Program Reviews

CIEE's TEFL course is the real deal. Spoiler alert: This course WILL make you a better ESL teacher.

I'm a planner who spends entirely too much time conducting mountains of research before committing to any one thing (seriously, you should have seen how many Amazon reviews I read before purchasing my 13 gallon, stainless steel kitchen trashcan – who ever know the trashcan market was so big!). Point being – I do not make decisions lightly!

Before taking the plunge, I read my fair share about various TEFL Certifications (all the way from super sketch to legit) on the market. I’m so happy I selected CIEE’s program. While the course was a bit rigorous, it truly pushed me to learn and develop my skills. If you’re looking for a TEFL course simply to tick off a checkbox, this isn’t the one. Take this course if you’re interested in devoting 11 weeks to working with a tutor, learning new material and want to become a knowledgeable ESL teacher.

One of my main reservations about this course was that it is hosted online. Knowing my learning style, this certainly gave me pause. I identify as a good student, but don’t always trust myself to find my motivation. While the course moves along at a fast pace, I was actually very appreciative of the internal deadlines set in the course – they gave me just enough time to complete the work and move along at the same speed of the rest of my peers. This keep me motivated and on track.

By the end of the course, I was surprised by the amount of material we covered. I reflected over the assignments I submitted and was proud of the work I produced (I still refer to them from time to time!). Through the guidance of my tutor and the in-depth lessons covered, I finished the course feeling truly prepared and confident.

Why was it unique?

CIEE was the most structured program, which was why I chose it. Any initial questions that I had during my search were automatically answered through their coordinators or website. It made making the decision of which country to teach in very easy. Katy and Aubrey, two of the best coordinators and staff ever, personally helped me break down which documents to acquire and where. They are definitely steadfast and consistent throughout the whole process. I've been in Korea for 4 months. After speaking with other teaching expats it has become clear to me that other programs do not EVEN compare to CIEE. The benefits package, the support system, and the training are all above and beyond with CIEE.

Education wise, Michelle Nail, was the best educator on TEFL. I could not have asked for a better teacher.

Culturally, their Korean representatives, Yumi and Brad, prepared me for culture shock and aided me in times of need. They also chose the best school for my personality and needs. I couldn't ask for a better program.

Dear future participants,

Just know that you are in good hands. Not only from the TEFL and Cultural training but from document gathering and anxiety about moving to a new place. Like Allstate, you are in good hands.

I was a bit nervous about teaching English in a country where I knew very little about the culture or the language, but CIEE has helped me every step of the way. Their online TEFL certification course allowed me to meet other teachers in the CIEE program while learning from a tutor who had real experience in the field and was dedicated to assisting us with our studies. The visa application process was also easy to understand. Their online application system organizes your required documents into manageable steps, and the staff is really helpful in sending you emails to remind you about upcoming deadlines. Once I got to the interview process, it was a breeze! It is so great having such in-country support to help me with everything from questions with my contract to cultural fo pas. The in-country orientation also helped me connect with so many other teachers in the program. I am never short of a traveling buddy! If you are still on the fence about applying, I say just take the leap and go for it!! Living in a completely different culture not only expands your world-view, but it also allows you to personally grow more than you may think is possible.

I took this course to prepare for the CIEE Teach Abroad in Thailand program. I wanted to gain intercultural skills and culturally sensitive teaching skills that would help me be the best teacher possible even though I don't know Thai. Since CIEE offers program participants a course discount, I didn't look into any other TEFL courses. However, I have not been disappointed. My favorite thing about all my experiences with CIEE (Study Abroad, Teach Abroad, TEFL) has been the incredible staff who are all experienced travelers with incredible advice and personal accounts of their own traveling experiences. To me, this aspect is invaluable because the specific challenges in any country or foreign job are unique to that culture or environment. Therefore, I loved the resource of a real tutor and the weekly tutorials where we could discuss course content as a group. This made the course a little more personal as well since most of the work was independent besides occasional discussion boards or peer reviews. The course itself was engaging, informative, and very culturally aware. They integrated cultural challenges and communication barriers in much of the material (not just as its own topic). I also enjoyed how they brought up topics multiple times in different contexts to cover how they may change depending on the age group of students, their proficiency level, the country or culture your in, the classroom environment, and many other factors that are often overlooked. The assignments were very practical and required thoughtful responses to how you may handle real teaching situations. It is hard to feel completely prepared for everything as a new teacher (or even an seasoned one), but overall, I am very satisfied with the course content and believe it is worth the investment.

