Why Earn an Accredited TEFL Certification?
There are plenty of quick-fix solutions for a boring life being tossed at you daily, and it can be hard to work out what will actually get you closer to traveling the world full time or earning good money from home. Completing an online course is a smart choice for anyone who is out of work, in need of new marketable skills, or looking for full location flexibility at this point in their career.Improve Remote Job Prospects
Remote teaching has grown into a steady career path rather than a stopgap. Earning your online certificate gets you a few steps closer to securing online work, and the same qualification travels with you if you later decide to teach in a classroom abroad. You can check where your own English sits with the free English level test before you commit to anything.Better TEFL Job Options
We are not going to lie: you can find online English teaching jobs in a lot of dark corners of the internet. Some of them might be scams and some might be perfectly legitimate, but it is far easier if you improve your starting point from the onset. Having a certification under your belt gives you access to better paid, more legitimate, more supportive and higher quality job options. Rather than work out who will treat you right as an employee and who will not, add your certification to your resume and focus on real jobs that pay real salaries. The salary calculator will give you a sense of what those jobs pay by country.It’s Flexible
One major perk of completing accredited courses online is the flexibility. These courses are typically self-paced, and participants access all of the coursework in an online portal. You simply log on when it is convenient for you, which suits early birds and night owls alike, and helps anyone earning their certificate while still in school or working another job. Completing coursework in your pyjamas is absolutely encouraged.It’s Cheaper
In-person TEFL classes tend to be more expensive than their online counterparts. That means you can get a 120 hour online course, which is the general minimum that most online English teaching jobs require or prefer, for a fraction of what a classroom course costs. Current pricing for every option sits on the courses page.Be a Better Teacher
Respect your future TEFL students by making sure you are properly qualified and prepared to have an impact on their English level. This opportunity, which lets you earn money both at home and abroad on a schedule many office workers dream of, comes with responsibility. Getting your online TEFL course is your first step towards being the most effective English teacher you can be.
How to Choose the Best Online Course
Figuring out how to get certified online might seem like a heavy lift, but it is worth taking the time to understand the different types of option available to you. Below is the core advice, broken into differentiators, red flags and quick tips.Core Differentiators
In the sea of TEFL acronyms it can be tough to work out which package additions are actually valuable. These are the elements that separate a good TEFL provider from a merely adequate one:- International recognition and accreditation. We cannot say this enough. Make sure your course is accredited. More on this below.
- Teacher credentials. Do you want to learn from an expert, or from someone paid to do a good enough job of training future TEFL teachers?
- Job placement assistance. Professional job advisors and access to a network of vetted online English teaching jobs is genuinely helpful.
- Optional specialization add-ons. It helps to tack on specialization training within the same framework as your core course, such as Teaching English Online or Teaching Young Learners.
- Customer service. As always, this matters a lot.
Red Flags to Avoid
If a deal sounds too good to be true, it just might be. Here are the red flags worth bookmarking to help you avoid a bad online course.- No reviews. If you cannot verify that real people had real experiences on the course, you cannot be sure it is legitimate.
- Less than 100 hours of coursework. The TEFL industry and language schools typically expect 100 hours as the minimum standard for a recognized course.
- No track record. It is not uncommon for providers to make impressive claims about course quality. Just make sure they can back it up.
- No money-back guarantee. Buyer's remorse happens. A provider confident in its course will offer a cooling-off period.
- One more time: no accreditation from a reputable body.
Quick Tips to Choose the Best Course for You
- Read the course reviews. Then read some more. Use Google, Reddit, GoAbroad and GoOverseas to find independent reviews.
- Cheap does not equal best value. There are plenty of cheap courses online, but price should not be your only marker. Keep this article handy and refer to it as you shop.
- Make sure the timeline matches your availability. Avoid signing up for a four-week course if you need longer to do the job well.
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Check the accrediting body. If a course does not cross-check against one of these, walk away.
