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10 Best Online TEFL Courses to Start Your Teaching Career [2024]

Explore the best online TEFL courses for flexible learning. Start teaching English as a foreign language now!

[learnenglishwithjulia]

Choosing the right TEFL Certification course

TEFL Courses Diary submitted by Adam Mc M, Valencia TEFL Certification course come in all shapes and sizes. The real difficulty comes with deciding which is right for the individual’s needs. Factoring in cost, convenience and even how much time the student has in order to learn everything they need to comfortable teach abroad. Some of the most popular on the market are TEFL Trainer, International TEFL Academy and ITTT. Most trusted TEFL accreditation courses will give you the hours you need to learn the necessary information for teaching English. For example, TEFL Trainer’s online courses can begin at 140 hours with or without tutoring, making it simple for you to choose which you can work your time around. International TEFL Academy offers a slightly longer course which offers 150 hours plus 20 hours of classroom observation. Giving it an advantage over TEFL Trainer in terms of length however falling behind by not having the option of being able to apply your skills in a classroom of your own.  If the client does not have a lot of time on their hands and would prefer a more flexible course, then ITTT would be the best option for them. This course offers a flexible, study-in-your-own-time program and advanced or specified courses for those who may be wishing to improve their skills. Most of these courses come in around the same price, however, TEFL Trainer has to ability to be paired with Erasmus so the student can practice their skills.  Just as each of these courses will teach, it is very important to practice what is taught in these courses, just as it is important for the ESL students to practice their English. Without classroom time, or at the very least observation, applying the skills learned from these courses in a real-world scenario will be immensely difficult. A student of a course the allows teaching hours will also be more easily employed as they will already have the experience that someone that only has a certificate will not.  Overall it may be a wise idea for anyone considering a TEFL course to ensure they have enough time set aside to study. Pricing is generally very similar so balancing the time one must ensure the course is completed in with the price to be paid is recommended. In order to ensure that the student gets the most from any of these courses it would be advised to obtain some teaching hours of their own. Wither this is through work experience, employment or TEFL Trainer’s teaching capabilities. https://youtu.be/ps0fKbpNCoY

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Read our 2019 graduate reviews and find out why we’re one of the best TEFL courses worldwide. 

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From China, amongst English teachers to Cambodia, an often-overlooked location for teaching English in Asia. Get TEFL/TESOL Certification Online.  

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You can see all about ITT International TEFL and TESOL Reviews. We ranked ITT The number one TEFL Course. Contact us to know all reviews

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Whispers on a balcony on a night filled with rain. #rain #thunder #whispers #saljublossom #teflindo #aptti #wayneduplessis #wuhan #hubei #China #Emilytjandra #lawrenceduplessis #balcony #livingoverseas #livinginasia #esl #eslteacher #tefltrainer #onlinetrainer #aspiringteachers (at Wuhan, China)

[learnenglishwithjulia]

Choosing the right TEFL Certification course

TEFL Courses Diary submitted by Adam Mc M, Valencia TEFL Certification course come in all shapes and sizes. The real difficulty comes with deciding which is right for the individual’s needs. Factoring in cost, convenience and even how much time the student has in order to learn everything they need to comfortable teach abroad. Some of the most popular on the market are TEFL Trainer, International TEFL Academy and ITTT. Most trusted TEFL accreditation courses will give you the hours you need to learn the necessary information for teaching English. For example, TEFL Trainer’s online courses can begin at 140 hours with or without tutoring, making it simple for you to choose which you can work your time around. International TEFL Academy offers a slightly longer course which offers 150 hours plus 20 hours of classroom observation. Giving it an advantage over TEFL Trainer in terms of length however falling behind by not having the option of being able to apply your skills in a classroom of your own.  If the client does not have a lot of time on their hands and would prefer a more flexible course, then ITTT would be the best option for them. This course offers a flexible, study-in-your-own-time program and advanced or specified courses for those who may be wishing to improve their skills. Most of these courses come in around the same price, however, TEFL Trainer has to ability to be paired with Erasmus so the student can practice their skills.  Just as each of these courses will teach, it is very important to practice what is taught in these courses, just as it is important for the ESL students to practice their English. Without classroom time, or at the very least observation, applying the skills learned from these courses in a real-world scenario will be immensely difficult. A student of a course the allows teaching hours will also be more easily employed as they will already have the experience that someone that only has a certificate will not.  Overall it may be a wise idea for anyone considering a TEFL course to ensure they have enough time set aside to study. Pricing is generally very similar so balancing the time one must ensure the course is completed in with the price to be paid is recommended. In order to ensure that the student gets the most from any of these courses it would be advised to obtain some teaching hours of their own. Wither this is through work experience, employment or TEFL Trainer’s teaching capabilities.

