Picking that perfect TEFL course can feel impossible – you want to be qualified enough to bag that dream job, but don’t want to waste time and money doing more study than you need. Don’t panic, help is at hand!
Just find the sentence that best describes your situation for a couple of course recommendations. You can either do your TEFL training online, or supplement it with practical training on a combined course.
I want to start teaching but have no previous experience
If you’ve never taught before, doing the industry standard of 120 hours of TEFL study (or more!) is the best way to impress employers and boost your confidence in the classroom. Give one of these courses a look:
I want to teach in…
It used to be that the country you wanted to teach in dictated which TEFL course you enrolled in. Not anymore! As schools worldwide become pickier about the teachers they employ, having the industry standard of 120 hours of TEFL tuition on your CV is advisable, no matter where you want to teach. Plus, it’ll mean you’re prepared for a range of different students and ready to face even the stickiest of TEFL situations. Check these courses out:
I already have teaching experience, but want to boost my skills
Even if you already have teaching experience, it’s worth getting a good grounding in TEFL theory to boost your earnings and improve your lessons. For a solid understanding of the nuts and bolts of TEFL, give the 60 Hour Online TEFL Course a try.
If you just want to improve your skills in a specific area (such as teaching business English), you can enrol in a few specialist TEFL modules. Or, if grammar’s your Achilles Heel, i-to-i has an in-depth Grammar Awareness Module that will get you up to speed.
I’m going travelling and want a TEFL certificate just in case I want to do some teaching
Lots of backpackers teach English casually as they travel in order to replenish their finances. If this is what you’re planning it’s not necessarily worth doing a top-level course, as you’ll usually be teaching privately. But, it’s worth doing some training so you know what you’re doing! Try one of these courses:
I’m interested in TEFL, but not ready to teach just yet
If you just want to dip your toes in the TEFL waters before making a larger financial commitment, there are a couple of options open to you. The first is taking a FREE TEFL Taster, which will give you an insight into what i-to-i’s TEFL courses are all about: taster.onlinetefl.com.
As i-to-i courses are modular (meaning you can easily upgrade your certificate at a later date), you can also enrol in one of our entry-level TEFL courses, such as these, then complete more training as and when you’re sure it’s the right option for you:
I want to make a full-on career out of teaching English
If teaching English is what you want to do for the rest of time (rather than just for a couple of years), it may be worth investing in a CELTA qualification. A CELTA course is an internationally-recognized 4-week residential course, which costs upwards of £1,000, so is certainly a commitment. Long-term though it could be worth doing, as it’ll help you develop your career beyond the assistant teacher jobs that those who teach abroad for a year or two do. i-to-i don’t offer CELTA courses, but you can find more information here: http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/intensive_4week_courses.php.
I’m not sure – I need expert advice
Still not sure? No problem – why not request a FREE TEFL Consultation to help you decide. One of our TEFL experts will call you to chat through your plans and work out which TEFL course you need to do to make them a reality. Just click here to request your free consultation today!
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Thanks for those additions Mahalath - great advice!
Yes, to second - if you do want to teach in a country where English is the native language (e.g. UK, Ireland etc) you'll need to do a CELTA or equivalent. If you have any questions just get in touch: http://www.onlinetefl.com/contact-tefl-team/tefl-consultation.html
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/teaching-awards/celta.html is the CELTA website, and http://cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/teaching/index.do is a list of everywhere that does the CELTA course. Anywhere that doesn't appear on this list, but claims to operate a CELTA course is lying.
The other full time 4 week TEFL course which is just as recognised is Trinity. The CELTA is specifically for teaching adults, whereas the Trinity is for all ages (which doesn't mean too much in practise, as generally all your teaching practice on either course will be with adults due to restrictions in many countries on working with kids). The link is here: http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=293 and you can find the list of centres here: http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=2093 again, anyone not on this site is not recognised by Trinity TESOL and therefore you won't get the certificate.
The last thing to mention, is although for most countries a i-to-i certificate is fine, in the UK (and often Western Europe) at least, I know you won't be looked at without one of the above, so if you want to teach at home at any point in a language school, you will need one of the above for even basic entry level positions (and generally a DipTESOL or the CELTA equivalent for anything above that!).
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