Are you looking for the best 120 hour TEFL course online? Are you ready to take your first steps into teaching English around the world? If so, this post will explain what it is genuinely like to complete your TEFL certification online with The TEFL Org
Before I delve deeper, here are the top 3 reasons why I chose to purchase the 120-hour TEFL course online with The TEFL Org:
- It is a widely accepted and preferred qualification of many international schools recruiting TEFL Teachers.
- The course is affordable and quick to complete (on average, most students complete it within 10 to 12 weeks).
- The course is easy to follow with excellent resources including videos of real classroom teaching practice and students are well supported by an online Tutor.
What TEFL Stands For
TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
Teaching English as a foreign language can be a very rewarding job. It is a great choice of employment for aspiring Teachers who want to travel and earn money. However, once you are qualified, you can also teach English as a foreign language within your own country or online. So, a TEFL certificate is a very useful and versatile qualification to have.
Teaching English as a foreign language has long been on my bucket list of things to achieve. Although I am already a qualified primary school Teacher in the UK, my long-term plans are to travel around the world with my husband. So, I decided that teaching English as a foreign language would be a natural and enjoyable way for me to earn money during our travel adventures.
The recent Covid-19 Lockdown in the UK and my long summer vacation gave me the perfect opportunity to purchase my 120-hour TEFL course online. Having put the study hours in, I have now successfully passed the TEFL certificate. I am now confident about applying for English teaching jobs around the world or for online teaching positions from my current base in the UK.
How to Teach English Abroad?
First and foremost, to teach English abroad as a foreign language, you do not need to be a qualified Teacher and you do not need any previous teaching experience. However, you do need to be able to speak English fluently and hold a TEFL certification. In addition, many employers require a bachelor’s degree to teach English abroad.
Even if you are a qualified Teacher in your own country, you will need a recognised TEFL qualification to work in schools abroad. Despite holding a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Primary Education and Teaching, I recognised that I would also need a TEFL certificate to teach English around the world. Consequently, I decided to purchase a 120-hour TEFL course online offered by The TEFL Org to give me the best chance of gaining employment in this field.
What is a TEFL Certificate?
A TEFL certificate will enable you to teach English abroad or online from the comforts of your own home.
With a TEFL certificate, you can make your dream a reality! You can explore the world and live and teach abroad. Alternatively, you can be your own boss and set your own hours by teaching online from anywhere in the world.
To achieve your TEFL certificate, you need to choose the right TEFL course which suits your needs. To help you decide, below you will find a brief summary of each of the TEFL courses currently offered by The TEFL Org.
Which TEFL Course Should I Choose?
To get TEFL certified, you can choose from a wide range of TEFL courses. The TEFL Org (offers a comprehensive choice including:
1. Online TEFL Courses
These are extremely flexible and self-paced to fit around different busy schedules
2. Traditional Face-to Face Classroom Only TEFL Courses
These are held at various central locations across the UK which are easily accessible. They are led by experienced and qualified EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Tutors.
3. Virtual Classroom TEFL Courses
These are ideal if you are unable to attend physical classroom courses. They contain the same content as the face-to-face classroom courses with the same Tutors, but you study from home.
4. Combined TEFL Courses
These combine flexible online study with attendance at a number of physical classroom courses.
5. TEFL Level 5 Courses
This is the highest available level of TEFL certification. This advanced and comprehensive TEFL course is a Ofqual regulated at Level 5.
Before you decide which TEFL course to purchase, it is important to think about how you like to study and how much time you can commit to your TEFL course. For instance, do you have the discipline to distance learn and manage your time independently? Or do you prefer to be in a traditional classroom with other learners and a Teacher?
Personally, I chose the 120-hour TEFL course online. This is partly because I had previous experience of distance learning with The Open University, so I was confident in my ability to study independently at home.
However, I also needed a flexible TEFL course which would fit around my heavy workload as a full-time Teacher. It was important for me to be able to self-schedule my studies in the evenings and weekends and to learn at my own pace. This is why the 120-hour TEFL course online offered by The TEFL Org was the perfect option for me.
Click here to browse the best TEFL course for your needs.
