Tefl.NET Forums

Certification courses are generally evaluated based on the number of hours they took to complete, whether it is an in class or online course and the reputation of the certifying body. I have 2 questins...

1) I have seen a lot of 60hr courses being offered, is that sufficient?

2) How can I learn of the reputation of a course or organisation, or organization when trying to determing which of the vast companies to choose from?

Thank you for all and any responces
Mosesfloyd@yahoo.com

hmmmm? well. I guess noone knows. :?

Ask at http://www.eslcafe.com/discussion and people will answer. I wouldn't advise any online courses, because it is better to have a certification that provides a practicum.

I think that a 60hour course can be a total disaster if done by a wrong person or institution. I think that internationally recognised certificates are always reputable: CELTA, TEFL, etc, because the people and prganizations who offer them are monitored by quality control.

wouldn't having teaching practice along with the 100++ onsite course be better? I see a lot of that...

teaching practice is also nice for people who have little or no experience in teaching.

I went with 100++ hours classroom training and teaching practice when I enrolled with at teflintl.com and I must say it's a pretty heavy course that I wouldn't want to do online,let alone with no practice.


there are a number of bodies out there sort of regulating the pack but I really don't know much on that. Mostly I dive into feedback from people who took the course, location of training center, any other stuff that the provider offers.
got a job fairly quickly after taking the course thanks to TEFL Intl, and I didn't take the course at same location I wanted to teach at.
(squeezed in a vacation for me and someone after the course.:))

I wouldn’t worry too much about the number of hrs attached to a certificate but I’d look more at its content. Start by asking a few providers for their course syllabus and compare them. Check their tutors’ credentials. Make sure the course requires some actual work on your part and it is not based on “Yes or No” answers or “Read This Unit and Summarize It” type of coursework. Try and find out what other students who have taken the course say about it. Basically do as much research as you can.

As for which course provider, only a few have been consistently present in the ELT market offering quality training over the years and building for themselves a solid reputation amongst teachers and school owners. PM me if you wish to have details of the provider I work for.

With regards accrediation, there is no Independent Board of Accreditation for TESL/TEFL Certificates and Diplomas. This means that each institute, school, or organization recognizes their own Certificate and accreditation comes from good practice, professional standards and reputation. Indeed, some certificates are more accepted than others but unfortunately there is no independent international body that can give a seal of approval to these Certificates. It is, in fact, the individual language schools that have the last say on this issue. So, if you are concerned about the validity of a certificate, then the only sure way to find out is to talk to the school(s) where you'd like to work. They will have their own preferences.

Hope this helps

I also believe that certificates are a good way to make money, so almost each language school offers their own certificate claiming it to be the best :-)

I agree with the post that says that the content is more important than hours.

Aase wrote:tteflintl.com and I must say it's a pretty heavy course that I wouldn't want to do online,let alone with no practice.

That is very interesting to know, I've heard a lot about and I've been hoping to get in touch with omeone who did this course. Perhaps you could tell us about your experience with TEFL Internatioinal (just click the link)