CIEE TEFL Online 150-Hour TEFL Certificate Course

CIEE TEFL has completely changed my life for the better. I've always been interested in second language acquisition and linguistics, and I am familiar with the difficulties of learning a new language because I had done so myself (more than once). I wanted to help others in their language learning process, but I never knew how until this opportunity came to me. Being TEFL certified through CIEE has opened up so many opportunities not only here in the USA, but also abroad. I am able to teach at summer camps in Europe, tutor children online in my own home, and offer classes to the public at the local university because of the knowledge of English language teaching that I acquired while taking this course. I can now help people, children to adults, all across the world with the materials, methods, and tools that CIEE TEFL gave me. I couldn't be more grateful.

I thought this course was certainly worth my while, however, the mandatory classes and some of the mandatory discussions every week were a bit superfluous since we didn't go over a lot of new material. The class sizes are small and the instructor is very hands-on so that helps make it an overall positive experience. The best part about it is you can do it from anywhere! And the practicum requirement is great fuel to the fire to get out there and get started teaching. I'm now an English teacher for foreigners in San Diego and I put the methodology I learned in CIEE's TEFL course to use each and every day. Definitely one of the best options for a solid ratio of price to quality!

The TEFL course that I took through CIEE offered very practical knowledge of teaching methods and how to adapt to students' various learning types.

The instructor provided a good amount of constructive feedback to assignments and lesson plans. The instructor took the time to leave valuable comments.

The course also provided an exceptional amount of supplemental websites, blogs, and reading material for continuous learning.

I would recommend this course to anyone looking into pursuing a TEFL certification.

This is my first time taking a TEFL course, and I thought it would be easy.
The course has been challenging, but in a fun interactive way. The weekly conferences and assignments refer to each other each week to build a great understanding of the material and how to use various techniques to teach effectively. I has been very informative in guiding me toward being a successful teacher. Just stick with it and I think anyone can go far.

I spent 11 weeks learning about the theory and practice of teaching English as a Foreign Language. Each week we had to complete a module comprised of 5 (sometimes less) lessons, one for each day. The toughest ones were about English grammar. Each lesson took up at least 3 hours to complete, for me. It may have taken me less time, but for good or bad I wanted to complete the course "with distinction." That meant maintaining an average of 90% or higher. There were written assignments called Module Grade Assignments (MGAs) each week that took a few hours to complete, each. I just have to say that this was an intensive course and it challenged me as much as any high level college and graduate course that I've ever taken. I have not gone abroad to teach, yet, but I feel that every aspect of teaching was covered in this course. I would recommend it to anyone seriously interested in teaching, whether for the first time, or as a new career. Which is my case. I was able to apply the theory to the assignments--the culmination of which was to write a complete lesson plan that included all the components we had been building up to. There is also a practicum involved, which is 20 hours of teaching and practice at a local school that teachers English. I was fortunate to know someone who teaches English to elementary school students, and observed and worked with her for a few weeks. During the course, there is interaction with other students through messages (written, voice, or video) and a weekly meeting with our Tutor, who is very knowledgeable about teaching English abroad. I do recommend this course, emphasizing that it is time-intensive.

Overall, I thought this was a good course, especially if you had limited experience with teaching. There were many times throughout the course that I wished I had been able to take it before I started my teaching degree! It was extremely thorough and covered many aspects of teaching. It created a strong foundation from which a student can enter the classroom to become a teacher.

The class was also extremely well organized. Each week, students are expected to complete a module, which is comprised of 4-5 units. Each unit builds both skills and theoretical knowledge to increase the confidence of the TEFL trainee before they enter the classroom. The modules range in topics from the origins of English, to classroom management, to how to apply for a job once you have your certificate.

Online courses can be challenging for communication, but this course made this easy. The instructors were extremely helpful and prompt in responses.Every week there is a tutorial that students attend to discuss the course content. This was a great way to get feedback on your ideas in real time. Also, there are many discussion boards to talk about the course with your peers.

Going into this program, I knew there were cheaper options to attain a certificate in TEFL. However, the experience was really invaluable--having zero teaching experience before, I now feel fully confident to teach on my own. This course covers everything, from the basics of grammar to planning your lessons, and as I went with the 150-hour program, it also includes a mandatory 20 hours of practicum. This is absolutely necessary if you want to feel prepared to teach.

For it's price, CIEE was worth every penny. And I would absolutely do this all again if I had to--rather than waste a few hundred on a pointless scrap of paper, I made a worthwhile investment for my future. The teachers were absolutely fantastic, the lessons were very clear, and the course itself was not hard so long as you follow the directions, take good notes, and follow the admittedly-tight schedule. It's an intensive course, but if you want to feel confident and be certified in only a few weeks, then I cannot recommend a better course!

Almost everything about CIEE is amazing, I had and almost entirely positive experience. The customer support is phenomenal, and these days you'd be hard pressed to find people who are as responsive and helpful with your concerns. I even got personal emails from higher-ups helping me with my situation. I'm pretty skeptical since most of my customer service experience has been bad, but this certainly changed my perspective entirely. Getting my certificate at the end of the course has taken a bit longer than I would have liked, but I will update this review if it comes soon. This class is easy, too. I was already taking almost a full courseload when I had this TEFL, and I still had plenty of time to study and keep an A grade. They say you need 3 hour a day, Mon-Fri to be successful, but that's a bit of an exaggeration. I needed only about 1.5 hours or less for each module, and I don't think I spent more than 6-7 hours a week on this course. Every experience is different, however, so that's just my two cents. It's also important to keep in mind that this is VERY cheap for a TEFL. Most TEFL courses will run you about $1,200 on the low end, especially for online courses.

I HIGHLY recommend CIEE's TEFL course. I can't imagine having done it anywhere else. I learned a ton, and I felt like I was treated very well, all things considered.