The bottom line is, if english proficiency is your main concern, go to British council; if the qualification is your main concern, go to CEFL. However, do note that you might not be able to take the exams for any qualifications immediately in CEFL even after you learned english at the British Council as it is not an open list exam like IELTS. Be sure to clear this thing up before you decide: proficiency or qualifications first?

This post has been edited by Intermission: Dec 9 2012, 11:36 PM

thanks. i can see good vocab used in your sentence like gauge, , bad bunch .one thing i like to correct as well. I have checked the Cambridge site on the examining center. British Council is not in the list of test centers. Im still clueless about this part.

---

Added on December 9, 2012, 11:49 pmi would prefer proficiency then a certificate. One thing i notice is that British Council exposure to foreign students is a plus point. Getting to know the lecturer is even better if they communicate with you often. english is about going out and learn i suppose. But i still like to be tested often so that i could examine my own weakness. by the way, in order to sit for Cambridge exam , one must actually enrol in CFL centers only? as you said , British Council will not have such exam . So i need to go through the CFL classes as well?

This post has been edited by hackwire: Dec 9 2012, 11:49 PM

My bad.
British Council does not provide testing for Cambridge certifications in English, but do provide other tests such as IELTS.
There are also numerous courses available in multiple variants, which would provide certificates as well.

Thanks. I noticed that this exam call CELTA for english trainers. It seem like it's a high qualification certificate for those who intent to be a trainer. Do you guys have this cert or any of your friends that i can talk too? thanks in advance.

HI .. i'm looking for a business english course . i'm a working adult and would prefer weekend. Could you all please recommend which will be the best ? I can't find an answer from the previous 2 pages..

thanks

Does anyone know how much the CPE exam costs? Is it cheaper than doing IELTS every 2.5 years? I just want the qualification without attending any classes. The "For Life" validity is appealing because I recently retook IELTS to enter postgrad as my first one I took after A Levels has 'expired'.

Let's say I need to re-take IELTS to enter PhD after postgrad, and again for a working visa, that's at least two more times!

And yes, in my English did become 'worse' after graduation, according to my IELTS result. From Band 8.5 to Band 7.5 (because of Speaking which fell from 8.5 to a freaking 6.5). It might be due to the different examination centres, as British Council has British speaking examiners, whereas IDP's has locals as speaking examiners. IDP's exam is also apparently easier.

Oic, I am planning to take up a english course too. My english level I think should be intermediate, I want to improve on my communication skill as I need to communicate with my local and foreign customer in English.

So may I know is the british council is still the best english institute compare to Cambridge, Wall Street and etc??

Ok. here's my evaluation on British Council after i studied for 1 semester which is about 3 months. I took part time and once a week. The method they used was fabulous and creative but they are showing you the right way to communicate and make good use of it. There's nothing wrong with that, only thing is TIME which most of us don't have . If you think you could improve your english by attending once a week, i bet you don't show any improvement. It's the practice and the sparring technique with someone that will helps your verbal skills. And if anyone really , really ...i mean really wants to brush up your english knowledge than go for British council Full Time . If just for the sake of communication purposes and presentations, I recommend Toastmaster. One more thing, you need to interact alot with someone who are fluent in english to improve. If you interact with the same person as you or even worst than you, don't expect yourself to improve.

This post has been edited by hackwire: Jun 14 2013, 02:35 PM

Hi hackwire,

What course did you go for at the British Council? I am currently looking at obtaining a CELTA and was wondering whether the latter is worth the fees!

Thanks!

studyboy

CELTA is the teacher's course is it? how much ?
okay, my experience over there is that the teachers were alright bcos they were brits. not much of pressure and because im studying part time, the disadvantage is actually the locals here. I really don't like to mix with locals here because when the teacher were asking questions on the floor, nobody answer. It's the way we were in school. Our culture is,,, don't raise your hand or u be humiliated.
The middle east students and other foreign students are more brave to interact. Take full time rather than part time, bcos most part timers were locals who finish works or even students.

Thanks for your reply hackwire! The last I check the course has a whopping RM8500 pricetag attached! I am more inclined to go for a DELTA but it is not offered here in Malaysia!

I see! Thanks for sharing!

i strongly suggest you mingle with the right natives speakers to improve faster. the workbook can helps but if certificate is concern, im not sure if ESL offer the same course for teachers, probably cheaper. But for prestige and job placement, British Council is your best bet.