International TEFL Academy

Program Reviews

Programs

Sort by

I admit I thought this program would be easy based on online college classes I'd taken before, but I actually found this rather challenging--but in a good way. If I go overseas and am placed in a classroom with few resources, I want to have SOME idea of how to get started, and this program provided incredibly pertinent resources and assignments. (I have experience as an English teacher to English speaking students, and I found this way more helpful than the knowledge I already had.) At the end of the modules, students walk away with full lesson plans and they can all be catered to the country and age groups one is interested in teaching. I would highly recommend this program. Just note: there are practicum hours required, and if you're offsite (i.e., taking this course online), you'll have to find your own avenue of ELL students to work with. This proved to be pretty easy where I live, but depending where you are, it may be more challenging.

What would you improve about this program?

They do promise help in job placement, but if you have a very specific place you'd like to work (I REALLY want to work in Greece), I've found the resources there limited and could not find a job.
--to be clear, if I had an EU visa, I could easily find tutoring or other jobs, but I have not found a way to stay in Greece as an American. Some people, I'm sure, sidestep legality, but I was trying to do things the right way.

Response from International TEFL Academy

Hey Jennifer,

Thanks for sharing your detailed feedback about the Online course!

When it comes to Greece, like you said, it is a very difficult place to teach if you do not have EU citizenship. We strive to set accurate, realistic expectations with every student before they ever enroll in one of our TEFL classes. Our pre-enrollment advisors work with every student one-on-one to understand what their unique goals are for teaching abroad, and from there, we work together with the student to craft this plan so everyone is on the same page and all expectations are aligned.

For Greece specifically, every ITA pre-enrollment advisor tells prospective students up front that it's extremely difficult to find paid teaching jobs if you're not an EU citizen. We advise non-EU citizens to teach and live elsewhere in Europe (like the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, etc) and then take trips to Greece.

We keep this same message about Greece (and similar markets) consistent across our website so there are no wrong expectations.

We have a team of job search advisors who are also very detailed about letting anyone wanting to teach in Greece know that it's not a wise plan and we then try to create a new plan with them. Of course our graduates are free to try anything they want, but we really do our best to make sure everyone is fully informed before they head abroad.

These kinds of things in the English teaching market do change, be it work visa rules, economies, demand, government programs, regime changes, etc., so we are always doing our best to give our students the most current information as we get it.

Sorry for the long-winded reply, but again, thank you so much for your detailed feedback. If there's anything we can do to help you out in the future please get in touch!

- ITA

By International TEFL Academy on May 17, 2018

Read my full story

I had a great experience with the International TEFL Academy. I found them through a friend and I'm so glad I did. They partner with schools all around the world and offer convenient, relevant TEFL training at reasonable rates. They provide counseling before, and job placement after. All of their information is up to date, and really helpful. I love having access to the active alumni community. They have been able to answer all of my questions regarding the training process. I am looking forward to working with them for the job search.

What would you improve about this program?

It would be nice if you could connect current students with housing locations options chosen by former students. I'm really happy I stayed in the location I was in because I got to see more of the city. If I had stayed close to the school, as I originally planned, I would have been disappointed. I also think the housing offered by the school would have been too far and would have made it difficult to participate with social activities arranged by my classmates.

Wow, where do I start, the organisation of this trip was incredible. It’s the most brilliant introduction to Thailand and entitles you to travel Thailand further after the trip with the friends you have made. The leader Britt was so enthusiastic about Thailand and inspired us to want to travel other countries in Asia too. We can’t wait to explore Vietnam with Intro Travel next year! What an amazing way to end the year.

What would you improve about this program?

It can’t, perfect.

International TEFL Academy is an absolutely incredible program! Not only is the coursework applicable to teaching in the ESL classroom, but their constant support and guidance is priceless. The team at International TEFL Academy have experience in the ESL job network and they know how to advice their student. This program is perfect for anyone looking to teach English abroad! Thanks to International TEFL Academy, I have been teaching abroad for 2 years and plan to make this my life-long career!

John Lennon Wall, Prague, Czech Republic

Response from International TEFL Academy

Thanks Megan for the great review we are excited to hear that we have helped your fulfill your dream of teaching abroad! We look forward to hearing more of your adventures abroad.

Links

Kecskemét, Hungary English Teaching Q and A with Megan Lethbridge

By International TEFL Academy on October 24, 2017

ITA is not actually a school, they reach out to other company's and act as a connecter between you and an on site school. What this means, is that if something happens at the onsite school, ITA will not help you out. Your instructor was falling asleep during lessons and getting his information wrong? tough luck. Has your instructor offered to take you on an over night trip but turns out he has been experiencing health problems and is unsafe to take you scuba diving? ITA doesn't give a crap. Is your school charging you way too much money for housing in a place that is beside a sewer river and has bugs everywhere?

