CIEE TEFL Online 150-Hour TEFL Certificate Course

I took this course to prepare for the CIEE Teach Abroad in Thailand program. I wanted to gain intercultural skills and culturally sensitive teaching skills that would help me be the best teacher possible even though I don't know Thai. Since CIEE offers program participants a course discount, I didn't look into any other TEFL courses. However, I have not been disappointed. My favorite thing about all my experiences with CIEE (Study Abroad, Teach Abroad, TEFL) has been the incredible staff who are all experienced travelers with incredible advice and personal accounts of their own traveling experiences. To me, this aspect is invaluable because the specific challenges in any country or foreign job are unique to that culture or environment. Therefore, I loved the resource of a real tutor and the weekly tutorials where we could discuss course content as a group. This made the course a little more personal as well since most of the work was independent besides occasional discussion boards or peer reviews. The course itself was engaging, informative, and very culturally aware. They integrated cultural challenges and communication barriers in much of the material (not just as its own topic). I also enjoyed how they brought up topics multiple times in different contexts to cover how they may change depending on the age group of students, their proficiency level, the country or culture your in, the classroom environment, and many other factors that are often overlooked. The assignments were very practical and required thoughtful responses to how you may handle real teaching situations. It is hard to feel completely prepared for everything as a new teacher (or even an seasoned one), but overall, I am very satisfied with the course content and believe it is worth the investment.

This course was a lot of work. They told us to set aside about 15 hours/week, and they weren't joking. I worked full-time and between that and taking the course, I pretty much didn't have a social life for two months. However, it was still very doable. I also really appreciated, yes appreciated that the CIEE TEFL course includes the 20 hours of real-life-experience as a requirement. I live in a small town and was still easily able to find experience working with ESL students, and that in-class experience helped me learn how to not only interact with students, but how to interact with students who can't easily understand everything that you're saying. As an EFL teacher, I know how important giving instructions is, and without any prior experience giving those instructions, I would not have felt as prepared.

I am a local coordinator working with international high school exchange students, and I volunteer in an adult EFL program in my community. I took this course to enable me to help my international students as well as provide the training I need to be an effective teacher in our adult EFL classes. I use what I learned on a regular basis both in content and in how to organize a lesson. Our course teacher was awesome and encouraging and made the time online enjoyable. The coursework was rigorous enough and thorough enough to keep me invested in the class for the full length of the course. I highly recommend this program. I did not go overseas to teach so I can not speak to that part of this program. I took it for what I was doing in my like at the time.

I'm so thankful I completed this TEFL course with CIEE before leaving to teach abroad. I didn't have a background in education, and the hands-on experience through the practicum gave me the confidence and ability to lead a classroom. If I hadn't completed this, I don't believe my time abroad would've started well! My tutor was very personable and professional, and the live sessions and discussion boards were a great way to connect with everyone. Although the class is online, it's still a very personal feel and the small class size is appreciated. I worked full-time while completing this course, and found the time requirement still possible- but keeping current on content greatly helped. I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone looking to increase their skill set, gain valuable teaching experience, or simply expand their horizons!

Before going to teach with CIEE in Spain, I was on the fence about whether I wanted to get TEFL certified or not. Really glad I did as I had no teaching experience and I arrived to Spain way more prepared than I would have without it. The course touches on areas of teaching your own language I wouldn't have even thought about. I'd recommend taking thorough notes as I ended up using a lot of what I learned throughout my year teaching English in Madrid. I not only was able to charge more for tutoring classes while teaching abroad, I also made a friend through my class.

If you're on the fence like I was, do it!

I am so happy I decided to sign up for the TEFL course through CIEE. Not only is it helpful, it has helped me stay calm about my upcoming move.
We all know moving is stressful... Then add in being a new teacher and flying halfway across the world. You need this course if you are making this huge leap. TEFL not only touched on how to teach grammar, classroom management, student behavior and cultural differences, it even helps provide a step by step process to writing lesson plans. This is a MUST if you are new to teaching.
The instructors and supporting staff were amazing. They answered every question, helped with flexibility (I work two full time jobs) and they were always there to assist in anyway possible.
This course is a 10/10 for me. Sign up! You won't be disappointed. You will feel so ready and have the future opportunity to land great positions overseas.

Taking the TEFL course through CIEE was a great overall experience. I worked a full-time 40+ hr a week job while taking the course and did not feel at all that the time commitment was out of hand, so long as you plan ahead and make sure to give yourself the necessary time to be successful, you will be!

The content of the course was very informative as well, while the TEFL course has its limits on how well it can prepare you for in-class instruction, it provides an incredible foundation on which you can build a successful teaching career not only in your host country but beyond as you/we progress in our journeys to becoming teachers.

So far I have been supported along each step of the way. In addition to an intense TEFL course with ongoing encouragement and feedback, I was set up for interviews on Skype in a timely manner for an actual job. I was able to apply for the visa and take care of all Czech Republic Ministry issues with simple and clear instructions. Having once arrived to the Czech Republic, we have been afforded with language classes, tours, and opportunities to make friendships. There has also been plenty of down time and personal time. I would definitely use CIEE again to teach abroad. The TEFL course was very thorough although it did require focused time each day.