"Waste of money and time" - Trusted TEFL Reviews

The 5 Best Online TEFL and TESOL Course Training Programs in 2023 - Image 9

International Open Academy review, written by Nathan.

Waste of money and time.

I should have known that a certificate from a course so cheap wouldn’t be worth the paper it is printed on, but I still went ahead and enrolled – taken in by the juicy $19 price tag and the many promises which came with it. Hardly any of the promises materialized. If you choose this course, you can expect:

Sub-par course content littered with spelling and grammar errors, absolutely no feedback on your progress, quiz questions at the end of each module which will leave your intelligence feeling offended, a course certificate looking like something a preschooler could have designed, absolutely no help finding work.

I’m not sure whether the certificate is even going to be accepted in China, as I’ve seen other IOA TEFL reviews where people have complained about having problems with getting the certificate notarized.

I’m trying to think of a way I can spin a positive on taking this 120-hour course, but I honestly can’t think of one. Even if you just wanted to take the course as a TEFL taster, I still don’t think it’s worth it. The only positive spin I can think of is if you need to deduct $19 from your taxes and your accountant will accept this course as a write-off. In this case, you can spend $19.

With so many other programs offering the TEFL certification course, with many charging only a few hundred bucks, I’d recommend taking one of those instead. It will save you a headache and you will actually have a certificate that will mean something.