- ACCET (Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training)
- ACTDEC (Accreditation Council for TESOL Distance Education Courses)
- ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe)
- The British Council
- DEAC (Distance Education Accrediting Commission)
- IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language)
- ODLQC (Open and Distance Learning Quality Council)
- Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation)
- OTCAC (Online TEFL Certification Accreditation Commission)
- TESL Canada
The 3 Best Value Online TEFL Courses
When we set out to rank our own courses by value rather than by price alone, we used four criteria:- Quality and depth of the coursework
- Affordability
- What employers actually accept
- Student support and service
1. The 120 Hour Online TEFL Course
This is the standard entry point and the one most online teaching platforms and language schools treat as the minimum. If your plan is to start teaching online quickly, or to test whether teaching suits you before committing further, start here. It clears the 100 hour bar comfortably and costs the least of the three.Best for
- Teaching English online
- First-time teachers testing the water
- Meeting the baseline requirement for most entry-level roles
2. The 180 Hour Level 5 TEFL Diploma
A government regulated Level 5 qualification awarded by Highfield Qualifications, regulatory reference 610/1572/6. You can confirm any regulated qualification yourself on the official register. Level 5 sits at the same level as the second year of an undergraduate degree, which is why better paid schools and visa-sponsoring employers tend to ask for it specifically.Best for
- Teaching abroad where the employer sponsors a visa
- Roles that specify a regulated or Level 5 qualification
- Anyone who wants the qualification to still count in five years
3. The 300 Hour Level 5 Advanced TEFL Diploma
The Level 5 diploma bundled with the specialist modules, so you finish with the regulated qualification plus training in the areas that command higher rates, such as business English, young learners and exam preparation. Per hour of training it is the cheapest of the three, which is why it wins on value even though it costs the most up front.Best for
- Teachers who want to specialize rather than take general classes
- Anyone planning to freelance or set their own rates
- The strongest resume for competitive markets
Online TEFL FAQs: What Else You Need to Know
Why Find Accredited Courses Online?
Accreditation is what keeps quality consistent across training. It matters that teachers have a government-regulated, recognized and reliable qualification to lean on, especially when applying for their dream jobs. Beyond standardizing the quality of TEFL training, accreditation also raises the level of English teaching that students around the world actually receive. That is why you should only consider accredited online courses, full stop. Otherwise you risk your training being called into question later, and you may miss out on an opportunity because the employer will not necessarily trust the quality of your TEFL education. TEFL accreditation explained covers which bodies mean what.What Is the Difference Between a TESOL Certification and a TEFL Certification?
It seems confusing at first, but these certifications train you for two different settings. A certificate in TEFL, or Teaching English as a Foreign Language, prepares you to instruct students whose first language is not English in countries where English is not the main language. TESOL is for teaching English to speakers of other languages. It certifies that you are trained to teach students in both non-native English speaking and English speaking countries.Are Online TEFL Programs as Well Respected as In-person TEFL Programs?
Yes, particularly online TEFL programs that include a practicum for teaching online or in person. Even without that element, more and more institutions, language academies and schools recognize the value of the skills learned on a course taken online.What are Common Online Course Requirements?
For the most part, online course providers require that students are at least 18 years of age and hold a high school diploma. You do not need to be a native English speaker to take a TEFL course online, though you will often need to prove proficiency first. Premier TEFL requires course participants to be fluent to at least an international standard of intermediate or advanced fluency (B1). Beyond the personal requirements, keep the technology requirements in mind too. You will need a reliable internet connection and a computer, tablet or laptop to access the course materials.Where Can I Teach Abroad with this certificate?
If you are earning your income online, you can work from almost anywhere. And though you might be working from your home country for now, the online certification you take today can be the route into working in your dream destination tomorrow. The country guides set out what each destination expects. Be aware that rules, regulations and visa requirements differ from country to country and from passport to passport.
Can You Get a TEFL Certification Online for Free?
We hate to burst your bubble, but it is not realistically possible to get an accredited certification online for free. Some job placement services include TEFL training as part of their packages, but it will still cost you money and time to get certified. Instead of hunting for a free certification, think harder about which programs give good value for the money invested.