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

What has been your experience with TEFL courses Online? Easier or more difficult than expected?

What has been your experience with TEFL courses Online? Diary submitted by Chloe L. Valencia Has it been easier or more difficult than expected? The TEFL trainer online course was very clear and well-structured and it gave me a good amount of knowledge about various aspects of the English language. I completed the course while I was in Madrid and Valencia. I believe that the topics were well ranged and they included not only grammar rules but phonetics was also explained. I believe that the videos were beneficial because you could hear how words or phonemes were pronounced and then I was able to explain phonology a lot better in the classes. Not only did it help in regards to phonetics but it also helped me explain grammar more precisely to the students. In addition, the course gave lots of detailed information, in regards to the different exams that the students can take and explaining all of the types and the levels they equate to. I found this part extremely useful as beforehand I had never taught students to prepare for those exams and I was not really aware of the variety that exist. Additionally in the classes sometimes students do not only have grammar/ vocabulary related questions but also questions about exams that they can do, often if students plan to do a year abroad with their university they need to obtain an English certificate prior. The course consists of 140 hours, however due to the fact that this is the only TEFL course I have ever done I am not able to compare it to others. I had 9 months to complete this course which proved to be ample time, I had studied the English language in some detail and therefore the grammar aspect of the language did not prove to be that difficult, however there were some aspects which were fresh to me and therefore they were slightly more challenging to begin with – namely the different exams and phonetics. One thing I would have liked the course to had have was when it came to the exams, it did not specifically state how long you had for each one before clicking on to complete it. Nonetheless, overall the course was well presented and I think that it was a good idea to put the grammar into practice with the quizzes at the end of each part. It has been stated that “Online TEFL courses are a good introduction that will help you see if you may actually be interested in teaching English abroad.” It shows the actual concepts that would be taught. Furthermore I really enjoyed the flexibility of this course and would recommend to people in the future. Reference: The Pros & Cons of Online vs On-Site TEFL Courses https://www.goabroad.com/articles/tefl-courses/pros-cons-of-online-vs-on-site-tefl-courses  #erasmusplus #erasmus #outwardmobility #teflprograms #tesol 

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

How language students should choose their TEFL course location based on the languages they are learning and why

Erasmus destinations: How to choose yours Diary submitted by Lee R., Valencia How language students should choose their TEFL course location based on the languages they are learning and why Many English Modern Foreign Language students underestimate the diversity of the languages, accents or dialects that come out of a certain country. As I did my TEFL in Spain, I shall use Spain as the prime example for this section. When British students think of Spain, they assume that only Castilian Spanish is spoken throughout. However, as true as this may be to an extent, there are other different recognised languages, micro-cultures and various distinctions of accent and dialect throughout the land. As a student who is about to go on a year abroad, choosing the right setting is pivotal in terms of developing cultural awareness and the ability to speak the language. This section will discuss how language students should choose their TEFL course location in the context of Spain and why they should do this. In the case of language comprehension in relation to location, it is often revealed by many that Spanish is already a rapid language to understand – which is still the case for me despite having lived abroad for the past 5 months. This is however the tip of the iceberg in relation to learning the language and moving abroad. There are many variations of accents and dialects in the country and this is contingent upon the region – which, in turn, can have a negative effect on L2 learning. In my opinion, the city should be chosen depending on the ability of the student in conjunction with the difficulty to comprehend the dialect. According to the website ‘UniSpain’ (http://blog.unispain.com/choosing-a-destination-in-spain/), the hardest accents to understand are in Andalucía (with the dropping of the letter ‘S’ at the end of words), Galicia and Euskera (due to their respective languages influencing an accent change). For students entering the year abroad at a CEFR level of B1 like myself, these may not be the best options. However, more advanced students may adapt easier. Furthermore, accents such as that of Andalucía may contribute to comprehension of accents in Latin America. Reflecting on my experience starting as a B1 student, I would recommend Valencia because the accent is moderately easy to understand. Location for a TEFL placement is significant for language students because it essentially decides how much you are going to develop your language. Originally, I had decided to opt for Barcelona in Catalonia without thinking about the environment I would be in and without realising that Catalan is the dominant language of the city. According to the website ‘Tripsavvy’ (https://www.tripsavvy.com/where-in-spain-to-study-spanish-1643627), “ half of those living in Barcelona in Catalonia prefer to speak Catalan over (Castilian) Spanish. The proportion is even higher outside the city.” Due to this detail, I feel it would have been worse in the context of my language expansion in hindsight, had I not decided to go to Valencia. Valencia is a city where the people speak a clear Castilian Spanish but where the regional government primarily uses Valencian, for example; this would be for road signs, public transport and the general running of the city. This was a perfect combination of two languages and allowed me to progress with my Spanish language while yet experiencing both cultures simultaneously. This was also without having the cultural shock of an additional unknown language. On the other hand, while maintaining the topic of culture, being a language student does not mean that the focus is solely on the language; it is also about becoming culturally aware. Despite the fact that Barcelona predominantly uses Catalan, living in such a city would benefit one’s cultural awareness, especially with the recent controversial referendum and the current division of opinion where it is possible to see both sides of the coin. An additional feature to my experience in the school where I taught in Valencia was the availability of having Spanish classes. Finding a school that offers this is very beneficial due to the fact that opportunities to find groups of native speakers outside of the organisation are difficult to find from my experience. Doing the research for this is key. To conclude this section, I believe that students should take their level into consideration before choosing a place but it is important to find a place where it is possible to experience both the values of the culture and a clear language. Lastly, one should aim to find a place where L2 practice is guaranteed. Bibliography Choosing a destination in Spain to learn Spanish. Top 3 Destinations for Studying Spanish in Spain. (2013). Retrieved from the UniSpain website http://blog.unispain.com/choosing-a-destination-in-spain/ Corrigan, D. (2015). Where should I learn Spanish in Spain?. Retrieved from https://www.tripsavvy.com/where-in-spain-to-study-spanish-1643627

