CIEE Teach Abroad & TEFL Reviews

This was an excellent course, very beneficial for my teaching career. It was also very well organized and nicely structured; the instructions were always clear. Plus, the tutor and CIEE staff were very helpful.
You should know it is a time consuming course so you need to manage your time very well in order to keep up, but I assure you it is totally worth it.
I highly recommend it. It will help you get a job in multiple countries, for either in-person teaching or online teaching, so you have multiple options to choose from.

Teach in Chile provides a wonderful opportunity for the experienced or first time traveler. They offer college graduates of all ages the chance to live and work in another culture, language, community, and hemisphere. What makes this program unique is their phenomenal orientation program starting right when you get off the plane. It gives you the tools to succeed from the beginning so that you can figure the rest out on your own. This program impacted my life by directing my career choice. It furthered my passion for international education and continued to strengthen my intercultural knowledge. Going abroad teaches you how to be flexible, curious, and open-minded, but teaching abroad with CIEE goes steps further by immersing you in the Chilean workplace and pushing you outside your comfort zone to truly live as a Chilean. You always have support if you need it, but they encourage you to truly integrate. I would highly recommend this program, especially to those looking to improve their Spanish. Don't miss Parque Bicentenario!

This is my first year teaching, which is already daunting by itself, let alone doing it in a foreign country. I chose CIEE because I had already studied abroad with them in Korea and knew it was a program with a lot of support and benefits like cultural excursions among other things. The support system has been great both in Korea and during the application process back home. When I looked at the EPIK application, I knew I wanted a methodical and organized way of tackling all the paperwork which was exactly what the CIEE study abroad course was. They take you through each step of the process and set deadlines to make sure you stay on top of everything.

I feel the TEFL class was also extremely useful in preparing me for the real classroom, and I use a ton of what I learned in my lessons. The in-country orientation was also a ton of fun. I can't believe how much they managed to squeeze into a short weekend. I'm sure there are other great programs out there, but I really like the organization of CIEE and the support they provide in and outside the country.

I'm doing a YouTube vlog of my journey which will include some episodes of CIEE's orientation. However, I haven't edited that part of the trip yet, so I can't share a direct link, but the first episode of my vlog is below. By the time you're reading this, the CIEE orientation videos should be up (they will likely be Episodes 12 & 13) Enjoy :)

Some days I leave the DUOC, the institute that I work at, and I quench my hunger and thirst with a delicious "rico mote con huesillos" in the plaza. On other days I board the bus to go and explore a random city. Teaching in Chile with CIEE is well worth the investigation. Whatever you do, Chile and the CIEE offer satisfaction. The program provides English teachers with a valuable teaching and learning experience. It provides you with the chance to teach as a professor in a real upper-level learning environment. With this experience you really get to test yourself and explore your passion for teaching a language and learning about another culture.

Overall going through CIEE was a great experience. I really wanted to have someone there for me during the process of applying. They were able to help and keep me on track with all required documents needed and who to send them to. I believe this process people can do on their own, but having a team like CIEE makes it a lot easier! Whenever I had questions or concerns, they would never hesitate to assist or give me the correct information needed. I think going through CIEE was awesome and convenient. If you have any questions for future reference, they will gladly be able to assist you and give you any information you want to know. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Because I am far beyond my college years and didn't know where to even begin, CIEE was a tremendous help in guiding me through the process of finding a job and obtaining my TEFL certification. Ally was my little angel providing me with support and answering all my questions in a professional and timely fashion - everything from serious stuff to ridiculously trivial stuff!
The TEFL course was excellent and our instructor was fabulous! It was challenging in that I worked a full-time job so I had to do a bit of juggling but I managed to complete everything. Likewise, it got my brain thinking as a teacher again after being out of education for 12+ years. I will admit that the class could be a bit unrealistic compared to what you are thrown into in "real life" but at least it gives you an excellent foundation. For example, almost all the teaching scenarios in the class were something like - "you have a class of 8 students with intermediate-advanced English skills". In actuality, at least in the teaching placement I am in, I have classes of 45-50 college students with barely any English skills...and I have 12 of those classes, so around 500 students! Needless to say, it is absolutely necessary to be flexible, adaptable, creative, and willing to laugh at yourself and the situation you may find yourself in.
Now that I have been in China for a year, I have been able to secure a new job for next year that pays considerably more than my CIEE placement at a school with amazing facilities. But I am so happy for my current experience because I have learned a ton about myself and what I am capable of when placed in a new and strange environment. CIEE and the TEFL program helped me along the way and I always knew I could reach out to them with questions or concerns should anything arise.

