What should I look for in a TEFL certification course?

There are a wide variety of courses available, distinguished in different ways. Some by location, others by length of time, others by quality. Since there is no worldwide recognised body for a TEFL certificate (no matter how much other people want to promote it, there is no such thing as "international TEFL certification"), there is no way to be certain about the quality of teaching or syllabus. You have to make sure that the course itself will give you what you need to teach abroad. Here are some guidelines, which most reputable courses should offer:

• a minimum number of observed teaching practice, depending on the lenght of course, from 5-15
• preparation option at home, so you fully benefit from the money spent on teaching
• support in finding a teaching position, in Europe and worldwide, including CV writing
• some form of external validation, either via independent teachers or an educational body

If they do not offer this, then perhaps you should look elsewhere. Also have a search for any comments people make about certain schools. Remember, you are paying for a service and you should be treated as a good customer. We have heard too many times about schools who use TEFL certificate courses as a money maker, with no concern for the students.

Pass guarantee?

Some schools have been known to fail their students just in order to take more money from them from further tutoring, or who fail students in order to keep up appearances that it's not "guaranteed" pass which makes them seem more serious. How deliberately failing students makes them more serious, we're not sure.

Although we do not offer a pass guarantee on our TEFL certification, we do not expect you to pay a higher rate for further classes with us. We see it as our goal that you should pass, if you don't, we haven't done our job properly. If we believe some of our students are in danger of failing, we pick up on it before you fail, and help you with the extra work you have to do in order to pass.