Can anyone recommend any cheap online TEFL courses that aren’t scams. There are loads advertised so would rather pick one that someone has done.
Thanks in advance.
I’d like to know this too. I’ve comparison shopped several and the only difference seems to be the hours of credit. Some have a classroom practicum and some don’t. I don’t see the practicum thing happening, so I wonder if it’s worth getting it for just the class hours certificate. Someone here once said that there was no list of accepted TEFL certifying schools, so all certificates are considered valid for work permit purposes. I’m not sure if that’s true, or if there is some law controlling their acceptance.
Just take a month off and do CELTA in Chiang Mai. If it’s possible it removes any online issues.
Money, y’know.
If you have a BA then you don’t need it. If only a 2 year degree then you will.
Yeah, I’m asking for someone in that very situation. That’s why whatever they get has to be acceptable because getting a work permit relies on that credential.
Get your friend to look carefully at the costs. Decent online courses aren’t that much cheaper.
Also, any TEFL qualification can call itself accredited. The word is meaningless.
I’d go for CELTA or Trinity. I haven’t done one online, though. TBH I don’t really get how a practicum based course can work online.
1 Like
Well, the problem is, what makes a course decent?
If the word is meaningless, why does it matter if you get one from CELTA or Trinity or some random online course? If the only qualification is that a certificate is issued, the name is only important to schools for choosing a candidate.
TBH, for this situation, only an acceptable certificate is needed.
From what I’ve seen, you can do the practicum through an online course by having the head teacher of a school evaluate your performance and/or by filming yourself
What’s your objective? If it’s only for work permit purposes then I would contact the MOE to be safe. In the future it might become an issue with some potential employers if the TEFL course isn’t a respected one. This is more likely outside Taiwan, although there are a few choosier employers here.
All I am after is some actual links to some online TEFLs that someone has done - I’ve already been through the pros and cons of the various types and a cheap online TEFL will suit my purpose. Surely someone out there has done one and can recommend one with a link?
I did find this one
which was recommended by this website
This would have been fine but they seem to have a problem with their credit card payment page so can’t purchase it.
Can anyone recommend anything similar?
To help a person with an associates degree get a teaching job. I’d like to call the MOE and get a clear answer, but there likely isn’t one. There’s a clear list of universities whose degrees are accepted by the MOE, but there’s no official recognition for TEFL courses.
@Raymondo the Level 3 course at that link leads to an A Level qualification in UK, which is an actual thing and not just ink on paper. They claim they are regulated by the gov’t of the UK, so if that’s all true it’s probably a respectable choice. I’ve not taken it, obviously.
Actually i-to-i have got back to me regarding the payment problem so will be able to sort it out. They seem genuine enough so will be going with them.
There are a lot of reviews about them online. Not all good, and the good ones seemed over enthusiastic. There were even YT reviews. The blog link you gave has an affiliate link to them. They seem to push themselves hard. I’d ask up front about using the certificate outside the UK. Some reviews mentioned that the certificate had to be certified and mailed before it would be of any use, both of which carried extra fees.
Thank’s for that - I have actually just discovered those bad reviews myself. I will ask them about extra fees if they contact me - I’m not paying anything extra.
So - does anybody else have any recommendations of online TEFLs?
Further info on the i-to-i costs. They will email for PDF certificate without cost. A hard copy will be $76.85 to send overseas or $39.95 to the UK. I would have thought that in this day and age a PDF certificate would be sufficient so I think I’ll still go with them.
Just to say I have finished and passed the i-to-i course now and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a decent, honest (and cheapish) TEFL course. It seemed quite comprehensive - the final test bit was challenging enough and the lesson plan assignment was marked OK with relevant points emphasized that proved someone actually looked at it properly. Not sure what the rest are like but I can’t complain about this one. A TEFL is probably not needed but it does help to build self confidence if you’re thinking of doing a teaching English job out her I reckon.
I agree 