TEFL certificate in London | Meet the Academic Team

The Cert IBET

THE CERTIFICATE IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENGLISH TRAINING

If you are not sure about any of the points we raise — or if we have not covered something which concerns you personally — please do not hesitate to contact us. Ask to speak to one of our Teacher Training Course Advisers who will be pleased to help you.

When you are ready to apply, you can complete the booking form online.

QUESTIONS

Who awards this Certificate?

How is the Certificate awarded?

Who can take the course?

How widely and well-recognised is the CertIBET?

Who are the trainers on the CertIBET?

What does the CertIBET involve?

Can you tell me more about the Workbooks?

How long do I have to do the Workbooks?

Do I have to do all four Workbooks?

Can you tell me something about the final assignment?

Isn’t this a very isolated way of studying?

Do I have to come to the UK?

Is the CertIBET for me?

ANSWERS

Who awards the Certificate?

The CertIBET is awarded by English UK and Trinity College London. It is the first truly international qualification for practising Business English Teachers and presents candidates with the unique opportunity of further enhancing their skills and expertise in the delivery of Business English courses and improving their employability in the sector and credibility with potential clients.

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How is the Certificate awarded?

The CertIBET is awarded on successful completion of a 3000-4000-word written assignment, which is internally assessed by SGI and then externally assessed by Trinity College London.

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Who can take the course?

The course is open to native and non-native teachers of English with an initial teacher training qualification and at least 1 year’s full-time experience of TESOL prior to undertaking the course. While previous experience of around 40 hours of teaching business English is considered desirable, candidates with no experience of teaching business English may be admitted onto the course providing they fulfil other entry requirements. We will also consider candidates with an initial teaching qualification but less than a year of post-certificate teaching experience if they have significant working experience in relevant business areas.

NB. Full-Time is interpreted as the equivalent of 32 or more weeks of class teaching a year of 15 hours or more lessons per week.

NB. Non-native teachers of English have to provide substantiated proof of their command of English. A minimum of Cambridge Proficiency or equivalent is expected

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How widely and well-recognised is the CertIBET?

The Cert IBET is fast becoming a qualification that is highly regarded by employers in English language institutions throughout the world. This is because Business English clients have become increasingly demanding of those that teach them, and so language training providers have had to respond to this client expectation.

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Who are the trainers on the CertIBET?

We have selected for the CertIBET a team of trainers who have extensive experience of Business English teaching and teacher training. Naturally all hold Diploma level qualifications themselves and have extensive experience of teaching business English in a variety of contexts, including course design. Above all they are a team of professionals whose enthusiasm for Business English has ensured our CertIBET course is a lively and stimulating one.

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What does the CertIBET involve?

You, the trainee, are sent a series of 4 WORKBOOKS over a period of time. When you have completed a workbook or coursework assignment, you return it to the school where it is marked and then sent back to you. During this period you are in frequent contact with your assigned tutor. At the end of the course, you complete a written assignment of between 3000 and 4000 words from a list of titles provided by English UK and Trinity College London, which will be internally assessed and then externally moderated by Trinity College London. You will be given the opportunity to complete practice assignments during the course.

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Can you tell me more about the Workbooks?

Each workbook is broken up into several sections. You will cover two whole units of the syllabus per workbook, e.g. “Course and Syllabus Design”, “Materials and Resources” etc. There is also material within each workbook covering an area of “Concepts and Language in a Business Context” and “Business Communication Skills Development”. Within each unit there are a number of exercises/activities you are expected to complete. These exercises/activities include: reflecting on a given point, giving an opinion, matching/completion exercises, classroom research, reading for both information and preparation, ranking exercises and analysis of given information. Within some of the units, you are asked to undertake project work, such as developing the outline of a course of study based on your own needs analyses of potential Business English students. Every workbook also includes sample final assignment questions which you must answer.

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How long do I have to do the Workbooks?

The beauty of the Saint George International CertIBET is that you can work at your own pace. Some people work best to tough deadlines and others, perhaps due to busy schedules, or their own preferred learning styles, work best to a more flexible deadline scheme.

Each workbook can realistically be completed in four weeks, therefore it is possible to complete the CertIBET within four months. Candidates have a nine month time frame to complete the course and so are permitted to take an average of up to nine weeks to complete a workbook, meaning that you can take up to nine months to do all four.

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Do I have to do all four Workbooks?

Yes, all four workbooks must be completed, as they enable you to tackle your final assessment with the necessary amount of knowledge required to submit a satisfactory assignment.

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Can you tell me something about the final assignment?

The assignment is a 3000-4000 word essay which must be completed within 12 weeks of finishing the final workbook. English UK and Trinity release six assignment titles every year for you to choose from. Assignments are generally practical in nature, relating to the course design and materials selection. Assignments are internally assessed by us before being submitted to Trinity College London for external moderation.

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Isn’t this a very isolated way of studying?

It can be, but there are 2 measures we have taken to ensure you do not feel isolated on the course.

You are just an email or telephone call away from YOUR ASSIGNED COURSE TUTOR whom you can contact at any time during the working week. In addition, once you have completed each workbook, you will have a more formal telephone/SKYPE tutorial to discuss your progress.

You are also NETWORKED to other course participants through an on-line e-mail discussion group (Nicenet), so in this way you are able to "swap notes" and help each other out. You are also part of a voice-based discussion programme (Yakpak), in which you can leave voice messages for other course participants and your tutors.

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Do I have to come to the UK?

There is no need to come to the UK on this programme. The entire programme, including the final assignment, can be done by distance learning.

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Is the CertIBET for me?

The Saint George International CertIBET is particularly suitable for:
• Teachers who are currently teaching or aiming to teach Business English and who wish to increase their skills and awareness in teaching Business English.
• Teachers who wish to have an internationally-recognised qualification as a Business English teacher.
• Teachers who work abroad or in the UK and who want or need to continue working while taking the CertIBET.
• Teachers abroad or in the UK who do not have access to other types of courses such as an intensive or part-time evening course.
• Teachers who would like to work from home and do not want or feel a need to do a course within a traditional "face to face" format.
• Teachers who would appreciate a degree of flexibility with regard to course completion.

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