Program Reviews

This is not a simple certification course. The theory is provided in depth as are the assignments that need to be completed. I wouldn't consider this course to be part-time but full-time with all of the research and formatting needed to complete the assignments. The course will make you into a strong lesson planner and you will know how to find and incorporate materials whether or not you have a textbook for your class. You will learn how to create interesting lessons that your students will remember that are provided in context. Make sure you have plenty of time to pursue this course; it will help with your understanding and strengthen you as a new teacher.
Know that once you complete the course you will still have 4-6 weeks to wait for your final certification.

I really enjoyed my experience with International TEFL Academy. The were extremely helpful in making me feel confident in the process. Both my student affairs advisors and course instructor answered any questions I had throughly and in a timely manner. The course was easy to follow and gave me plenty of time to complete it. I worked 40+ hours a week and never felt too overwhelmed. The task and course content will give you a strong grasp to be an effective teacher in the classroom. The only area that was confusing was their job search guidance. There is a lot of information and it can be daunting. Overall, I recommend International TEFL Academy if you are considering in going abroad. They have so many programs to offer and tons of expertise.

I really enjoyed taking this online class. It has great instructors and good material. I highly recommend taking this course if you want to be a certified ESL teacher. This course has all the right material you need to learn about learning how to teach as an ESL teacher. It will teach you how to plan lessons, cultural sensitivity, different learning approaches and much more. The Academy will even help you land a job after you complete the course so I definitely recommend this course. The instructors are great and the support staff are very helpful. This course is affordable and can really build your resume having this certification. I think it is great for students, retirees, or anyone looking to travel to distant countries and teach English.

I am very happy I took this course because it was a great learning experience. This course was very thorough and structured. This course was 11 weeks long and I feel it flies by so quickly. I was very into the material I was reading and the weekly quizzes forced me to retain the information. My teacher was excellent and her instructions on the weekly assignments were straightforward. She would explain what mistakes students tend to make so you know what mistakes to avoid. It leads you to the right direction when you know what not to do. The course requires a lot of writing so you have to be very passionate about learning this material and have a purpose for taking this course or it will feel daunting. I am very excited to become a teacher abroad.

I took International TEFL Academy's online course starting in June 2019. I can't emphasize how helpful it was for someone who had absolutely no teaching background, minus a few workshops or facilitation sessions I've conducted at work. It was really helpful to understand and actually craft lesson plans, review lexis and grammar, and gain tips & tricks for classroom management. Overall, I highly recommend this course for anyone who is ready to travel and earn an income while doing so. Additionally, the online course was great for me, as I work full time Monday-Friday from about 8-5 (which helps me save money to go abroad!). For those waffling about taking an in-person or online TEFL certification, I would say both have their pros and cons. But for an online course, I found this really interactive and organized.

In terms of job search guidance - I haven't really gotten to this portion yet because I just wrapped up the main course and I am not planning on leaving the US to teach abroad for some time. However, ITA's job manual, informational videos about particular countries, links to Facebook groups, Instagram stories for those who are teaching abroad, and the Q&As that they post on social media are already extremely helpful. I've been narrowing down my choices based on a lot those resources, and I look forward to speaking with a job search advisor soon. Overall, if you're thinking about a TEFL certification, I'd highly recommend ITA.

I'm so happy I decided to take my TEFL course through ITA. I feel I am so much more prepared to teach overseas. Their course is informative and engaging and really prepares you to provide the best learning experience for your future students. Highly recommended!

It's tough deciding, when there are so many programs to choose from. I must have searched for weeks, I talked to recruiters from all over the world. Then, there was the challenge of actually deciding whether to do this whole thing online or do it remotely in a location which was described as intensive. When I finally decided to take an online approach I felt a bit intimidated because I wasn't sure how I would fair. I've always done better in person and sometimes, when material is dense, I can make mistakes which normally would have been trouble shot in a classroom setting. But, I was surprised to get so much extra attention from my professor and she was really compassionate to me in my learning curve to become an ESL certified teacher.

I truly loved the experience of learning the foundation of what it takes to become an effective ESL teacher. I came in expecting the course to be "easy", but it was challenging. For the money I spent, I am thankful it was challenging because it made me feel as though my money was well spent and, more importantly, my time. If we want to become the best teachers, we have to be great students. In order to go in that direction, we need challenging environments that push us beyond our comfort zones. In life, we are all students and teachers, even if we do not view ourselves as teachers. We teach not only through direct teaching and instruction, but also through modeling. There are always eyes watching us to see what traits can be adopted to include in one's own life. In essence, teachers are always students and students are always teachers.

ITA's online course is based around readings from their coursebook. The coursebook covers different aspects of teaching English as a foreign language and living abroad. There are chapters about culture shock, practical teaching methods, theories/approaches for EFL teaching. I found the websites and links included in each chapter useful and relevant. I have been teaching EFL overseas for several years, and I learned stuff I can use in this course.

This course is a good introduction to the different topics that are important for teaching English overseas. If you never had any teaching experience I think this course would help you get mentally prepared. The assignments that accompanied the weekly readings were relevant and well organized through ITA's online system. The course instructor gave good constructive comments about the weekly assignments, and the staff at ITA were really knowledgeable about issues related to teaching EFL abroad and the job market/culture in different countries.

I enjoyed this course! I learned a lot about what it's like to be a new teacher and to teach abroad. The classwork was rigorous but also doable and fun! I liked the consistency of the weekly work and that we could work ahead if we wanted to. I would definitely recommend this course to someone else wanting to receive their TEFL certification. Kelli Ryan, my teacher, was very helpful, good at responding, and grading fairly. I struggled with the Grammar unit, but she was able to advise me on how to improve and what textbook I could buy for personal use. In addition, I had never lesson planned or made activities for a classroom because I am a brand new teacher. I learned how to plan for warm ups, presentations, production and homework afterwards! This course was extremely helpful.