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

What can we gain from age specific teaching courses?

Diary submitted by Eve P. Completing a specialist TEFL course in a topic that is not covered in a standard TEFL course is a good way to equip yourself with extra expertise and training, thus making yourself more attractive to perspective employers. Not only would the extra qualification make your application stand out, but it could help you specialise in teaching areas that are of more interest to you. For example, if you prefer working with children, a course for teaching young learners could be very beneficial. There is no debate that the style of teaching must be adapted depending on the age of the student. From my internship I have experienced how teaching younger people can be based more in behaviour management and learner engagement, whereas older learners tend to be more motivated and ready to learn. In a specialist TEFL course for teaching children you would learn about the theory of child language acquisition and learn how to apply this knowledge to your lessons. This may include more talk-based learning than you would use in an older learner’s class. Through studying classroom management, you would be more equipped to deal with behaviour control, and with a better understanding of your group of learners, you can plan more useful activities in class. Teaching teenagers has at times been a challenge, they can often be the least motivated and therefore most problematic learning age group. I’ve found that it is very important to make the learning accessible and to generate interest with a teenage student, through a specialist teaching teenagers TEFL course you would cover planning for motivating and affective lessons that keep the student interested and engaged. You would also study the physical, social and cognitive aspects of teenagers which would prove useful for understanding how to achieve the balance been being a friend and an authority figure. I’ve learnt that this is a crucial relationship for success in teaching teenagers as being too authoritative will make them feel as though they are in school, and therefore possibly patronised and less interested. Being too relaxed and friendly may lead to the student becoming lazy or complacent, therefore finding the balance is necessary.  To conclude, I think that age-specific specialised TEFL courses can be very beneficial in order to understand your learners. It is vital to adapt your teaching style to the needs of your class, and through studying these specific needs you will not only improve as an effective teacher, but stand out from the rest when applying for work in TEFL. Reference: LoveTEFL, Specialist TEFL Courses, Available at: https://www.i-to-i.com/tefl-courses/specialist-certificates/

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

What has been your experience with TEFL courses Online? Easier or more difficult than expected?

