Important Questions To Ask While Choosing A TEFL Course
With the rapid growing demand for teaching English overseas, nowadays there are several service providers who offer TEFL certificates. Selecting a TEFL course can be a daunting experience as all service providers are promising to deliver you what you need to start ESL teaching. Nevertheless, not every course on the market will lead to an ESL job abroad.
But where do you start? Below we have tried to share some of the important questions about choosing the TEFL certification that will help you steer your English training.
Well, you will see most of the online TEFL certification courses have a lot in common ---
- All of them are flexible and appropriate.
- They cover all similar ESL topics.
- All of them come with an aptitude for finding an EFL/ESL teaching job quickly.
Here are some crucial tips that will help you choose the best online TEFL course for you:
1. Are your TEFL Courses globally accredited? Do they meet international values?
This is a critical yet noticeable question while researching for a quality TEFL/TESOL course online. We are quite sure you would not attend a non-accredited organization, isn’t it? Thus, it is necessary to ensure that your TEFL/TESOL training meets global standards to teach English on a professional level. Check whether the service provider is offering 100 hours of training and coursework or not, ask about the live teaching practice and check whether the course curriculum is approved by a recognized ESL/EFL body.
2. Do professional instructors teach your TEFL/TESOL courses?
While choosing for an online TEFL course, make sure you check this area. It makes sense that you should be professionally trained by a qualified ESL teacher, isn’t it? Because a great teacher can make all the transformation.
3. Is the TEFL/TESOL course attributed, and by whom?
If you do take an online course, it is worth taking one which has a trustworthy international accrediting body behind it. However, one major issue with the ESL industry is that there isn’t anyone specific international accrediting or governing body. This means anyone can create a TEFL/TESOL course, market it and sell it easily. However, there are several genuine and trustworthy organisations that accredit TEFL certification programs like – TESOL Canada, ODLQC, and so on.
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4. Do the service providers offer job assistance?
Well, if they offer, is it for free? Is it a lifetime facility? Generally, the best TEFL providers should have an all-embracing network of schools and ESL/EFL recruiters around the world. Therefore, it is vital to check if the placement support is free and if it is a lifetime service or if it passes away after a certain period.
5. Do they have alumni reviews?
Indeed, one of the best ways to examine the quality of your TEFL/TESOL course is by reading the past course graduates’ experiences. Remember, the authentic course providers should be able to deliver full information about how many of their alumni get hired and what kind of TEFL jobs they go into.
Well, apart from these 5 crucial above-mentioned questions, make sure you avoid these mistakes while enrolling for a TEFL course:
- Not properly checking out the course provider's online existence.
- Choosing a non-reputable course provider.
- Ignoring the background research about who your tutors will be.
- Not going through the course curriculum.
- Choosing a TEFL certification that doesn’t include 100 hours.
- Going for the cheapest or free TEFL certification.
- Overlooking the specialization modules.
But then again beyond that, it's a personal choice!
Pursuing an online TEFL certificate course is a huge step towards a new teaching English overseas career and it’s always prudent to do your research before enrolling. Don’t rush into choosing as this is a significant pronouncement to make and there is a lot to think about.
