“The information provided would be very helpful and informative for someone who has never taught before. As someone who is currently teaching, some units, classroom management, lesson planning, etc. were not new for me and therefore a bit boring. However, the units on specific grammar and language points were quite helpful, especially the pronunciation unit. The activity ideas provided were great, but could use some more explanation in terms of how best to execute them.
When I contacted the tutor, I received quick and helpful responses to my questions.
I was disappointed in the videos. The instructors simply repeated the same information that was provided in the reading materials. Often, they wrote out everything that was said on whiteboards. I expected the videos to go over the same material of course, but in a more visual way. The videos that showed example classes were the most helpful. Seeing the concepts that had been discussed in practice is what I expected from the videos in the first place.
Overall, this course was mostly useful and not very difficult.”
“The program focused heavily on learning and using different aspects of grammar and English language, and as such it felt more like a crash course on English grammar than it did a teaching course. It didn't really have many lessons about classroom management or ways to impart English to students. The course was good for refreshing my own knowledge of grammar, but I don't think it really helped me to become a good ~teacher~ in any specific way.”
“Tests need to be reviewed. Some questions are weak. Others test the ability to remember information.
Higher oder thinking skills need to be enhanced in the material. More practical examples should be added.”
“The tests are poorly designed, asking questions that address what is NOT correct rather than what is the correct response. In addition, when I enrolled in this course I was given to understand that I would be given assistance in locating teaching positions abroad; this has been non-existent. The only thing I receive is information on taking more courses. I hold a doctorate and am not interested in more instruction, facts I made clear from the beginning.”
“As an experienced but unlicensed English Teacher, I think the overall program was on the easy side since I could already instantly relate to the topics especially with the teaching methodologies part and lesson planning. What I think needs to have more content on or should have more in-depth detail is the section where classifications of students were introduced. Perhaps including a scientific approach to it could be exponentially beneficial to teachers and backing that up with suggested published journals and articles on L2 teaching and learning. Another thing is the teaching methodology encouraged to be used by iTTT. There were several disclaimers in the modules that the ESA methodology is not mandatory to be used by the teachers but when it came to the assessment, I felt a bit forced to use/memorize/understand which activity belongs to what stage and things like that which is something that I didn't really enjoy throughout the program. The assessment is also a bit of a set back for me because most of it was reinforcing only memorization work and not immersion and full absorption of the material's contents. I think what could put more pressure on the trainee is doing or recording a demo class for each applicable topic and then at least once a week, a tutor support can critique the trainee not only through e-mail but via Skype or Google hangout. If this is added, I think more students/trainees/ future English teachers would want to get training and become certified by ITTT.”
“I think the quizzes were far too easy and allowed test takers to find loopholes to pass the tests without retaining information. Test questions in which one can logically deduce the answers based on process-of-elimination are not appropriate for people pursuing professional teaching jobs, as test-takers focus more on the absolute minimum work they can do to pass, rather than on the information they are supposed to be absorbing. This test-taking method is tempting for even the most earnest students and ultimately leads to a lower caliber of ITTT certificate holders.”
“I did it online and thought ITTT's multiple choice system made it too easy to get through. I think it should incorporate some assessments which demand a student's research skills and application like the lesson plan. Though overall the necessary content was there and business with ITTT was easy.”
“Many, if not most, schools I applied to would not recognize this program because there is no practicum, no actual classroom interaction incorporated.”
“Good online TEFL course to qualify for overseas teaching positions. The course was well laid out and self explanatory. I completed it very quickly.
The staff could have been more helpful by providing a webpage with basic info on getting your certificate an apostille which is necessary for most international jobs. The people in the office just brushed me off when I sent questions about this. In fact, they were rather rude. The apostille in the USA is obtained by getting notarized signatures at all levels, from notarizing my statement about the certificate, to the county offices notarizing the signature of the notary, to the state capital notarizing the signature of the county official, to the embassy of the country where I planned to use the certificate. It can be time consuming.
I completed the course in plenty of time for the teaching position I was offered but did not manage to get the apostille in time for the new semester. So I took the course for nothing, as they found someone else by the time the apostille was achieved.
So, good course if you just need a piece of paper. No help in making your knowledge useful in getting a job.”
“I enjoyed the class and the material taught, but since I did the class completely online I still lacked the confidence to go overseas to teach on my own. I would recommend the more expensive class that provided teaching experience. That being said, I still had several job offers In Asia, based only on my TEFL certification, so I do recommend the online course for people who are a bit braver than me! Money well spent.”
“I feel this course was a waste of money as this certification is not very widely recognized, nor did it equip me with the skills i had expected it to. I completed a Cambridge celta shortly after completing the tefl certification which was much more useful both in terms of what it taught me and gaining employment.”
