The Importance of Choosing an Accredited TEFL Provider
As you consider the different course options you have when you want to become certified to teach English as a foreign language, whether in your own country or when traveling abroad, you’ll find that it is very important for you to choose a course with world-recognised TEFL accreditation. Without this accreditation, your completion certificate may be considered as sufficient to qualify you for the jobs which you are hoping to get.
Making sure that the different providers have the appropriate accreditation can be difficult because there isn’t just one accreditation body providing just one set of standards for TEFL instructors. In fact, there are a few different organisations and it may be difficult to determine which accreditation body is better than another without a little bit of research and deduction.
When you look at a variety of course providers, you might begin to notice that one TEFL accreditation body appears more often than the others. This could be taken as a sign that multiple organisations feel that these TEFL standards are appropriate.
Naturally, the course providers will want to work with an accreditation body which will approve of their program, but the course providers will also be concerned that the accreditation body which they have chosen will reflect well upon their program. When you see one accreditation body popping up on multiple TEFL course provider sites, you can feel a certain amount of confidence that this group is well-respected and, in turn, the course provider is reaching the high level of standards necessary to earn the approval of the body.
Clearly, it will be of importance to you that your course provider has the necessary accreditation because without it, you won’t have the opportunity to teach where you want to go. It is unfortunate, but there are some course providers who don’t provide the necessary amount of hours of instruction and practical experience to prepare you fully for your teaching responsibilities. These course providers might offer classes at highly reduced rates and might boast of short courses.
If you feel tempted at all by one of these course providers, stop for a minute and determine whether or not they have received the approval of a respected TEFL accreditation body. You will probably discover that the provider does not have this approval.
You won’t just be protected from earning a useless completion certificate by avoided those unaccredited providers, but you’ll also have the guarantee that you are getting a quality education with all of the skills and knowledge that you need to truly be a great TEFL teacher – and in the country of your first choice.