Also ITA promises in country job assistance. Turns out my in country help only had one resource and hadn't been paid in MONTHS.

What a waste of money this rip off "Academy" was, you are better off saving your money and getting a $50 online certificate.

What would you improve about this program?

Maybe when someone tries contacting ITA with a complaint, dont try to placate them with free online classes, just give them their partial refund for screwing them over.

Response from International TEFL Academy

Hi Jessica,

Thanks for your detailed feedback regarding our former partner Language Corp, who offered TEFL classes in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. We are sincerely upset when we hear any of our students had a poor experience with one of our ITA classes or one of our partner classes. Your TEFL course was in June of 2016. We discontinued our relationship with Language Corp in August of 2016 due to issues identified that summer.
We worked with Language Corp for 6 years, and prior to the summer of 2016, we consistently received positive feedback from alumni about this class. Again, we discontinued working with Language Corp in August of 2016, and we have since partnered with a new TEFL school in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

We reach out to students prior to the start of each course to make sure they know how to contact us with any questions or issues. We also send a survey at the end of the course so student can share any issues, complaints, or suggestions. You only corresponded with ITA was regarding a SCUBA class you contracted with Language Corp, which is not affiliated with ITA.

In September 2017, you left ITA a phone message to request a refund, a year later. We were told this was because you felt your TEFL training was not sufficient. We then offered you our Online TEFL class for free so you could have an additional TEFL training opportunity.

We then received another email detailing your poor experience during your class, which then led to a phone call. During this call we were able to hear the full extent of your negative experiences for the first time. We apologize for not having a phone call with you sooner, and we should have spoken with you before declining your request for a refund.

We are now fully informed of the poor experience you had. We felt the partner TEFL class did not fulfill the expectations that we promise all of our students. As a result, we refunded you the full amount of your deposit.

To clarify a few points from your review:

We partner with other TEFL schools as a way to provide students the opportunity to take an in-person class in the location of their choosing, while still having access to ITA's job search guidance staff, resources, and alumni networks. In 2017 we will train over 5,000 students. Over 90% are students we directly train at ITA, so we are indeed a TEFL school and not just an agent.

Regarding your experience with job search guidance, you stated you had assistance from “one resource.” It’s standard for a TEFL school to have one person in charge of job search guidance along with 1-2 instructors. We also have eight full-time Student Affairs Advisors in the U.S. who specialize in job search guidance. These advisors are a resource for all ITA graduates. We are only an email or Skype call away for all of our graduates as part of our lifetime job assistance.

We are truly sorry for the poor experience you had with this class. We wish you would have told us sooner, as it’s a lot more difficult to amend the situation a year later. It seems after our phone call offering you an additional training opportunity, issuing you a refund on your deposit, and explaining how you can utilize our job assistance & alumni services for future teaching experience, that you were completely satisfied with our response and have changed your perception of ITA as an organization.

Sincerely,
Bruce Jones,
President of International TEFL Academy

By International TEFL Academy on October 20, 2017

This might sound overly dramatic but working with ITA changed my life. At a time when I was really trying to figure out how to make a shift, they really helped me out. Not to mention the support that they gave me while I was searching to get a job teaching English. ITA helped me navigate the murky waters of getting a job in South Korea and I believe I could not have done it without their help. If you are looking for a crew of people dedicated to your success who have already done what you are trying to do, look no further. Choose ITA and let them help you make your dreams come true.

The course was detailed and the format was great! It was difficult at times downloading the material. This was due more to my neophyte computer skills.
Whenever I needed assistance there was always someone available to assist.
Those who assisted were knowledgeable and provided positive feedback (they were also patient)
The course I believe was excellent in getting me prepared for teaching overseas.
The projects required detail planning and creativity. It was a positive and challenging experience

ITA is was super helpful and informative. They set you up with an advisor from the beginning and help you. My questions were always answered within a day and I was never left in the dark or to figure things out on my own. I took the course online which is great because I was able to still work and earn my certification. They provide with as much information as you need and the tools to succeed. I will always recommend ITA to anyone

I took an online TEFL certification course with ITA in October-December 2016. I found it to be thoroughly impressive overall; as a result, it prepared me comprehensively for teaching overseas. As someone who entered the course as an experienced university instructor, I particularly benefited from the course's consistent focus on the unique demands and opportunities of international TEFL teaching. A strong element of the program is its use of instructors with extensive teaching experience. The guidance my teacher provided has proved over and over to be very helpful to me and my students.

Program Reviews

Solid preparation + convenience

Response from International TEFL Academy

ITA is a Great Company

A fantastic week on Thai Intro

International TEFL Academy

Response from International TEFL Academy

Cambodia

Response from International TEFL Academy

If you want to be affiliated with an organization that cares about you, choose ITA

TEFL Course - Chicago

COURSE REVIEW

Go abroad with ITA

International TEFL Academy--A Fantastic Value!