1. Yes multiple - Global TESOL in 2004, CELTA - Did not complete, took it twice too...
2. TESOL took a weekend and was fun, the CELTAs took 1 month and 3 months, failed cause I wouldn't tow the PC line.
3. There is no grading for TESOL, you just attend and get a cert. CELTA is based on essays, teaching style and how quickly you spout off social justice talking points.
4. Not sure because I didn't pass
I've already told you about the Acadia one and for that one I've had a good experience so far, I believe its the LINC program. Although, my first instructor was a man, so there's that. The course consisted of me just talking about various teaching techniques, although I've had a lengthy career and lots of experience to pull from. The techniques they teach were mostly bs IMO. The problem with the certs is that they aren't realistic for the classroom and what little value they provide you can learn from a Michael Scrivner book [although most of those techniques are for generalist adult classrooms and not meant to be used in a corp school]... but they are the industry standard and most places will hire you on the spot if you have one beside your name.
Teaching English has VERY little to do with exams/essays or any of that bs. ESL is essentially a trade and you'll have to put hours into the job to improve your technique. No amount of studying beforehand qualifies you to be a good teacher and there aren't too many courses that will prepare you for the reality of the job. That said, for some reason, schools still want to see you have a TESOL. To become a better teacher you should really attend a 'bootcamp', the physical kind because that's the type of teaching which you'll be using in a kids class. To get good you need to learn the games and then just play them over and over until you've mastered the technique. The adult's classes are mostly reliant on YOU being an entertainer. Sometimes you'll get an English corner and that's where the TESOL group stuff shines. CELTA has a singular formula, which is essentially take the textbook, photocopy a page and make a bunch of stupid activities using the target language. Then you write an overly complicated lesson plan and attach a fkin essay to it as if teaching a lesson was some kind of rocket science. There is no way on god's green earth you would use a lesson plan with a tiny font and a ton of target language breakdowns. A lesson plan is usually just a piece of paper with a few activates, how long they take, what materials are req'd... and then a bunch of games to fill the rest of the time.