Online certificate in tefl course

  • Length of Training: 
    11 weeks part-time (typically 10-12 hours per week of work).
  • 170 Hour Certification (150 hours academic coursework plus 20 hours of student teaching (Practicum)

Tuition: $1,399 Dollars.

The International TEFL Academy Online TEFL certification course is a fully interactive course taught by seasoned university level professors.

The online TEFL / TESOL certification course is designed for students who are looking to Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) internationally in a professional environment.  The ability to earn a TEFL/TESOL certification on a part-time schedule appeals to those students who wish to continue working while completing their training.  Aside from being able to continue with work, the Online TEFL/TESOL course is very economical, allowing the student to afford the highest quality of TEFL/TESOL training at the professional certification level.

Online TEFL Class Overview

The International TEFL Academy online TEFL course is a fully interactive, collegiate level course, taught by a university-level professor.  From day one, students will be fully engaged in discourse not only with your professor, but also with all of the other students in the course.  This interaction will remain constant throughout the duration of the course, and the instructor will offer you feedback on your tasks and is always available to answer questions.

Through a series of course readings, tasks, peer participation, essays, and a final thematic unit, students will develop all the skills necessary to be a confident, well-resourced, professional teacher, whatever your background.

Instructors

International TEFL Academy Online TEFL Class professors are of the highest caliber, with a graduate-level degree or Ph D. in TESOL or a related field, and extensive international teaching experience.

Students

Students who enroll in International TEFL Academy course come from all walks of life.  The age of a student can range from 17-77, and International TEFL Academy trains students from every continent on earth.

Online Virtual Classroom

The International TEFL Academy online TEFL course is conducted in a virtual online learning environment, hosted by Moodle.com, one of the worldwide leaders of online distance learning.  There is no software to download, and as long as you have an Internet connection, your entire course content is accessible.  The course itself is very user-friendly and easy to navigate.  Students do not need to be a computer expert to take the course; they just need a very basic knowledge of web browsing.

Course Content

The following is the content found within the International TEFL Academy online TEFL course:

  • Basic Principles of Teaching
  • Grammar
  • Classroom Management
  • Error Correction
  • Lesson Planning
  • Use of Visual and Audio Aids
  • Teaching group classes: beginner, pre-intermediate, intermediate, advanced
  • Conversational English
  • Teaching grammar, reading, writing, listening, speaking, pronunciation
  • Language Awareness
  • Private Tutoring

Speciality TEFL Classes:

  • Teaching English Online 30-Hour Speciality Class
  • Teaching Business English 30-Hour Speciality Class
  • Teaching English to Young Learners 30-Hour Speciality Class

COURSE HOURS:

The course is comprised of:

– 150 hours of online coursework – which includes readings, assignments, quizzes and self-checks. (Required)

– 20 hours of Practicum (student teaching, observation and/or tutoring in an ESL classroom) (Required)

– All ITA students & graduates have the ability to enhance their skills & credentials by opting to take additional TEFL Specialty Classes in the field of Teaching English Online, Teaching Business English & Teaching English to Young Learners (Children). 

Course Content: 

PART 1: CHAPTER OUTLINE

The 170-Hour TEFL/TESOL Course is divided into 10 separate chapters and a final project, The Thematic Unit.).

Grammar Module

A thorough overview of English grammar. This module is sent to students upon registration to begin reviewing important grammar points.  The content is designed to serve as a self-study grammar reference.  The content herein is likely most useful for the novice learner of English grammar, but it can also serve as a review or to provide samples for more advanced grammarians.  

Chapter 1: Role of the Teacher

Reading and tasks on various contexts in which teaching occurs; expectations for teachers on their first day of class; identifying ideas for balancing work ideas and leisure; recognizing traits of an effective teacher; ways to build community in your classroom; examples of how to be a good role model; strategies for maintaining professional relationships during your teaching career; terminology and abbreviations used in the TEFL profession; and effective and ineffective teaching practices.

Chapter 2: Creating a Student-Centered Classroom

Reading and tasks on the student-centered approach and teacher’s roles; autonomous learning, the roles of collaboration and cooperative learning; experiential learning and examples of useful EFL activities; individual differences; and a sample needs analysis.

