Program Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience taking CIEE’s 150-hour TEFL program. The instructor was consistently accessible, supportive, and encouraging throughout the course. I also benefited greatly from learning alongside peers—sharing experiences, lesson plans, and feedback enriched the learning process. The 20-hour practicum was a highlight, giving me the opportunity to both observe and lead English classes. Overall, I now feel much more confident and well-prepared to teach English in a variety of settings.

I recently completed the CIEE TEFL Online 150-Hour TEFL Certificate Course and I’m happy to share that it exceeded my expectations. While the majority of the program was completed on-line, the discussion boards and weekly tutorials led by our instructor, Alix, made it very interactive and engaging. Alix provided excellent feedback and was incredibly supportive and generous with her time. The weekly assignments, unit testing and practicum make the program quite challenging and time consuming, but well worth it! Although I have previous teaching experience, I gained valuable insight about teaching ESL and learned several innovative teaching methods and techniques that I know my future ESL students will appreciate and benefit from. I will be teaching in the US and am currently pursuing several opportunities in my community. Thanks to CIEE, I feel very prepared to take on this new role.

I had such a great experience doing this TEFL course. I did it because I'm moving abroad in the fall and will be teaching for a year. Although I studied child and family development in college, I do not have any experience teaching post-grad. This course gave me some great insight into what it will look like and be like. My instructor, Colby, was so detail-oriented and so supportive. She gave awesome feedback on all of our assignments and really wanted to make sure we understood all of the content. A lot of time had to be dedicated to the course on top of a full time job, but it was very valuable and enjoyable.

I recommend the 150-Hour TEFL Course to anyone interested! I'm currently enrolled in it, preparing for my upcoming teaching abroad program in Madrid! It's been very informative on all things teaching English to foreign students, from the grammatical background to the strategies and methods of being an effective educator. It has me feeling more confident in my skills as I've never been a formal teacher, and though this will be my first teaching opportunity, I know that I'll excel at my job and it's all thanks to this program.

This CIEE course was a perfect fit. It was professional, in-depth, and, for an online course, provided lots of opportunities to interact with other students and the instructor. I feel like I got not only an introduction to TEFL, but an in-depth look at education in general and the philosophy of intercultural exchange and learning. It's challenging, but not overwhelming, and the assignments feel like they really helped me get a grasp of the material. Everything felt meaningful and relevant. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is seeking to develop their TEFL skills or to jump into the world of teaching English!

I loved my CIEE TEFL experience overall. Any question I had was answered quickly and with helpful information. It was fun to connect with other classmates at the weekly tutorial. The discussion were my favorite part to engage with my classmates and instructor. I cannot recommend this course enough as it also offers flexibility and understanding. The practicum experience is invaluable. This course will allow you to expand your skills and travel the world. As a solo traveler looking for an amazing abroad experience, this was the first step towards my goal of moving and living abroad.

This self-guided course is perfect for anyone who works or is still in school. The course is extremely organized, and all the modules are laid out for each week. The virtual meetings every Monday night were very helpful because we got to engage with the rest of the class members and learn extra information that may not have been directly stated in the modules. It was also a great opportunity to ask any questions about the course. The faculty is always on top of answering emails and providing useful information. I would recommend this to anyone! It has prepared me for a successful teaching experience!

CIEE is very organized and puts on a lot of different programs for high school, college students and graduates. The orientation everyone gets in the beginning is also useful as they teach everyone what to expect and how to prepare. I am doing the Spain volunteer program and I like it because I am living with a host family, and therefore room and board are free, making the program more affordable. I do not pay much out of pocket except for travels and extra snacks and souvenirs, all my meals are paid for.

As someone who is not in any way close to being fluent in Spanish, everyday is a new adventure. CIEE has given me an opportunity to create new memories across the world, learn about different cultures along with a new language, and live to teach those who are excited to learn! I have easily made new friends, and grown relationships that previously existed. As someone who worked tirelessly to be able to do this program, I am finding my hours of hard work worth it. This is an adventure of a lifetime!

I would not complain about CIEE and never about the staff. Any problems that may be present has to do with the job opportunity you’re signing yourself up for and the staff does the best they can to help you navigate it all. But if you are not prepared yourself that’s where the trouble lies. Finding a place to live before arriving although not advised may eliminate a lot of stress factors when you first arrive. Just be sure you use a reputable site that has insurance on those kinds of things like housing anywhere.