would do once I got into the classroom, but instead covered a bunch of theories. I wasted my time and money.’ In case you are dying to know: *“Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants uttered with the glottis. **Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of [f]; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German [x], the final consonant of Bach; or the side of the tongue against the molars, in the case of Welsh [ɬ], appearing twice in the name Llanelli.This turbulent airflow is called frication. ***A particular subset of fricatives are the sibilants. When forming a sibilant, one still is forcing air through a narrow channel, but in addition the tongue is curled lengthwise to direct the air over the edge of the teeth. English [s], [z], [ʃ], and [ʒ] are examples of this.” Wikipedia) If you feel you need this kind of Academic Styrofoam© to teach English overseas then you will not likely enjoy a FLASHstart TESOL Certification Course.
What is your refund policy?
Does FlashStart TESOL Certification Course qualify me to teach in any country and is it accredited?
A FLASHstart TESOL certificate.. what does it give me? A FLASHstart TESOL Certificate is not a diploma or a teaching degree. To teach English to non-native speakers in Australia, America, Canada and Europe you will likely need a Teaching Degree (Bachelor of Education*) from an accredited university or college, several years teaching experience, plus a TESOL Certificate. Our TESOL Certificate is designed for those who want to move to developing countries where there is a greater need for teachers than in developed countries and who want to teach mainly spoken English to support themselves living abroad. In much of the rest of the world an English speaker with no Teaching Degree but a TESOL Certificate can teach in colleges and universities. Many countries recognize TESOL Certification as adequate recognition of an English speaker’s ability to teach English. *A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate academic degree which qualifies the graduate as a teacher in schools. In North America the degree is awarded for coursework completed within a program lasting one to four years, depending on the requirements established by the province or state in which the university is located. In Canada, a BEd degree is required for a teaching certificate. In the United Kingdom, where both the university system and school system are very different, the degree is awarded after a three or four year course (the course length depends on the university) which is specifically tailored to either primary education or for a limited range of secondary education subjects. It leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England and Wales and is a teaching qualification in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Australia, a 4-Year Bachelor of Education degree combines practical/pedagogical study with a Major sequence in the academic discipline of Education. ~Wikipedia
Accreditation
FlashStart is not associated with any university or college and has purposely avoided paying an independent ‘accrediting’ service as its innovative but scientifically sound whole-brain methods are so vastly different from the traditional approach to teaching language. Our teachers’ success in delivering first rate language instruction speaks for itself.
FlashStart is primarily oriented to those who want to teach in developing countries where accreditation has not to date been required. Currently our graduates have been accepted in at least 19 countries, including developed countries like America, Italy, Japan, Costa Rica, Brazil and Singapore and Australia.
Use a Deck of Cards to Teach a Language?
What criteria do we insist our tools meet?
- Readily available
- Inexpensive
- Easily transportable
How Can We Help You Learn a Language?
- Circadian study cycle
- Timed space repetition
- Keyword isolation
How Do We Help You Start as Tutor/Teacher?
It can be overwhelming knowing
where to start when you first start teaching. So we walk you through
- The process of writing your resume’.
- The process of getting a job.
- The process of starting a tutoring practice.
- We provide useful tools like class plans.
- and more…
What Our Customers Are Saying
Don’t just take it from us, let our customers do the talking!
"Incredible course! Amazing methods. Powerful tools to teach simple and difficult concepts. Highly recommended."
"Refreshing approach to teaching and learning that has inspired me to change my teaching methods."
"I learned fantastic NEW methods to use in both teaching AND learning a new language."
Our 'Happy Teachers' page has more of what students like about our course...