Teaching English as a Second Language | International TEFL Academy

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Teaching English as a Second Language International TEFL Academy review, submitted by Paula.

Teaching English as a Second Language.

When I was looking to take a TEFL/TESL certification course, I had in the forefront of my mind that I wanted to take a course that included a teaching practice component.

I researched the web for weeks until I eventually narrowed my search down to The International TEFL Academy (ITA) and TEFL Online Pro. The combined course offered through The International TEFL Academy was almost $1,000 more expensive and I naively thought that because the course price was so much more expensive, I would be receiving so much more out of the course and its related services.

So, I went for the ITA TEFL 200-hour course with twenty hours of teaching practice- divided into 180 hours of online study and twenty hours of teaching practice.

The 180 hours of online tuition were good. I’m not really sure how they calculate there being 180 hours covered because I completed this section of the course way sooner than that.

The ITA TEFL website offers in-class teaching practice locations around the globe. Prague was my first choice as I’d read so many positive reviews online about their partner there in the city: The Language House. And I was given a clear impression when I enrolled in the ITA TEFL course that I could choose to take the teaching practice segment in Prague if I so wished to.

It is now clear to me that they knew all along that I couldn’t possibly take the teaching practicum there because of covid travel restrictions. In the end, as it turned out, I taught my twenty classes to online-based students. I still got something out of the experience, but I felt deceived by the whole process.

Therefore, according to my calculations, I paid approx. $1,300 (including the certification fee) to take the exact same course that teflonlinepro.com offers for just $549. I checked and the certification awarded by these two schools is identical.

The hybrid concept, whereby you study online and then travel overseas for the in-class teaching practice, was a great idea before covid. Now, though, if I could roll back time, I should have just enrolled in the TEFL Online Pro 140-hour Hybrid course instead. I also read that they offer better student and graduate support.

So while I was generally happy with my ITA TEFL experience, I can’t say I would recommend it at the current price they are offering it. It’s overpriced and just not worth taking when there are better, more affordable TEFL TESL program options offering the same or similar courses and services.