I just finished my TEFL course with ITTP a week ago, January 27th. I have read all of the other reviews and while I understand some of the criticisms I feel my group is lucky to have a different sentiment. First of all, my fiance John and I took the course together, and we quite literally sold everything that we own to get here. We burned all of our ships, you could say, so there is not really any going back to the States anytime soon. I do agree that their could have been more transparency regarding the accommodations. I think that we all were a bit surprised at just how intimate the living situation actually was. However, it seems that ITTP is in a transitional stage and this is not their usual accommodations. Regardless, there was another couple besides us, and we both had the two bigger rooms. There was a smaller room, and then a large communal room (sort of like a hostel) where all the other beds were. We were also surprised that our class took place in the actual apartment- though we actually thought this was rather convenient. On the other hand, it would be nice to have the extra space of our classroom for accommodation space. But once again, this doesn't seem to be how things usually are. Our class had 9 students, which seemed to be a good amount. On the first day, one of the co-owners of ITTP, Alena, gave us an introduction. It may have just been an off day but she seemed really flustered and was a bit overwhelming, she had us all really nervous. However, Mila was a really excellent teacher. As soon as she left he eased all of our worries. We were a bit surprised at how fast paced the course really is. You start teaching immediately, as in the second day of the course. This is what had us all a bit flustered at first. However, the students were very nice and easy to work with. I think in the end that the "sink-or-swim" method really helped us all. We felt confident teaching just after two weeks. Two criticisms I have for ITTP is that I also recommend (like someone else mentioned earlier) that they consider getting a printer and keeping it in the flat. That would have been very beneficial to us all for using online authentic materials (such as news articles, speeches, etc.). Secondly, the classroom was locked when Mila was not there, and so the library of books and materials were only at our disposal during class times. It would have been nice to have those materials available to us during the times we spent planning lessons the most (after classes, the weekends, and on Thursdays). As far as job placement goes, there is no job placement in the sense that you will be assigned to one. The job process is just as it is back home, you search for a job, you apply, and you interview. ITTP has correspondence with many language schools, that they provide to you on the list that has been mentioned. I also noticed that some of the sites did not work. I emailed Neville just yesterday to ask him about a school that I have an interview at and he said that he will add it to their list, as he is in the process of updating it. I won't pretend like I didn't also think that there would be more active assistance then there was. However, every time I have contacted Neville with questions or asked Mila about anything they have been prompt with their responses and helpful. Everyone who took the course this past January gets along great. My fiance and I have been staying with the others in their amazing flat that they rent together, right across from the Zizkov TV tower in Praha 3. I believe that the more "intimate" accommodations that we were initially upset about is what actually led to us all becoming great friends. As I've said, my course ended exactly one week ago. My fiance started working the Monday after we graduated with a school, and is interviewing for another. I am starting private lessons that I set up myself and have an interview tomorrow. All of my flatmates either have work or have had many interviews. You do need to be proactive in your job search, just like with anywhere else. Though there seems to be no shortage of English teaching opportunities available in Prague if you just look for them. In fact, I didn't even use the list that ITTP gave us, I just found open positions myself and had no problem. As for the visas, I was confused about that as well. I was surprised to learn that I had to travel out of the country in order to apply for it, which wasn't an expense that we had budgeted. It is true that some jobs will help you get this, but others do not. There are many different options regarding the visas. I can say that I have talked to many people I have met who are English teachers, (not from ITTP) and they have said that visas aren't much of a problem and there isn't the strict time limit like some seem to think. As long as your visa is in process it doesn't really matter, you won't get deported or anything. My best advice to anyone is to do a lot of research regarding visas and such for your country before you come. I do recommend ITTP, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience here; the city, the people I've met, and the teaching knowledge I've gained. I would not recommend ITTP accommodations to anyone who must have a lot of privacy, but if you're relatively social and low maintenance it will be fine. Neville also gives great recommendations which is something you will really need when applying for jobs. I wish everyone the best of luck with their new teaching career!
Kendra
ITTP Tefl-Tesol
Not Verified
What's this?