This course was a lot of work. They told us to set aside about 15 hours/week, and they weren't joking. I worked full-time and between that and taking the course, I pretty much didn't have a social life for two months. However, it was still very doable. I also really appreciated, yes appreciated that the CIEE TEFL course includes the 20 hours of real-life-experience as a requirement. I live in a small town and was still easily able to find experience working with ESL students, and that in-class experience helped me learn how to not only interact with students, but how to interact with students who can't easily understand everything that you're saying. As an EFL teacher, I know how important giving instructions is, and without any prior experience giving those instructions, I would not have felt as prepared.

I'm in a small town in Gangwon-do, so although I have nice people that I work with, the CIEE staff is supportive, and it has been an interesting cultural experience so far, it is really hard at times when there's practically no one in the whole town who is a native English speaker or even has a good amount of English skills. I have to take a bus, 20 minutes South, to Wonju to do any "good" shopping and encounter other foreigners. It has been a good experience and I feel fully-immersed in a Korean society, but it is just hard to be thrown into such a vastly different environment. If you're placed in a bigger city, you won't have these problems, but even ordering food/drink is sometimes difficult in a small town unless you can speak a fair amount of Korean.

I am a local coordinator working with international high school exchange students, and I volunteer in an adult EFL program in my community. I took this course to enable me to help my international students as well as provide the training I need to be an effective teacher in our adult EFL classes. I use what I learned on a regular basis both in content and in how to organize a lesson. Our course teacher was awesome and encouraging and made the time online enjoyable. The coursework was rigorous enough and thorough enough to keep me invested in the class for the full length of the course. I highly recommend this program. I did not go overseas to teach so I can not speak to that part of this program. I took it for what I was doing in my like at the time.

I'm so thankful I completed this TEFL course with CIEE before leaving to teach abroad. I didn't have a background in education, and the hands-on experience through the practicum gave me the confidence and ability to lead a classroom. If I hadn't completed this, I don't believe my time abroad would've started well! My tutor was very personable and professional, and the live sessions and discussion boards were a great way to connect with everyone. Although the class is online, it's still a very personal feel and the small class size is appreciated. I worked full-time while completing this course, and found the time requirement still possible- but keeping current on content greatly helped. I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone looking to increase their skill set, gain valuable teaching experience, or simply expand their horizons!

It has been one month since I have moved to Budapest through CIEE Teach Abroad! Teaching abroad has always been a dream of mine, and CIEE helped make it a reality. Katy made the application and hiring process very easy! She sent us our important documents (such as visas, housing info, etc.) early so that we were able to prepare. I had many questions before moving to Budapest, and Katy was very timely with her responses leading up to the departure. She was also there to meet us at the airport when we arrived and helped move us into our temporary accommodation. Having an expert around for the first weekend was extremely helpful! The in-country staff have also been great. They are always there if we need anything and keep us updated on events happening around Budapest. Despite this being the first time that CIEE has run a teach abroad program through Hungary, the overall process has run fairly smoothly. I look forward to the remainder of my year in Budapest!

I was very happy that I chose to do this program. I absolutely loved my school and loved my bilingual coordinator. I wouldn’t trade my time in Priego for anything. At times it was definitely very difficult and lonely, but getting into a routine and learning the language more and more made it much easier. Also, it was super important to branch out and make new friends (local and american). I do think that CIEE should do a better job with language assistance as the cost of the program is quite large and there is an option to do the same program through the government for free. I’m not sure which program I would do if I were to do it again because the other Americans did have such a positive experience doing their program through the government.