How to get TEFL Certification

If you want to teach English abroad, it is a must to know how to get TEFL certification. As it is a basic necessary to have a TEFL qualification. There are some exceptions to the rule. For example, a number of big brand companies in Japan don’t require you to have a TEFL certificate. However, you need to attend a mandatory training session in-house which can last around two weeks. If you’re offered a job without in-house training that doesn’t require a TEFL certificate. Prepare yourself for low wages, poorly organised curriculum and, basically, a rubbish experience. Now that you know how important it is to have a TEFL certificate, let’s have a look at how you get one.

How to get TEFL certification; Online or Face-to-Face

How to get TEFL certification, online or face-to-face? This is the first big question you’ll need to ask yourself when choosing a TEFL course. These days, many people opt to do the online course for the following reasons:

• it’s often cheaper
• it’s flexible and you can work when it suits you
• you don’t need to take time off work to do it
• you cut down on travel costs if there isn’t a training centre near you
• it’s convenient and course running times are far less stringent

However, there are pros and cons. Choosing an online-only course may not always be the right choice. Some schools won’t even consider your application if they discover you haven’t had any classroom-based teaching experience. But this depends on where you want to go, and what options are available to you. For many, online only is their sole choice. If this is you, just make sure that the course is a respectable length. A ‘weekend’ online course of 50 hours isn’t worth much. Try to get a course that’s at least 120 hours of study time. There are some great courses online, like the iTEFL course. This course has 120 hours of studying which is a great start.

Also, combination courses are a great choice. These allow you to do the bulk of the study at home (for example, 120 hours of the course). Then you complete 20 hours of in-class training. Often spread intensively over two days, so it can be completed in a weekend. When concidering how to get TEFL certification, the decision to undertake a face-to-face course is often made by people who want to pursue a teaching career long-term. Face-to-face courses enable you to have a personal relationship with both your fellow students and the course leader. It’s undeniable that you’ll get more out of the course this way. A

Studying for your TEFL certification

Once you’ve chosen your course and know how to get TEFL certification. Whether it’s face-to-face, online or combination, you’ll be raring to get stuck in. If you’re like many who is doing an online course, don’t be tempted to slack off. Make sure you complete the work in the given time frame, to avoid penalties. Also, go above and beyond by doing the recommended reading, and looking up TEFL related videos on YouTube. There are also plenty of TEFL blogs (like this one) out there to give you a good grounding in your new area of expertise. And don’t forget good old-fashioned books. When you’re just starting out, it’s a worthy purchase to buy a textbook of ESL classroom games, TEFL games for speaking, conversation starters or similar.

Extras, it is not just about how to get TEFL certification

While studying for your TEFL, it is not just about how to get TEFL certification, it’s worth finding out about added extras you can do to make your CV stand out. These might include specialist modules such as TEFL for YL (young learners), or TEFL for business English. Unlike CELTA, a TEFL course is likely to focus on teaching children rather than adults. So you might want to do a special module on teaching adults if this is what you’d like to go into. Also, think about further qualifications like the TKT (teacher knowledge test). Or MOOC’s (Massive Online Open Course) that are running subjects related to teaching, such as the brilliant Coursera MOOC on teaching character and creating positive classrooms.

A possible good read for you will be: Your Guide to the Best TEFL Certification Programs

Choosing your TEFL course

One of the hardest decisions in how to get TEFL certification, is choosing which TEFL course to sign up to. Don’t just go for the cheapest option – with TEFL courses, you get what you pay for, and it’s a waste of time to do a cheap course that only touches on the basics. Do your research, read reviews from other people who have completed their training course, and see what added extras are included – some TEFL certificate courses will also help you to find a job once you’ve qualified!