The TEFL Academy Pros and Cons

The TEFL Academy Pros and Cons.

The TEFL Academy (TTA) review, submitted by Jenny.

This TTA The TEFL Academy review has been downgraded from a 3-star review to a 2-star review, at the request of the reviewer.

The TEFL Academy Pros and Cons (from my experience as a student on its 168-hour Level 5 course).

Pros:

1. The course was arranged and organized very well and had a user-friendly CMS learner system. I have studied some online courses before this one that had poor Content Management systems.
2. When you complete the course, you receive a substantial list of job offers that are online and also ones located in specific countries.
3. You are not completely alone in the course. Whenever you have a question, you email the school, a ticket is assigned to you, and I tended to get a response back within a few business days to a week. Overall, communication with the school was fairly good.
4. I have a teaching job (online) and my TEFL Academy certificate helped a lot in this process.

Cons:

1. As I soon discovered, every school I applied to for work asked whether I had the 120-hour TEFL certificate. When I answered that I had a 168-hour Level 5 certificate, they said it would do but the extra hours of tuition are meaningless.
2. After completing the course, I received an email from the TEFL Academy that asked if I would leave a review for them on (fill in the blank) websites, and that in return for my writing a review they would offer me a free Teaching Young Learners or Teaching Business English course. I think they mentioned Facebook, Reviews.io, Trust Pilot, and a few others. I wrote back that I might, but I wanted to see how my certification was working for me in my new job (and future job applications) before I committed to writing a review. I receive that same email each end of the week and I wonder how many of this company’s reviews are written by people who just want the free course.

If I were to take a TEFL course again, I would take a 120-hour course because that strongly appears to be the gold standard for what online and abroad employers are looking for.

I wouldn’t pay for a TEFL/TESOL certification course offering more than 120 hours, unless there are 10-20 teaching practice hours included. The 168-hour TEFL Academy course, in my opinion, is marketed to make it appear that you are getting more bang for your buck – you are not.

The TEFL Academy’s 168-hour Level 5 TEFL course was good, but it did raise many red flags.

Have been repeatedly rejected from job applications because a Level 5 course isn’t known or fully understood. One interviewer asked me why I had chosen a course with so many hours when the industry standard is 120 hours. Apparently, TTA The TEFL Academy has a poor reputation and its certificates are not globally recognized.

I also left reviews on other TEFL review websites but they remain unpublished. I pushed hard for why a balanced review couldn’t be published and the replies I received indicated that TTA The TEFL Academy litigate any TEFL review website that publishes negative reviews of their program.

One TEFL review website spoke off the record about The TEFL Academy not only writing its own five star reviews, but also writing fake low-rated reviews about its competitors. Personally, I couldn’t do business with a company that behaves so unethically.

Because of this, I politely request that my original three star review be changed to a two star review. Thank you.

I am in the process of recuperating my course fees from The TEFL Academy. They stopped replying to my emails, despite promising that the refund was “on its way”. I’ve contacted my bank to initiate a charge-back process. When the money is returned to my account, I’ll choose a 120 hour TEFL/TESOL course that is fully accredited and globally recognized. One of these: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2026/08/19/best-tefl-online-certification-2026/

Trusted TEFL Reviews notice: Jenny asked (August 24, 2026) that her The TEFL Academy Pros and Cons review be updated due to additional content requested to be included.

---

---

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

---

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

---

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

---