English for the World TEFL Certificate

Certificate DetailsTESOL: Facts from Fiction

Nothing prepares you for teaching English outside the U.S. like… actually teaching English.

A lot.

The English for the World Accredited TEFL/TESOL Certificate costs $1400. The core of our program is actual teaching practice with real English language learners. Our TESOL Certificate offers 30 hours of guided teaching experience with support, coaching, tips, connections, tools and materials. This practical experience is combined with an 11-week accredited online program alongside a cohort of other budding language educators. We’ll arrange your practice opportunities and walk with you until you have the confidence to do it on your own. We’ll show you how to do the same thing with your clients, community members, and students.

The English for the World TEFL Certificate provides:

  • 30 hours of practical classroom experience (and more if you want!)
  • 11 – week interactive course (about 150 hours) with a university professor
  • Lifetime job placement support – domestic, international, and online – we can even help your build your own professional language coaching company!
  • A breathtaking network of current teachers, past teachers, schools, and partners in more than 80 countries
  • Lifetime letters of recommendation, support with resume building, applications, special programs like EPIK and JET
  • About 50 exploratory, reflective and customization tasks to provide you with
    • tools
    • materials
    • resources
    • curriculum, lesson, and activity design guidance

There are two tracks available – we call them Quests:

The Quest of the Proficiency Coach – this track is focused on 1:1 language & cultural skills development. This program is designed to be a virtual experience, though it can be adapted to in-person skills coaching. This Quest is ideal for life coaches, digital nomads, professional consultants, and mid-career professionals who want to be able to make their own way in the world.

The Quest of the Classroom Facilitator – this track is focused on facilitating group learning experiences. We will need to coordinate with a program in your location to find an appropriate class, though we can adapt to a virtual environment. This Quest is designed for people who plan to work with groups of children or adults, in a second language or foreign language context.

Because there are always people wanting to learn English, you can start at any time. Most program elements are modular, allowing you to begin at your convenience and proceed at your own pace. If you are doing a digital training experience, you can develop your competencies as a Language Skills Facilitator from anywhere in the world! Getting started requires no fees or commitment – you could be Shadowing a live English learning session within the next 24 hours! We just need to set up a 30 minute intake call to explain how it works. Email info@pptpdx.com to set up your intake.

Telling it Like It Is

We are an intercultural communications service company, grounded in values of global connection and social justice. We build bridges over borders. We’re not the greatest at making money, but we’re really good at making meaningful connections. We are serious about people learning languages. And we’re serious about people becoming good teachers. We get up and do this work day after day because we believe in it, and we think the world needs it. There’s no time to lose – let’s clear away some of the mystery.

So, here’s some clarity:

  • You can’t learn to speak a language from a book. You have to practice it with other people.
  • You can’t learn to teach a language from a book. You have to do it.
  • Don’t confuse 100 hours of instruction with 100 hours of teaching practice – one of them gives you a lot of ideas; the other gives you a lot of skills.
  • TEFL/TESL/TESOL are almost interchangeable – TESOL is the most generally acceptable term in our field.
  • A Certificate is a document showing you completed a set of learning objectives.
  • A Certification is generally a set of competencies required by some recognized governing authority in a given professional field.
  • There is no such thing as a “TESOL Certification” because there is no accepted global standard.
  • There are lots of TEFL/TESOL Certificates – some are accredited, some are not.
  • Any Certificate program that is not accredited or doesn’t require some kind of practical experience has the same value as you creating your own TESL Certificate.
  • Many TESOL jobs around the world are sort of after school youth enrichment programs
  • Here’s the rough hierarchy of credentials for English teaching:
    • PhD or MA TESOL
    • MA in anything
    • Bachelor’s Degree in anything + TESOL Certificate of any kind (accredited or not)
    • Bachelor’s Degree in anything
    • Accredited TESOL Certificate
    • Unaccredited Certificate
  • Here’s a rough hierarchy of credibility for English teaching:
    • 5+ years of teaching experience – expert
    • 3-5 years of teaching experience – seasoned
    • 1-2 years of teaching experience – proficient
    • 100+ hours of teaching experience – competent
    • 20-100 hours of teaching experience – developing
    • 1-20 hours of teaching experience – novice
    • observation only – inexperienced
  • In almost every case, “native” speakers of English will always be preferred over “non-native” English speakers – even though this “nativist” idea is not supported by research, and reflects internalized colonization.
  • In almost every case, people with light skin will be preferred over people with dark skin, which is a symptom of the exportation of anti-blackness and colorism across the globe.

Frequently, someone with 5 years of experience will be more competitive than someone with a Master’s degree and no experience. Here’s the point: Don’t get your TEFL/TESOL Certificate for the credential – get it for the experience and network. That’s what makes it valuable.

check our work: Teaching English Wikipedia Page

Here’s the big secret…

If you’re willing to chance it and go to a city (even in Europe) and spend a week or two, you’ll likely be able to find well-paying work in a school or as a private tutor. Native English speakers are in demand all over the world, and many schools will hire you if you show up on their doorstep, seem nice, and have light skin. (There are racist and imperialist undertones to English teaching throughout the world, which is something P-P-T is consciously working to address – ask us how! info@pptpdx.com).

Regardless of the level of credentialing you pursue, you will need hands-on practice working with English Language Learners (ELLs). P-P-T is the only practical English teacher training program with both accredited and non-accredited options to help prepare you for teaching positions around the world.

Of course, P-P-T offers no guarantees, but we can definitely improve the likelihood of a good outcome.