5.8 / 10
after 18 Reviews
Based on overall, support & value average ratings
Program website: http://www.tefl-prague.com/
I took the ITTP programme in 2011. I chose this course because of the high ratings it got in various reviews. Now I know the reason for such unbalanced ratings. I am glad that at least Neville can't tamper with the ratings on this website anymore.
I had no problems with the programme itself. As with many people who wrote a review on this website, I agree that the instructor, Mila, is really good, and all the stars I gave here were for him. I had a lot of problems, however, with the accommodation provided.
When I emailed Neville about my decision to take up the accommodation offered, I was told that the small room, which was 4450 korunas, would be secured for me if I paid the deposit. I promptly did as I was told. However, after receiving my deposit for the accommodation, I was told that, unfortunately, that someone else had paid the deposit before I did but there were other options available. Therefore I had no choice but to choose another option (the "small and cosy room"), which cost 10950 korunas. Doesn't this sound familiar? Little did I know how small the room was. Picture this: when I stretch my arms out, they touched both sides of my room. And mind you, I am only 1.64m tall. Another person from my cohort who also took the accommodation provided had his bed collapse from under him on the first day and he is 70 years old. Luckily he did not suffer any injuries or Neville would have probably found himself in a lawsuit. I would also like to confirm that the bathroom ceiling was covered in mould, which was a major health hazard.
During the course, I realised that among the people who took up the accommodation provided by ITTP, my room was the smallest, but, if you recall, that is not what I paid for. So I emailed Neville about it, thinking he may have mixed me up with a student from another course. Neville replied, and I quote:
"You paid for the Small and Cosy Room. You have the Small and Cosy Room. The other Small room option (4,450) is in another part of the building but we are no longer offering those cheaper rooms."
I then told Neville that I thought that was a fair enough reason but I would have appreciated it if this was what I was told in the first place instead of some story about how it was taken by another student and that by pointing this out I hope that it would not be repeated with another student in the future. And this was Neville's reply:
"Thank you for your email. If the reason given was that it was taken then it was taken. We don't appreciate the insinuation that it was otherwise. We have a lot of students coming through the program, not only Onsite students but also combined students and we need to accommodate them too. We also have quite a lot of movement of accommodation options within the building and at other locations in the city. Now, I politely suggest that you please focus on your course studies and I trust this now clarifies everything.
There is no need to respond to this email.
Thank you."
Excuse me, but I think that I, as a consumer, have every right to demand an explanation if I feel that something is not right with my purchase, and for Neville to tell me in no uncertain terms to shut up and accept his reason for taking more of my money is unacceptable. In addition, we met locals during our course and they all told us that for that price, we could have gotten much better accommodation in that area or much less.
I was really lucky to have wonderful coursemates who made my experience there positive. So my advice is: take the ITTP course if you want to, the programme itself is great but please please PLEASE do not take the accommodation provided.
Program:
Location:
Posted: February 6, 2012
Overall:
5
Support:
3
Value:
4
By: neli
Age:
24
Comments
NEVILLE DID THE SAME TO ME...LIED!!! He told me that accommodation had come up and send more money. Once he had the money he told me it was taken..IF YOU WANT TO GO TO PRAGUE TO DO TEFL, DO NOT DEAL WITH NEVILLE OR HIS ORGANISATION.
FIND A DIFFERENT COURSE ...
Read all the reviews.. The bad one outway the good ones by a long way..
I took the course onsite in Prague in November 2006 - more than five years ago and I still could not rate this course any higher!
I gave up everything to do this course down to my last penny and gained absolutely EVERYTHING from it to the point at which I actually had to turn down work at the end of the course as the offers were just pouring in thanks to the guidance and advice of the course tutors.
Speaking of the course tutors, they are all highly trained, professional individuals and alongside the management team, I have remained in regular contact over the years. The post-course support is simply amazing and I couldn't praise it any higher. Every query and every email have all received a quick response and if you don't believe in friends for life, you will after doing this course.