How Many Hours TEFL Course Do I Need?
TEFL qualifications are measured in hours. According to The TEFL Org, the industry standard is 120 hours. Certainly, The TEFL Org reports that this is the amount of study hours most frequently required by organisations advertising jobs in their dedicated jobs centre.
Before I decided how many hours TEFL course to opt for, I searched TEFL jobs on the internet for myself. I discovered that it was true that most potential employers required a TEFL certificate of at least 120 hours. As a result, I opted for the 120-hour TEFL course online as employment opportunities looked good coupled with my existing bachelor’s degree.
To make the right decision for your future, click here to check out the wide range of excellent TEFL courses offered by The TEFL Org.
How Long Does It Take to Complete a 120 Hour TEFL Course Online?
As the TEFL course name suggests, it will take you 120-hours to complete the 120-hour TEFL course online.
However, according to The TEFL Org website, most people are able to successfully complete this TEFL certificate within 10-12 weeks. This equates to approximately 10-12 hours per week.
How quickly you complete the 120-hour TEFL course online will obviously depend on your work and family commitments. One of the great things about The TEFL Org is that they allow you up to 6 months to complete your 120-hour TEFL course online. They also offer the possibility of extensions if life gets in the way!
If you are not working and have no family commitments, you will probably be able to complete the course relatively quickly. Personally, I knew that I could not complete my TEFL qualification quickly. I was working full-time as a Teacher (which involves weekend planning) and my husband and I also run two websites together.
That being said, I successfully completed the course within 6 months without the need of purchasing any extensions offered by The TEFL Org. To be honest, there were some weeks when I only did a few hours study and other weeks when I did no coursework at all! Studying with The TEFL Org for my 120-hour TEFL course online gave me just the flexibility I needed to fit in with my lifestyle!
What Will I Learn in a 120-Hour TEFL Course Online?
On the 120-hour TEFL course online offered by The TEFL Org, you will learn essential skills and knowledge about how to teach English as a foreign language.
If you don’t have any prior teaching experience, you will also develop your confidence to teach. Even though I am a qualified Teacher, I still found the course really valuable. This is because teaching English to students who don’t speak English is completely different from teaching a class of native English speakers!
The TEFL courses offered by The TEFL org have been designed by very experienced EFL Teachers. The 120-hour TEFL course online is very well-structured and features high-quality resources. The entire course is very easy to follow thanks to The TEFL Org’s excellent user-friendly website which is simple to navigate.
Basically, the 120-hour TEFL course online is divided into the following 5 mini courses or modules:
- TEFL Grammar Course (30 hours)
This comprehensive and insightful course will improve your basic grammar and help you understand the rules and exceptions of the English language. It also gives you practical ideas about how to teach grammar to students and includes examples of fun, relevant and engaging activities.
It’s true to say that you will need to persevere with this particular course as it is quite heavy going and requires some dedication to get through it! I thought my grammar was fairly good as a practising Teacher, but I learned an awful lot along the way.
2. TEFL Methodology Course (50 hours)
If you have never taught in a classroom environment before, this part of the course will really help you and boost your confidence. It covers classroom management and teaching styles and gives you detailed information about the TEFL approach to teaching. This module contains loads of practical tips which will inform your later teaching practice.
The Methodology Course also includes specialist units on business English, young learners and teaching English one-to-one.
3. TEFL Video Observation Course (20 hours)
As the name suggests, the Video Observation Course focuses on you watching an experienced TEFL Teacher teaching small groups of students. These observations are a really powerful way of enhancing your teaching practice and will give you lots of ideas to try out. They will also help you see how TEFL theory is translated into practice in the classroom.
4. TEFL Telephone Teaching Course (10 hours)
The Telephone Teaching Course is an interesting mini module which focuses on the skills needed to teach English as a foreign language one-to-one via the telephone, Skype and other VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) software.
5. TEFL Teaching Large Classes Course (10 hours)
The final part of the 120-hour TEFL course online is another mini module which will support you in teaching large classes. In some parts of the world, class sizes can range from 40-100 students, so it is good to think about the different techniques involved in managing large classes. I currently teach a class of 30 children, so I found this part of the course very interesting.
