I originally enrolled with The TEFL Academy just to “explore options”, but the course ended up reshaping my professional plans. I’ve been a university professor for many years, and this qualification has given me a clear, practical pathway into teaching English as a foreign language.
The online course was well structured and easy to follow, with each unit building logically on the last. The assignments were challenging in a good way and closely linked to real classroom practice. My tutors’ feedback was detailed and respectful, which helped me improve rather than simply tick boxes.
Thanks to this course, I now feel confident about integrating ELT principles into my university teaching, offering English classes part-time (online and in person), and eventually moving into Business English and academic English. For anyone who already works in education or is considering a career change into TEFL, I would highly recommend this course as a solid, professional starting point.
What would you improve about this program?
If I had to suggest improvements, I would mention two areas. First, it would be helpful to have even clearer guidance and concrete examples for some of the assessment criteria, especially around what counts as an “authentic text” and what does "not". A short list of recommended websites or sample texts that are acceptable (and unacceptable) would avoid confusion later on in the assignments.
Second, a few more practical video examples of full lessons or classroom interactions, particularly for different contexts such as business English or very young learners, would make it even easier to see how the theory looks in real life.
Apart from these small points, I found the course very well designed and I genuinely feel it has prepared me to start teaching with confidence.