The course is intense and over the four weeks you will learn everything you need to know to pass your exams and get a Distinction - I did. Not to mention a LOT of practical experience teaching that you don't necessarily get anywhere else from children in primary school through to older adults in commercial companies and enterprises. The breadth of experience you can get is great.
Prague is a wonderful city and I really enjoyed my time living; learning and working there. There is so much to see and do and you can get around the city extremely quickly thanks to one of the best transport systems I have ever encountered.
If you are thinking about doing this course, don't think - just do. That is my advice, and you can contact me on harry@harryshires.info for any questions about the course as I will be happy to help.
Harry Shires
Program:
Location:
Posted: February 5, 2012
Overall:
10
Support:
10
Value:
10
By: harryshires
Age:
28
I completed my TEFL with ITTP Prague in 2010. I have been living in Prague since I completed the course and fully agree with the comments that have been made regarding Neville and the poor service, lack of job and visa assistance, horrendous living conditions, and overall greed from the administration. These problems were not only experienced by the November 2011 class, but by every group of students who have taken the course. I have met and become friends with dozens of people who have survived ITTP and everyone seems to agree.
The group I was with in 2010 had several complaints that I would like to share. First, the price of the accommodation was outrageous. As stated in other comments, the apartment is too small and dirty. Neville promises that if the apartment is clean after the course you will get your security deposit back. I have never met anyone who received the full amount. Most people get charged MORE money because the apartment "isn't clean enough." The group who lived in the apartment before me didnt even have a kitchen table or desks. If they wanted to eat or study they had to do it in bed. A shame because the beds were broken as well.
Also, the TEFL course is held INSIDE the apartment. When I took the course in 2010, ITTP did, in fact, have an office on Narodni (which is now gone) so we were able to escape the horrors of the tiny apartment. During my stay, the internet NEVER worked in the apartment. Before ever stepping foot into the apartment, Neville told us that if we touched the router we would be fined. After calling him several times and emailing him about the problems with the internet, he failed to fix the problem.
We also lost electricity one day during our stay and Neville was extremely rude and unhelpful as we tried to contact him for help. He sent the whole group an email stating that we should NOT call him. Funny, we didnt have electricity or working internet to get the message.
I know every group has terrible things to say about ITTP. Many people have tried to warn others by posting online about their experience. Somehow, Neville always gets them to take down the post. I was personally threatened by Neville about something I wrote on a PERSONAL webpage. I removed what I wrote out of fear that Neville would withhold my TEFL certificate and contact employers. The only positive thing about the course is the wonderful instructor, Mila, who made the whole thing bearable.
I could go on and on about my dissatisfaction with ITTP. I was lucky and got a job after the course (with no help from Neville). It is also true that he gives a sheet of paper with websites and calls it "job assistance." Even when I took the course in 2010 there were broken links and language schools on this paper that no longer existed. I fully believe that there are better TEFL programs in Prague and it is possible to find work here if you have the right kind of advice and support. ITTP is far too concerned with money to care about the clients.
Program:
Location:
Posted: February 5, 2012
Overall:
1
Support:
1
Value:
1
By: ben56
Age:
WARNING…!!!!!!!!
I had put this whole experience behind me until Neville brought it to mind again recently by looking for positive feedback from all of us on that November course.
I thought it was a complete waste of my time and money.
Mila was great and did his job well. I did,nt quite get it and because there where 20 in the class, did not want to bother him as he had enough to do it seemed.
Had there been a maximum of 14, then perhaps i could have asked for a little extra help from him. I did not like the large class and felt quite intimidated and embarrassed to ask for help and even if I had, would he have had the time to give me.?
What Howard Black wrote is spot on and I cannot disagree with any of it.
I didn’t get to see the cramped, expensive accommodation that was dangled as a carrot to get us there and by all accounts, am glad I didn’t. (The pictures he posted looked nice).
From the outset, and even before I arrived in Prague, I felt like Neville was scamming us.
He offered this cheap accommodation and once he had my deposit, told me that it was full.
I researched accommodation prices and found them to be a lot more than he was offering.
