You know that crippling feeling of indecision when you have a million and one options to choose from?
That’s what it’s like picking a TEFL course these days. The options can seem endless, especially with myriad websites giving their two cents – and conflicting advice – on the indisputably best TEFL course out there. (Guilty as charged!)
Choosing the right TEFL course for you is only made trickier by the fact that there’s no single global accrediting body for TEFL training worldwide.
This means that, more often than not, there’s very little quality assurance or oversight around the creation of TEFL courses and schools worldwide.
The implications of this can feel more than a little unsettling when you’re contemplating parting with a lot of your hard-earned cash. It essentially means that quite literally anyone (even you!) can create and market a TEFL course.
So buyer beware: Because of this, you can easily get scammed with a poor-quality TEFL qualification that’s not worth the paper it’s written on if you don’t do your research carefully.
Here is one salient point to bear in mind:
To meet international ESL industry standards, a TEFL certification needs to include at least 100 hours of instruction.
(Heads up: this means a weekend TEFL course won’t make the grade.)
Choosing the right type of ESL certification will be easier if you have a clear idea of where you want to teach English.
Here’s our advice:
- Pick TEFL if you want to teach English abroad. If you’re looking to teach English abroad for a year or two and you’re not really interested in building a long-term career as an ESL teacher, then a TEFL course, rather than a CELTA or TESOL, is the best option for you. In a nutshell, it’s the most recognized qualification to teach English anywhere where it’s not considered the native language.
- Pick TESOL or CELTA if you want to teach English abroad and at home. Want the option to teach abroad and in your home country? Then a TESOL or CELTA certification gives you the option to do both. If you’re also dead set on a long-term ESL teaching career, then either a CELTA or TESOL course, while much more expensive than your average TEFL certificate, are both great investments in the long run.
- Pick TESL if you want to teach English at home. If you only want to teach ESL students in your home country, then a TESL certificate is the best option for you.
One other key thing to bear in mind:
In the absence of any one global body governing TEFL training, the reputation of your course creator matters to international employers. Especially in the eyes of reputable language and ESL schools that a) pay well and b) treat their teachers fairly.
Your TEFL course provider’s reputation matters. Here’s why.
This means that the name recognition of your course provider will more than likely have a significant impact on whether you can land a well-paying, legit English teaching job abroad at all.
If your TEFL certificate is from some random TEFL school that no one has ever heard of, it’s probably not going to give you much of an edge over every other applicant in the running.
That’s the reason why so many ESL course providers offer Cambridge CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL courses. Cambridge University and Trinity College London are prestigious universities. Whether rightly or wrongly, brand names hold a certain cachet in international education.
However, these courses are, as we talked about above, not ideal picks for anyone who’s long to teach abroad in the short term – due in large part to the cost and time involved in completing them.
Luckily, there are other TEFL courses that are university affiliated and qualify you to teach English abroad.
16 Universities That Offer TEFL Certification
We’ve compiled a list of university accredited TEFL courses to help make selecting the right TEFL course easier for you. Check it out below.
If you’re not living near one of these cities (or you are, but don’t have the flexibility or extra funds to attend a full-time, in-person ESL certification course) we’ve also rounded up the university TEFL courses that can be taken 100% online, at your own schedule.
US universities that offer online TEFL courses:
1. Georgetown University
At a glance:
- TEFL certificate
- Blended (online and practicum)
- Part-time (17 weeks)
- $4,879 USD
2. International House Berkeley
At a glance:
- TEFL certificate
- Online
- Self-paced
- $1,095 USD
3. Manhattan College
At a glance:
- TEFL certificate
- Online
- Online + practicum option
- $1,095 USD - $2,100 USD
Canadian universities that offer online TEFL courses:
4. OISE University of Toronto
At a glance:
- TEFL certificate
- Online
- Self paced (6 - 12 weeks, up to one year to complete)
- $995 - $1,495 CAD or USD (one-to-one exchange rate*)
5. University of Manitoba
At a glance:
- TESL certificate
- Blended (synchronous online and practicum)
- Part-time (120 hours)
- $2,100 CAD
US universities that offer in-person TEFL courses:
6. UC San Diego
At a glance:
- TEFL certificate
- In-person
- Part-time (one year)
- $4,000 USD
7. University of Arizona
At a glance:
- TESOL certificate
- In-person (with six-hour practicum)
- Full-time (120 hours, four weeks)
- $1,045 USD
8. University of Arkansas
At a glance:
- TEFL certificate
- In-person
- Full-time (120 - 150 hours, four - five weeks)
- $2,300 USD
9. University of Utah
At a glance:
- TESOL certificate
- In-person
- Full-time (two semesters)
- $4,548 USD
10. Columbia University
At a glance:
- TESOL certificate
- In-person
- Full-time (summer)
- $6,850 USD
UK universities that offer in-person TEFL courses:
11. University of Birmingham
At a glance:
- TESOL (master’s degree)
- In-person
- Full-time (one year)
- £9,000 GBP
12. University of Gloucestershire
At a glance:
- CELTA certificate
- In-person (with six-hour practicum)
- Full-time (120 hours, four weeks)
- £1,250 GBP
13. University of Sheffield
At a glance:
- CELTA certificate
- In-person (with six-hour practicum)
- Full-time (120 hours, four weeks)
- £1,353 GBP
14. University of Swansea
At a glance:
- CELTA certificate
- In-person (with six-hour practicum)
- Full-time (120 hours, four weeks)
- £1,450 GBP
Canadian universities that offer in-person TEFL courses:
15. OISE University of Toronto
At a glance:
- TESOL certificate
- In-person
- Part-time (260 hours, eight months)
- $6,646 CAD
Irish universities that offer in-person TEFL courses:
16. University of Limerick
- CELTA certificate
- In-person (with six-hour practicum)
- Full-time (120 hours, four weeks)
- €1,740
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