Within each of these courses, there is clear and interesting reading material with downloadable content for later reference. Written material is cleverly broken up with thoughtful interactive activities, multiple choice quizzes and useful video clips of authentic classroom practice.
It is worth pointing out that you will also be expected to complete a number of short written assignments during your course! I hadn’t realised this until the first one popped up, so it’s good to be aware. Don’t be put off though! They are relevant assignments with a short word count!
You can easily keep track of your course progress in your personal area of The TEFL org website. I was very impressed with the clear layout of the website.
It was easy to see which sections of my overall course were complete as my progress was automatically checked off. I found this to be very motivating. You also submit and receive prompt feedback for those written assignments via the website!
Why Should I Consider a 120-Hour TEFL Course Online?
There are many reasons why you should consider a 120-hour TEFL course online.
Firstly, this TEFL certification is widely accepted around the world and is frequently cited as the preferred qualification of many international schools looking for TEFL Teachers.
Secondly, this TEFL course is relatively inexpensive in terms of professional development and can be completed quite quickly. On average, most students complete the 120-hour TEFL course online within 10 to 12 weeks.
Lastly, if you choose to study with The TEFL Org, the 120-hour TEFL course online is easy to follow with excellent resources including videos of real classroom teaching practice. In addition, students with The TEFL Org are well supported by an online Tutor and online student forum.
What is the Best 120-Hour TEFL Course Online?
In my opinion, The TEFL Org offers a high-quality 120-Hour TEFL course online which has been designed by experienced EFL Teachers and offers very good value for money. Other students also agree, as The TEFL Org also regularly receives excellent student reviews
Here are my top 6 reasons why The TEFL Org offers the best 120-hour TEFL course online:
1. An Experienced and Accredited TEFL Training Provider
If you choose to purchase a TEFL course with The TEFL Org, you should feel confident that the organisation has successfully trained over 140,000 EFL Teachers since it was founded over 10 years ago.
In addition, The TEFL Org has more accreditation than any other TEFL provider in the UK which guarantees that your TEFL certification is of a high quality and will be recognised around the world.
2. High Quality and Engaging Resources and Assessment Opportunities
The resources offered by The TEFL Org on the 120-hour TEFL course online are easy to follow and are extremely accessible. They include a mixture of reading material, engaging interactive activities, multiple choice quizzes and video clips demonstrating real classroom teaching practice.
To ensure that you are understanding the course and to maintain standards, you will be assessed at regular intervals. These assessments are a mixture of multiple-choice quizzes and relevant short written assignments which focus on the skills and knowledge you have learned.
3. Access to Online Tutor
Another great thing about The TEFL Org is that you will be assigned an online Tutor who is there to support you during your 120-hour TEFL course online. Your Tutor will give you prompt and personal feedback about your written assignments to help you improve.
4. Well-Structured and Relevant Content
The 120-hour TEFL course online offered by The TEFL org is well-structured and is also very relevant.
Of course, the 120-hour TEFL course online includes vital modules about teaching grammar and teaching methodology. However, it also covers teaching online, teaching over the telephone and teaching large classes. These skills will help your CV stand out from other applicants for TEFL teaching posts!
5. Dedicated TEFL Jobs Centre and Good Employment Prospects
The TEFL Org also has a dedicated jobs centre with over 100 jobs in about 50 different countries. According to its website, 80 % of The TEFL Org students find employment within 2 months of completing their studies. The TEFL Org students have lifetime access to the TEFL Jobs Centre.
6. Flexible Forms of Study to Suit All Needs
If you choose to study for the 120-hour TEFL course online with The TEFL Org, you will have up to 6 months to complete your TEFL course with the possibility to extend this time limit. This course is fully online and gives you complete flexibility about when to study and where to study.
Having studied with The TEFL Org for my 120-hour TEFL course online, I feel fully equipped to start my journey with teaching English as a foreign language.
If you want the flexibility to travel and work abroad or online from home, what are you waiting for? Join me and click here to find the best 120-hour TEFL course online today! Don’t delay because The TEFL Org often runs amazing 50 % off discounts!