What has been your experience with TEFL courses Online? Diary submitted by Chloe L. Valencia Has it been easier or more difficult than expected? The TEFL trainer online course was very clear and well-structured and it gave me a good amount of knowledge about various aspects of the English language. I completed the course while I was in Madrid and Valencia. I believe that the topics were well ranged and they included not only grammar rules but phonetics was also explained. I believe that the videos were beneficial because you could hear how words or phonemes were pronounced and then I was able to explain phonology a lot better in the classes. Not only did it help in regards to phonetics but it also helped me explain grammar more precisely to the students. In addition, the course gave lots of detailed information, in regards to the different exams that the students can take and explaining all of the types and the levels they equate to. I found this part extremely useful as beforehand I had never taught students to prepare for those exams and I was not really aware of the variety that exist. Additionally in the classes sometimes students do not only have grammar/ vocabulary related questions but also questions about exams that they can do, often if students plan to do a year abroad with their university they need to obtain an English certificate prior. The course consists of 140 hours, however due to the fact that this is the only TEFL course I have ever done I am not able to compare it to others. I had 9 months to complete this course which proved to be ample time, I had studied the English language in some detail and therefore the grammar aspect of the language did not prove to be that difficult, however there were some aspects which were fresh to me and therefore they were slightly more challenging to begin with – namely the different exams and phonetics. One thing I would have liked the course to had have was when it came to the exams, it did not specifically state how long you had for each one before clicking on to complete it. Nonetheless, overall the course was well presented and I think that it was a good idea to put the grammar into practice with the quizzes at the end of each part. It has been stated that “Online TEFL courses are a good introduction that will help you see if you may actually be interested in teaching English abroad.” It shows the actual concepts that would be taught. Furthermore I really enjoyed the flexibility of this course and would recommend to people in the future. Reference: The Pros & Cons of Online vs On-Site TEFL Courses https://www.goabroad.com/articles/tefl-courses/pros-cons-of-online-vs-on-site-tefl-courses

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

How to utilise the online material?

What has been your experiences with TEFL courses online? Diary submitted by Adam G., Madrid.   How to utilise the online material? During the first week of teaching there may be times when you are asked challenging questions that you don’t know the answer to. This can be embarrassing and intimidating if you have to explain and apologise to the student that you are not quite sure. Luckily, the online material that TEFL provides covers virtually every question that you may be asked. This diary will reflect on how to utilise the material online with reference to my own experience in a lesson. During my first week on the TEFL programme I was still getting used to the common questions asked and how to answer some of the more complex questions. I then had a lesson where the student asked me about modal verbs, specifically, may, might and must. At the time, I wasn’t sure of how to answer so I had to quickly do some research on the internet. I quickly found some information and then relayed it back to the student but I still felt as if my explanation was not sufficient. Once I was free I thought the best place to start was to go back through TEFL’s online material and search for my answer there. I quickly found the topic and spent some time making sure that understood it. Coupled with the information I had taken from the British Council’s page about Modal Verbs I used the online material to solidify my understanding. Despite this action of researching the topic for my own understanding, not being directly related to how to then teach a student I found that it was useful. I realised that often the best way to teach a topic to a student is to remember how you were taught that topic and then apply the same principles. The online material provides a simple explanation of the topic and then also tests your knowledge afterwards with a short quiz. Personally, I find this the best way to learn and I found that I used this same approach for all the topics, especially the tricky grammar. Even though this approach is very useful when teaching students, it is important to use this method as a starting point but then adapt it to each student’s own learning style. As I explained this method of learning worked for me but a student may need a different approach. Still, it is something that I believe is useful for not only teaching English but other forms of teaching that I have done or will do in the future.   Sources: British Council, Learn English. Modal Verbs. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/modal-verbs/may-might-may-have-and-might-have

