TEFL - A Review
Ferragudo, Portugal
Good afternoon! I know you’ve all been holding your breath waiting for me to complete the TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) course… Well, you can exhale now! I have finally finished The TEFL Academy’s Online TEFL Course and I now possess a shiny new qualification! I didn’t finish it within the time I’d hoped, but it is done and I am very happy I saw it through.
I decided to try TEFL out because it offered autonomy, flexibility and an opportunity to work from home (WFH). But, if you’re not interested in a WFH lifestyle or you’re hoping to work while you travel to pay for transportation and living costs, TEFL might be a good option for you, too. The TEFL Academy has sent me multiple emails with paid internship opportunities which cover accommodation and living costs in countries all over the world; Spain comes up most frequently. It just sounds like an amazing opportunity for anyone looking for a self-sustaining adventure.
For today’s post, I’ve written a review of The TEFL Academy’s Online TEFL Course, Level 5 Diploma (168 hours) in case anyone’s interested.
First Impressions
Luckily, I took some advice from Ali Abdaal and Austin Kleon and documented my first impressions of the Online TEFL course back on Day 1. It’s not much but I think it’s useful:
The introduction video was refreshingly positive. Each trainer introduced themselves and gave a little spiel of their overall view of this career choice. There were no negative remarks whatsoever. No, “despite [negative aspect of career], you will find the career is actually very rewarding” or “if you push through the [negative characteristic of career] you’ll come out the other side with a new set of skills,” and there certainly was no, “Just try not to make any life-threatening mistakes.” As I said, refreshing.
So Day 1 of TEFL had a very different tone to Day 1 of my Intern Year. It was actually encouraging and positive.
Structure
The course was divided into 10 units, covering lesson planning, an overview of English grammar, the history of teaching English, teaching resources and how to teach vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, reading, listening, speaking and writing. There was quite a lot packed into 10 units, but I was very pleased with how the lessons were laid out and how much of each topic was covered. Important topics were revisited throughout the course to reinforce understanding and memory.
There were only a couple of ‘heavy’ units - like English Grammar - but that’s to be expected. Despite the volume of information covered, that unit was only an introduction to the topic and it did well to teach us how to approach grammar and provided links to useful resources. To keep it short and sweet: look up the particular grammar point you’ll be teaching ahead of the lesson!
The only unit I was displeased with was The History of English and English Teaching. I love history and I’d been looking forward to that unit all along, but it was such a cop-out. They “taught” the history of English through a set of multiple-choice questions and left it at that. There was no further information outside of the information provided within the questions and answers. The history of English teaching was more complete, and even though I can appreciate its use for someone interested in alternative teaching methods, I didn’t find it particularly relevant to me; I really had to push myself to get through it.
All in all, I found the course to be well thought out and smartly structured.
Continuous Assessment
At the end of each unit, there was an end-of-unit test. They varied in the number of questions and questions were either fill-in-the-blank or multiple-choice. I needed around 70% to pass the unit and I had limitless attempts. It was just a handy knowledge checkpoint that had no real consequence for my final grade.
There were also three assessments spread out along the course. I had to pass each assessment before I could access the next one. I was given three attempts to pass each assessment. If I failed an assessment 3 times, I would fail the course and I would be barred from retaking this particular TEFL course. The tutor who graded my assessments provided detailed feedback after each submission and I had access to tutor support throughout if needed.
I thought the assessments were exceptionally well planned. They really tried to anticipate and answer any questions or concerns students might have, to reduce the need for students to contact tutors. Every time I thought I had a question, I came across the answer almost immediately. This was true throughout the lessons, too. It was incredibly impressive. I guess that’s what I should’ve expected from a course designed by teachers for teachers!
I’d also like to comment on the importance of these three assessments. Because I chose the online course, as opposed to the combined course (which includes 10 hours of in-person classroom teaching practice), I had no real-life teaching practice. The assessments were, therefore, the only opportunity for me to put what I learned to practice and for me to receive feedback on my lesson plans. I was very appreciative of this particular aspect of the course, without it I could not recommend an online course.
Timing
The course is supposedly 168 hours long and some students are able to complete it in 4-6 weeks when studying full-time,(1) but we’re given 6 months to complete the course with an option to purchase additional time if needed. I completed the course just a few days short of the 6-month deadline. When I started the course, I did a little bit each day and I believe if I had kept that up I would have been on track to finish it within 6-8 weeks. I’m also averse to taking shortcuts with these things, so I read everything and attempted most of the in-lesson exercises. You could easily skim through a bunch of stuff and get through the material in a fraction of the time if you're so inclined.
Extra bits
By purchasing the course, you have access to an abundance of teaching resources, tutor support from EFL professionals, and help with finding TEFL jobs abroad and online. This is all very handy.
In terms of cost, I paid €230, but every day there is some sort of “limited time offer.” For example, right now it’s €215, down from €538. You’ll find hundreds of TEFL courses online with a huge variation in cost, so be sure to do your research and read reviews. I have an Excel spreadsheet of courses I looked at before choosing this one. If you’d like to have a look at it, send me an email!
Overall Impression
So overall, I have to say I enjoyed the course and I would recommend to a friend. I think it would have been far more pleasant to go through it a little bit each day, as I did at the start, because of course, I was rushing to get it done within the 6-month deadline at the end, and that was no fun.
I found it well-structured and comprehensive. It provides all the theory necessary to plan a lesson and structure a curriculum but it lacks in giving you the confidence that in-class experience would provide. If you can attend 10 hours of in-person classroom teaching practice (and you can find the courage to step out from behind your computer screen), the TEFL Academy does provide a Combined Level 5 Diploma.
That’s it, folks! If I missed anything and/or you have questions, feel free to comment below or send me an email. If you made it this far, I’d love it if you would leave a smiley face in the comments. - Just out of curiosity. It is a long one!
Thanks for reading!
(1) Online level 5 TEFL course (2023) The TEFL Academy Ireland. The TEFL Academy. Available at: https://www.theteflacademy.com/ie/online-tefl-course/level-5/ (Accessed: February 14, 2023).
