In 2019, the Chinese government added a new law to the bill essentially banning private education. This forced many language schools to close down as they were no longer allowed to sell their courses to English learners. This law also affected online English courses for Chinese students that many American, Canadian and British teachers were working for.
Before that many talented TEFL teachers were working in China because of the high salaries they were offered. Along with being able to live and travel in China it was an easy sell. But now these teachers have been looking for greener pastures, and Vietnam is happy to welcome them. Right now Vietnam is probably the most popular location to teach English in Asia. Schools and language centres are recruiting qualified teachers from native English speaking countries. New teachers often take up a TEFL course in Vietnam before starting their career.
There are a few training courses but we will focus on Avse Tesol and Vietlesson. Both of these are great places to go. Just having their name behind you on your certificate will have prestigious schools smiling at your job application. So if you need a TEFL certificate, the only thing you need to do is decide between the two of them. So let’s take a look at some things that make them unique
Avse Tesol is highly regarded in Ho Chi Minh City, but they also have a really good in person course in Hanoi. Besides that they have a course in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as well as a fully online course that you can take from anywhere.They are actually an Australian, family owned business. Their courses are quite intensive but the staff are excellent in helping students get through them with ease. Their in person courses run over a period of 4 weeks and include 150 hours of training, alongside a minimum of 14 hours practical training hours, which is a good indication that they are a quality school.
Vietlesson is a place people go to learn languages and connect cultures. They are only based in Hanoi and offer an excellent TEFL certificate. They are more than just a TEFL school. You can go to Vietlesson to learn English or Vietnamese, or you can join their coffee club to exchange language learning. Also Vietlesson has actually partnered with ITTT, to do their TEFL training, and ITTT is highly regarded in the TEFL industry.
At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with either choice you make. If you are going to be teaching in Hanoi, Vietlesson might be the better choice as you can also meet awesome people and possibly learn some Vietnamese language skills which will help with everyday living in Vietnam. If you’re in Ho Chi Minh City, you will probably be signing up for Avse Tesol’s courses. They are really high quality and the school will even help you with job placement once you have been certified as a TEFL teacher. They have strong partnerships with schools in Ho Chi Minh City especially, but they do have opportunities all throughout Vietnam.