I asked him for help and suggested I might not be able to afford the course if I had to pay so much, that the whole thing was based on “the cheap accommodation” he had offered. (Dangled).
We ended up, thanks to Bob, finding a great appartement but at 3x the price.
Thanks Bob.
To my surprise, Neville came back to me saying that someone had moved course and that a small room had become available and if I sent another deposit, he would secure it for me.
I sent another lump of money and low and behold, guess what, he thanked me for it and said that someone had got there before me.
Do not get sucked in by promisses of cheap accommodation.
Others, who were in the accommodation offered have written about that.
When I suggested I might not be able to do the course for financial reasons, so giving him the opportunity to reduce the numbers OVERBOOKED on the course, instead of accepting that and letting me cancel it, his simple reply was,…” It would be a shame for you to cancel, especially as both your deposits are non-refundable”…and he gave me a link to a site that would definitely be able to help me. There are, of course, loads of sites that will help you, at a price.
Who says our deposits are non refundable and why can,t they be?
Particularly when he has made that guarantee of promising a maximum of 14 pupils several times on his website, and is overbooked.
The course fee was $1990 but of course if we paid within 3 days, we would “make a whopping saving of 291USD”. I think a few fell for that one and took advantage of it.
Then the remainder was to be paid “in full, in CASH” before the course started. Whenever anyone asks me for ‘cash’, my first thoughts are, this sounds a bit dodgy.
20 people paying this amount….Quite a lot by my calculations.
I wonder if there is an element of greed involved here.
When we went to look for it, the office he referred to did not exist, ‘right in the heart of Prague’. So another lie.
I could go on but enough said.. Others have their comments to make.
Some appear to be good. This is my opinion only.
Shame, on the surface it looked good but BE WARNED..!!!!!!
Don,t make the same mistake. Don,t get sucked in by lies and false promisses.
LOOK ELSEWHERE...!!!!!!
Program:
Location:
Posted: January 30, 2012
Overall:
1
Support:
1
Value:
1
By: Andyfree
Age:
55
Comments
- By: ITTPrague
- Age:
- New User
- Posted: Jan 30, 2012
***~WARNING TO READERS, THIS USER HAS BEEN BLOCKED FROM ABROAD REVIEWS BECAUSE OF LEGAL THREATS MADE BY THE OWNER OF ITTP PRAGUE, NEVILLE, AND REPEATED VIOLATION OF POSTING RULES. THE THREATS WERE MADE TO TRY AND REMOVE NEGATIVE REVIEWS BY LEGITIMATE PAST STUDENTS OF THE PROGRAM~*** Hello Andy. Thank you for taking the time to write your review. Yes, we clearly made a mistake on the November course by accepting more students than we usually do and this is the first time in 10 years that we have done so. We have definitely learnt from the experience and we won't be doing it again. I did just want to clarify a few of your points:
We are in office transition because we are looking for larger teaching space and in the meantime we are running classes from our Prague Castle location, and at the usual city center locations. If you check the Business Directory in the Czech Republic you will see that we are officially registered at Narodni 21. We plan to have new offices in time for our High Season courses this year and of course this information will be updated then. In the meantime though it is business as usual for all our Onsite, Combined, and Online courses.
Regarding payment, everyone is welcome to make full course payment upon acceptance to the course or, remaining payment upon arrival to Prague and the vast majority of our Clients do prefer the latter option as it means that they can meet us in person to make their remaining payment. In addition this also cuts the costs of the very expensive online payment fees. It is such a shame that the November course turned out so badly but I have also spoken with other Trainees from that course and they do tell of a different story and are happily teaching in Prague. Our current January course (9 Trainees) was highly successful and with excellent feedback - this can be seen on our company blog. I did write to you Andy to ask your feedback, both positive and negative, because we are sincere about improving our services further and your written reply was to "give you money" or you would come on here and write a scathing review. Well, I would like to thank you for giving your feedback and also for the free marketing which we are currently gaining. As a conclusion I will not be responding further to this unnatural spike in negative reviews and we instead focus now on our 2012 Groups. Take care and all the best. Sincerely. Neville :-)
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