Program Reviews

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.

I normally never write reviews but I truly believe ITA deserves a glowing review because of how amazing this certificate school is. They are so approachable, helpful, clear and offer a solid network of alumni that help's you take the next realistic steps into moving overseas. This course was easy enough to do well in but hard enough that you actually learned a lot and feel more confident in teaching overseas. It is set up in a easy to use way, consisting of a straight from the text book quiz(s), non critiqued personal opinion peer participation question and a larger homework assignment that is straightforward and doable. The people I have come in contact with have all been very kind, honest and real so you feel cared for and not left in the cold especially with all the questions you have regarding the process of teaching overseas, which can be incredibly daunting. I was doing a lot of research about which TEFL course would be the best and I am so glad I chose ITA...would take it again in a heartbeat if I needed certification. As someone who is always reading reviews, I hope this helps some people who are on the fence take the ITA plunge and get's them started on their overseas teaching adventure! :) good luck and God bless!

From my first inquiry to my last week with the program I was impressed. I loved that I has the same support counselor to talk to before diving into the program. My instructor was no different and very attentive to our class. The lessons and practice assignments made my transition as an English teacher much easier. I was well prepared for my first interview and job. The certification has never been rejected and I had many offers before selecting my current school. I can't thank them enough for helping me to change my life/career and to follow my dreams- who knew it was so easy if you just put in a little work!

I have been trying to figure out which direction I wanted to take my life. I was close to the end of getting my degree in school and I was desperately trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. I knew that I wanted to travel and see the world, but I wasn't sure how. Then I kept hearing people talking about teaching English abroad. It was something I've always heard people talk about, but it never really crossed my mind as something I would do. I put in my information and received a call from Chelsea, my admissions advisor. I had PLENTY of questions to ask Chelsea had an answer for every single one of them. She was very nice and patient and I appreciate her being so clear.

So after months of deciding, I finally got on board and signed up for the online course. I really enjoyed it. It was an active class, where you had a chance to create your own lesson plans, and learned about different teaching methods for students. Emily, the online instructor, gave very informative and great constructive criticism which helped me improve weekly. Erika, my Student Affairs advisor is awesome! She helped me narrow down which place I should go, and she helped me polish my resume and my cover letter.

Now I currently teach English online and I absolutely love it! I finally feel like I am heading down my destined path and I can't wait to continue this journey and move to Costa Rica summer of 2019. I think that this is a great school to attend because not only do you get a lot of information on countries, they prepare you for it. When I found out that the advisors I've been assigned to will always be my advisors as long as they are there, I knew this was a good decision. It brings the opportunity to build a great rapport.