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

Being taught English grammar from a German point of view

Teaching in Western Europe - outside of Spain Diary submitted by Lee R., Valencia “Being taught English grammar from a German point of view.” To many English people, it is often assumed that everyone outside of the U.K. is able to speak English fluently so there is no need to learn a language. Moreover, in the case of Germans speaking English, the English are left dumbfounded by the ease at which Germans can speak. Regardless of this, what are some of the complications that Germans face when learning English grammar? This section will demonstrate some of the major hardships that Germans may encounter. As first glance, a potentially problematic aspect of learning is the part of English that relates more to Latin-based languages: progressive forms. Although German and English are grammatically alike with regards to prepositional verbs, German does not contain a progressive form. Instead, one would only use the simple form of tenses, for example, “I do” and “I am doing” are both “Ich mache”. In addition, the gerund form may seem confusing for Germans, especially in the context of using it in the form of a noun and adjective. This is the same form in English (i.e. The smoking man vs. Smoking). However, in German, it is broken down into its own distinct adjectival form (Infinitive + ‘D’) and an infinitive. Example: “Der laufende Mann“ = “the running man”  “Laufen” = “Running” Secondly, a small yet significant difference to note too is that every German noun will always begin with a capital letter in written form. As a result, one could say that this may become confusing when deciding which nouns to capitalise in English. Furthermore, punctuation such as commas can be challenging as there are far more rules that do not appear in English. For instance; the word ‘that’ in subordinate clauses is always preceded by a comma in German, therefore, many Germans will say “I believe, that” when it is not grammatically correct. On the other hand, according to Ba (2016), what Germans have most difficulty with is the concept of auxiliary verbs in the formation of questions and negation – what she describes as a “’Psychological’ hurdle”. This is because German would still use the main verb. An example to describe this would be with the question “Do you speak German?”. In German, one would say “Speak you German?” (“Sprichst du Deutsch?”). Due to this, it may take a lot more time to catch on to the structure. Fortunately, this has been made easier through services such as Netflix, where English subtitling is available so that people may have more exposure to these structures. What is often underestimated between both English and German is not only the number of cognates that they have in common, but also those that are also ‘false friends’. A prime example of this - what many people struggle with - is the verb ‘to become’. In German, the verb that is similar is ‘bekommen’, which literally translates into ‘to earn’, ‘to get’ or ‘to receive’. Subsequently, many people say, “I’m becoming a hamburger.” rather than “I’m getting a hamburger.”. In relation to pronunciation, ‘ð’ and ‘θ’ sounds are tough for Germans as the sound has not existed for hundreds of years in most northern Germanic countries (Boston Language Institute, 2013). This results in words such as ‘the’ and ‘think’ being pronounced as ‘zəˈ’ and ‘sɪŋk’ – something that is often stereotyped in the media. In conclusion, despite both languages being Germanic, there are multiple obstacles that can affect grammar apprehension, specifically in the context of auxiliary verbs and how these structures do not exist. In my opinion and according to what I have been told by Germans, the main problems lay with pronunciation and auxiliary forms. Bibliography Ba, S. (2016). What difficulties do Germans learning English encounter, any examples? . Retrieved from https://www.duolingo.com/comment/14062527/What-difficulties-do-Germans-learning-English-encounter-any-examples-Are-apostrophes-used Boston Language Institute. (2016). Having problems with pronouncing ‘th’?. Retrieved from https://bostonlanguage.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/having-problems-pronouncing-th/

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[learnenglishwithjulia]

How can we combine learning with leisure?

Diary submitted by Eve P. Ideas for an out-of-class English club Student Motivation/Classroom Management One of the key reasons for students not improving their English with sufficient speed is that apart from in their classes, they do not engage with the language in their own time. When students have no involvement with their target language at home, they lack interest and are slow to progress. By participating in interesting and fun activities through practising English, the learning of the language is more accessible, enjoyable and engaging. Out-of-class English clubs are the opportunity to inspire this engagement in the students’ leisure time. In order to engage the students in their study of English beyond the classroom, I have found that we must incorporate activities that are enjoyable for them. Rather than studying grammar exercises, in their downtime students should affiliate English with the topics and interests that they have in their own language. I have often found through teaching that students become their most animated and enthusiastic when discussing something important and relevant to them, and so for an out-of-class English club to prove popular it should cater to the students’ enjoyment.  The best choice of effective and fun ideas for an English club will likely depend on the age of the club members. Younger members may work better in organised activities while adults may thrive in relaxed activities that encourage discussion. Club debates would be an effective way of getting the members use English in a more natural way than they would in a classroom. Through focusing on current or controversial topics that everyone has an opinion about, the participants would be kept interested and excited and have the opportunity to learn vocabulary related to the topic. The members could also take it in turns to choose a topic for debate, keeping it relevant to them. Another idea for an enjoyable and engaging activity is listening to English music. The most popular music in the world is sung in English and there will never be a lack of worthwhile resources. The lyrics could be provided for the members to read through and interpret, using the songs message as a discussion topic. Some words could be eliminated from the song for the students to fill in as a listening exercise too. Watching films and TV series are another enjoyable leisure activity that can be beneficial for English practise and improvement. Not only is watching them good for listening but they also serve as cultural windows into various aspects of the English-speaking world. Through these fun and beneficial activities, learning English becomes less of a chore and more of a hobby. Through utilising productive pastimes in out-of-class clubs the learning of the language is combined with leisure and proves more engaging for the learners. Reference: Learning English.com – Creating fun English Club activities to Learn English, Available at : https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/creating-fun-club-activities-to-learn-english/3958234.html

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TEFL Trainer

TEFL Courses | TEFL Certification online and in Spain Check out our Blog and discover the world of TEFL! Read the full article