Chapter 3: Cultural Sensitivity

Reading and tasks on culture and cultural sensitivity, surface and deep culture; the five barriers to cross-cultural communication; four main cultural dimensions and their implications for the EFL classroom; and culture shock and its stages.

Chapter 4: Methods and Approaches

Reading and tasks on the differences between approach, method, and technique; contemporary and traditional teaching methods; communicative language teaching (CLT); characteristics of the community language learning approach; general procedures used in a silent way classroom; the pillars of Suggestopedia; using Total Physical Response and Total Physical Response Storytelling in a classroom; principles of content-based instruction; and ways to implement cooperative learning, task-based learning, project-based learning, and differentiation.

Chapter 5: Lesson Planning and Assessment

Reading and tasks on the importance of lesson planning and how it relates to instruction; characteristics of an effective lesson plan; producing an effective lesson plan; the foundation behind effective assessment methods; assessment formats and assessment question types; and incorporating the most appropriate type of assessment for all four language skills.

Chapter 6: Grammar and Lexis

Reading and tasks on the importance of lesson planning and how it relates to instruction; characteristics of an effective lesson plan; producing an effective lesson plan; the foundation behind effective assessment methods; assessment formats and assessment question types; and incorporating the most appropriate type of assessment for all four language skills.

Chapter 7: Listening and Reading

Reading and tasks on how the brain processes listening output; types of listening input; types of listening materials and how to choose them for the classroom; how to tailor listening activities to student level and mental method of processing; ways to set up activities within a listening lesson and sequence of lessons; how the MINUS Approach can be used to structure effective listening; specific techniques for teaching listening skills; how the schema theory impacts ESL/EFL reading activities; common reading strategies that can be taught to ESL/EFL learners; selecting reading materials; intensive and extensive reading skills; types of pre-reading, while reading, and post-reading activities; and ways to assess reading both formally and informally.

Chapter 8: Speaking and Writing

Reading and tasks on the foundation needed for ESL/EFL students to improve their oral and written language production; commonly used classroom speaking activities; the sounds and most common pronunciation rules for English pronunciation and when to incorporate effective pronunciation techniques into ESL/EFL lessons; structuring ESL/EFL writing activities and lessons; and recommended outside resources to improve and expand teacher knowledge, methods, and materials of ESL/EFL speaking and writing.

Chapter 9: Visual Aids and Technology

Reading and tasks on the several benefits of using low-tech visual aids with English language learners; low-tech visual aids and how they can be applied to the ESL/EFL classroom; ways to use the Internet effectively with ESL/EFL students; precautions to consider when assigning Internet-related activities; how blogs and wikis might be used to enhance students’ communication skills; recommendations for effectively integrating video into the ESL/EFL classroom; ways to use songs as a teaching and learning tool; appropriate visual aids for each language skill (reading, writing, listening and speaking); and general criteria to follow when choosing a visual aid.

Chapter 10: Classroom Management

Reading and tasks on the basic concepts and best practices of classroom management; the most common ways to physically arrange a classroom and their implications; ways to establish a presence as a teacher; how to create a successful community of student learners; suggestions for structuring daily lessons; and other student and classroom issues that may arise, and how to approach them.

Thematic Unit

At the end of the course, each student will need to complete a thematic unit. Your thematic unit will cover 3 days worth of lesson planning that you will create. The timeframe of 3 days simulates a typical week of classes for a TEFL/TESOL instructor abroad. The thematic unit is worth a total of 100 points. The Thematic Unit must be completed in order to receive your TEFL/TESOL certificate.

PART 2: OPTIONAL SPECIALTY TEFL CLASSES

All ITA students & graduates have the ability to enhance their skills & credentials by opting to take additional TEFL Specialty Classes in the field of Teaching English Online, Teaching Business English & Teaching English to Young Learners (Children).  Check out the Specialty TEFL Class Index to learn more.

PART 3: TEXTBOOKS

REQUIRED TEXT

There are no required textbooks for this course.  All of your reading material is available online within Moodle.  However, the course material is available to purchase in either a paperback or PDF version.  Purchase of the course book is completely optional and not a requirement to take the online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course.