Online TEFL & Teaching Programs in Japan & Korea with TravelBud
- Online
About Program
Earn your globally accredited TEFL certification and secure your guaranteed job placement in Japan or South Korea from the comfort of your home.
Our course is highly interactive and personalised to ensure our students are fully prepared to start teaching by the time they graduate, with one-on-one practical sessions and a highly interactive discussion forum.
Our hands on virtual job placement process takes your preferences into account and our school partners are carefully vetted so you can be rest assured that you'll be placed at one of the top schools, all while receiving 24/7 in-country support throughout your placement and acclimating to the local culture through our cultural orientation weekends for new teachers.
The TravelBud team has all taught abroad and there's nothing we're more passionate about than helping others experience the same incredible adventure we were once so fortunate to embark on. Trust us, it's the most transformative journey you'll ever go on!
Video and Photos
Program Highlights
- 120-hour internationally accredited TEFL certification completed over 4 weeks with video tutorials and individualized feedback on all assignments
- Multiple 1-on-1 teaching practicals with your instructor over Skype
- Highly interactive discussion forum where peers and instructors share feedback on assignments and questions can be posted to the class
- Guaranteed job placements with 24/7 support
- Cultural orientation weekends and joining our teacher community in each country
Response from TravelBud
Tom, we’re so sorry to hear that you did not have a positive experience.
We pride ourselves on our attentiveness and empathy when our teachers undergo the teaching journey abroad, as our staff have all previously done so themselves and we understand first hand that it can be difficult to adapt in a new country. We are always open to feedback, positive or negative, as it will help us strive to improve upon specific areas and allow us an understanding of how to streamline our service to be the best in the industry. So thank you for taking the time to give us honest feedback and know that we are taking it very seriously.
We have a long-running and successful partnership with our team on the ground and while we are technically different organizations, we strive to keep our values the same to ensure a smooth process, while each of our teams focuses on areas that they are best placed to, in order to break up the varying stages and allow each applicant the best service by the best placed team member to do so at all the many points of the journey. There are some complex and intricate laws that require a Korean in-country team that we need to adhere to, but we prioritise being in constant communication with each applicant ourselves, even while our partners are in communication with the applicant for their specific role in the process.
While we communicate regularly and aim for shared responsibility of each applicant, we understand and acknowledge that in this instance it may not have been as smooth as we would have strived for and will endeavour to change practices to make sure that this does not happen again.
We encourage an open-door policy during the multiple Skype check-ins with your assigned support coordinator and we were under the impression that you were reassured after the many calls and check-ins that are part of our in-country support process.
Placing couples together is something that we are generally very successful in due to the partnership school network. Unfortunately due to the many changes and challenges to the teaching landscape as a result of the pandemic, it was not as feasible as usual. We have since started setting realistic expectations for couples in light of this.
We take our vetting procedures very seriously and pride ourselves on the quality of schools we work with. While each experience is personal and may differ, we can confirm that we have recent positive feedback from the latest teacher and that the school still meets all of our strict requirements.
Below are our set guidelines when partnering with a school:
- The placement team meets with the school and does due diligence in terms of checking the school name and reputation and searching local networks of ex-pat teachers for previous teacher feedback on the school
- The placement team has potentially worked previously with the specific school or another branch of the school, and no significant issues have been raised by teachers
- When adding a new school to the network, the new school would have to get a referral from an existing school
- We have worked previously with the school and teachers have previously completed their contracts without any major issues
- Throughout the contract, we check in multiple times with the teacher and ask for feedback on the school and work environment. If major issues are raised, the placement team reevaluates the school for suitability
- We send a final email at the end of each contract, in which teachers are specifically asked, "Would you recommend future teachers to come teach at this school?” If the answer is NO, we ask them to please explain why and request a phone interview to discuss their feedback in more detail
- Schools are reevaluated if any negative feedback is given, and action will be taken if the issues raised were of a serious and/or persistent nature
Once again, thank you for your time and feedback. We will be reaching out to you privately to continue the conversation.