<![CDATA[
<body>
<p>Taking a TEFL course opens the door to the world. While this may sound like
a horrible cliche, it is true. There is a large demand for qualified English
teachers all over the world as the onwards march of the language continues unabated.
The demand is higher for native English speakers and having the language as
your first (and often only) will count in your favour when applying for work
in schools and institutes around the world. </p>
<p>A range of <a title="TEFL courses"href="http://www.cactustefl.com/" target="_parent">TEFL courses</a>
are available but there are only a small selection which are truly recognised
around the world. Chief among these are the Cambridge University administered
<a title="CELTA"href="http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teaching/celta.htm" target="_parent">CELTA</a>
and the Trinity College equivalent. These courses are universally acknowledged
because they take a great deal of hard work to complete and require a real commitment
from trainee teachers. This is in contrast to the many courses which offer a
TEFL qualification after a weekend of intensive training. These qualifications
are often given by companies in advance of sending under-qualified teachers
out to highly profitable classrooms in the Far East or even in summer schools
around the English-speaking world. </p>
<p>TEFL stands for 'Teaching English as a Foreign Language' and is sometimes referred
to as <a title="TESOL"href="http://www.cactustefl.com/" target="_parent">TESOL</a> ('Teaching English to Speakers
of Other Languages'). Courses to qualify as a TEFL teacher are available all
over the world and offer a great opportunity to leave home for a while and get
a taste for the travelling which is a central part of many TEFL teacher's lives.
This is where 'opening doors to the world' comes in to it. A qualification to
teach English, such as a <a title="TEFL"href="http://www.cactustefl.com/" target="_parent">TEFL</a>,
means that you have a decent chance of earning money (or at least food and a
place to stay) in almost every town on the planet. Not all schools, however,
<a title="are equal"href="http://teflblacklist.blogspot.com/" target="_parent">are equal</a>. </p>
<p>If you wish to study for the qualification abroad, Latin America is a great
place to do it. There are two popular options on the continent. The first is
a <a title="TEFL course Brazil"href="http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/brazil/" target="_parent">TEFL course Brazil</a>. One
of the largest countries on earth and the most highly populated in Latin America,
there really is nowhere else like Brazil. The Portuguese-speaking country is
massively diverse and the south is almost unrecognisable from the Equatorial
north, where the influence of African immigration can be seen in the rhythms
and dress of towns such as Salvador. </p>
<p>The other popular destination for a <a title="TEFL course"href="http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/search.php" target="_parent">TEFL
course</a> in Latin America is Argentina. Another huge country, Argentina fills
almost the entire southern half of the continent. Before 2001, most travellers
saw Argentina as prohibitively expensive to visit; a result of the Carlos Menem
government's decision to tie the value of the Argentine peso to that of the
US Dollar at a rate of 1:1. One economic crash and a few painful years of recovery
later, the rate is roughly 1:3 and, as such, Argentina is now a bargain for
visitors from around the world. It is also a fascinating culture and, some say,
home to the most beautiful people on the planet. Of course, if you take a <a title="TEFL course Argentina"href="http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/argentina/" target="_parent">TEFL
course Argentina</a>, you will be far to busy planning lessons to find out,
but that is the life of a TEFL teacher...</p>
<p>To find out more about the life of a tefl teacher, check out <a title="these blogs"href="http://www.usingenglish.com/links/Computers_and_Language/Weblogs/Teacher_Blogs/index.html" target="_parent">these
blogs</a>. </p>
</body>
]]>