I had a wonderful experience with CIEE TEFL. I decided to take the course even though my contract to Teach in Thailand (which I also did through CIEE Teach Abroad and would highly recommend to everyone!) didn't require I have a TEFL certification. I loved that the course was online, so I was able to get my certification without stepping into a classroom every week. The course was structured enough to keep me reliable, but allowed enough space that I was able to travel and work and still complete my certification. The instructor (Annette!) was amazing and was always willing to help and answer any questions I had. And the staff at CIEE (Molly, Jeannette and Ally!) were amazing. They are so helpful and I always felt supported while completing the certification.

The lessons were extremely helpful, and I can honestly say that getting my TEFL certification through CIEE was a life saver. Teaching is underrated, and I was so grateful I took the steps to get certified before jumping into teaching abroad. I learned so much about general classroom guidelines, developing relationships across cultural boundaries, supporting different learning styles, and developing and effectively executing constructive and positive lessons for all students and learning types.

I'd recommend this to everyone! Thanks so much CIEE TEFL!

I am so glad I used CIEE as a recruiting agency. They were there for me since the begining, every step of the way. I had many questions about the application process and always had a fast response time. CIEE is also a great way to network and to meet new people. This is the first time I have been a teacher and I think the TEFL program really prepared me for it.

The school and location I am at are perfect. I am having a great experience, thanks to CIEE! I recommend for anyone to use them to teach English in South Korea.

The title speaks for itself and is actually an inside joke between myself and the other participants who have had a terrible experience with CIEE Teach Abroad Prague.

I am currently finishing the program and am just trying to make the best out of the last few months I have here since the first 6 were horrible.

Due to not receiving the required paperwork for my employee card application in decent time (we got the documents in July, we had to leave in August) the entire experience was ruined from the start. I spent the first 4 months here on a tourist visa technically volunteering and struggling to get paid compensation from CIEE. Oh, I also spent a day in jail with two other participants after CIEE advised us to "register" with the foreign police when our 3-month tourist visas expired and we were here illegally. We weren't "registered," we were arrested. And CIEE did not tell us what was going on while getting arrested.... I found out the whole truth of the situation after I was processed and given a professional translator who told me I was arrested and processed for being there illegally.

The list of mistakes the CIEE Teach Abroad Prague staff has made is too long for me to even write. It includes: ignoring emails for days about important things like contacting your landlord for a broken shower or being locked out of your apartment, NOT helping a participant find a doctor that speaks English for a required prescription, and NOT answering the phone when a CIEE intern doesn't show up at the meeting spot to help you get to your visa appointment.

These are all things that the CIEE Staff has taken lightly and has, weirdly, turned around on the participants. They tell us we are just "bonding through anger" and should be more independent since we're teaching abroad and college graduates. There's 7 of us in this program and we're literally their afterthoughts. They just started including us in the regular emails about CIEE events in Prague THIS month in February. They once pity invited us to their Study Abroad students' goodbye dinner AFTER the RSVP date on the invitation.

I spent most of my experience here hating CIEE for not sticking to what they said they'd do. I also haven't mentioned that I studied abroad with them in Prague in 2014 and the experience was nothing like this. We received endless support, almost babied. I truly have no idea what happened to the staff in those two years. Are they really trying their best, or do they just hate the Teach Abroad participants? I don't know.

Teaching in Thailand was my first experience living anywhere that was more than 50 miles from where I grew up in Long Island, New York. To put it shortly this has been one of the best experiences of my life. All the apprehensions, and fears I had before I left debunked one right after another almost instantly upon my arrival. The orientation provided by CIEE was a big part in that. Spending a week in Chang Mai with other teachers, former teachers and the support system was extremely helpful for someone like myself who has never done anything like this before. You start to get a feel for the people and culture while still having the support to answer questions and provide information. I also believe that the community of teachers who are all arriving in the same position of having no idea of what to expect is extremely helpful.
After leaving orientation the same fears and apprehensions arise again, and one more time they quickly subside. I arrived in a smaller town outside of a small city, and immediately I felt safe and welcome. The people although largely surprised by seeing an American were always smiling wanting to communicate and make me feel at home. I have met people, seen things, and had experiences that will stay with me forever. More importantly I feel that I have become a part of a community and that is something special that I do not believe happens often.
Six months or even a year may seem like a long time but as I am writing this I am weeks away from completing my time here and it feels like I arrived yesterday. I also now understand why people don't leave. CIEE provided incredible support and helped walk me through this process step by step. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to travel and teach.