Online TEFL certification, or Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification, is your golden ticket to teaching English to non-native speakers around the world or even online. Think of it as the ultimate crash course in teaching – it equips you with all the tools, skills, and confidence you need to lead a classroom (or a Zoom call) full of eager English learners.

So, what’s actually involved? An online TEFL course will teach you everything from how to plan engaging lessons to managing a classroom full of students. You’ll also get a deep dive into English grammar – even the tricky bits you might not have thought about since school! More expensive online TEFL courses may include hands-on teaching practice, so you can try out your skills in real-life situations. However, most courses do not. Our 168-hour course gives our students the opportunity to produce a demo lesson, but teaching actual students presents a range of issues (e.g. safeguarding and logistics) that make it extremely difficult for most TEFL course providers. If you are looking for actual practical experience, consider a CELTA course or an internship.

Honestly, it’s for anyone with a passion for teaching and a love for travel or connecting with people. Whether you’re a recent graduate, someone looking for a career change, or just a wanderlust-fueled adventurer, TEFL is your gateway to teaching English abroad or online.

Now, why is it so important? For starters, most employers – whether they’re schools in Thailand or online platforms – require a TEFL certificate. It’s proof that you know what you’re doing, have some background knowledge about teaching English as a foreign language, and have develop an awareness of the key skills that must be developed and honed as you gain practical teaching experience. Plus, even if you’ve never taught a day in your life, a TEFL course will prepare you to teach confidently and effectively. It also opens doors to amazing opportunities in places like Japan, Spain, China, and beyond. And if teaching online is more your vibe, many platforms like VIPKid and Cambly love hiring TEFL-certified teachers.

You might’ve heard of other certifications like TESOL or CELTA and wondered how they compare. TESOL is similar but sometimes refers to teaching English in English-speaking countries, while CELTA is a more intensive program focused on teaching adults (and it costs $1000s for course plus expenses). TEFL certification online (especially the best TEFL certification online, which we provide at studyTEFL – definitely for hour per dollar!) is the most versatile option, perfect for teaching English practically anywhere. 120 hours of training is the industry standard and what most employers look for.

The best part? Online TEFL certification isn’t just about teaching. It’s a passport to new adventures, whether that’s working in a bustling city in Vietnam, exploring remote villages in South America, or teaching kids in your pajamas from the comfort of home. You’ll also gain valuable skills like communication, cultural awareness, and even public speaking.

So, if you’ve ever dreamed of teaching English, traveling the world, or simply doing something meaningful and rewarding, TEFL certification might just be the perfect fit. Got more questions or curious about where to start? Let us know – we’d love to help!

We are a UK-registered online TEFL course provider. We deliver the best cheap TEFL courses online through video and text lessons via our industry-standard 120 hour online TEFL certification course and 168 hour online TEFL certification course. These courses are accredited by OTCAC. StudyTEFL is also accredited by CPD-verified. Our founder and director, Dominic Burdon, is a UK-qualified teacher (PGDE) with 20 years global experience teaching English language and literature. We are a team of instructors mainly from the UK, but mostly residing in different locations around Asia. Each of us is actively teaching and highly qualified with at least a Master’s in TESOL and 10-15 years of English teaching experience.

We market our affordable TEFL courses with pride, knowing that our lessons and overall courses are as good as, or superior to, all other online-only courses out there. We earned OTCAC accreditation first time – meaning our course, despite its ‘cheap TEFL course’ status, far exceeds international standards set by the accreditation committee.

StudyTEFL’s 120-hour TEFL certification courses are 100% accessible from anywhere with internet access. While many budget accredited TEFL programs require essays, our comprehensive quizzes ensure you develop an in-depth understanding of the content without the paperwork burden. All units in our affordable TEFL certification online courses are supplemented by instructional videos that enhance learning. Some cheap TEFL courses sometimes cut corners on quality, but not ours — try our free units for your peace of mind about our teaching standards. 

In terms of trust, we have the credentials (you can verify everything openly online – we are fully open and accountable), but we understand your hesitation: Google “Cheap TEFL courses reddit” and there’s a whole world of confusing comments from fake (TEFL course provider) reviewers and genuine students alike going from the extremes of “Cheap TEFL courses are fine for getting a TEFL job” to “Cheap TEFL courses are terrible and they’ll get you laughed at!” The truth is that no employer is going to laugh at your TEFL certification, but they might not find some certifications credible. StudyTEFL certification is credible, is verifiable, and is reputable. Further, when you make a payment to our site, your money is protected by either Stripe or PayPal (and your credit card provider). We follow UK and EU law regarding our digital products. Read our terms to know your rights.

Technically, a TEFL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is used to teach English to non-native speakers in places where English isn’t the first language, while a TESOL certificate (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is for English teachers teaching anywhere. However, both are internationally recognized certifications for aspiring English teachers and are treated as effectively the same thing by most employers worldwide. 

To recap in slightly more detail:

• TEFL certification is mainly for those who plan to teach English to non-native speakers in countries where English is not the first language—for example, teaching in places like Thailand, China, or Spain.
• TESOL certification is a broader term. It applies to teaching English both abroad and to learners living in English-speaking countries, such as immigrants or visitors in the USA, UK, or Australia.

Both TEFL and TESOL certification is widely accepted by employers worldwide and open doors to teaching English online or overseas – our TEFL-TESOL certificates actually read “TEFL-TESOL Certificate”. At studyTEFL, our 120-hour online TEFL course fully equips you for both TEFL and TESOL teaching opportunities across the globe.

From $39 right now, but our prices will rise in the future. Our students consistently say that we provide great value. Be sure to check what you get with certification – all courses include a digital TEFL-TESOL certificate (premium with QR-embedding, self-print certs, and a verifiable online webpage transcript, among other extras).

You’re in the right place! We offer accredited TEFL courses UK-registered and made by UK-qualified teachers. Our affordable TEFL certification can be earned by anyone around the world, though we do ask that you are over 18 years of age. Simply click ‘Enroll’ (you might see this spelled as ‘enrol’ – it’s simply a UK versus American spelling difference), pay for your course, and then you’ll be redirected to the course enrollment page. You’ll need to click ‘Enroll’ on the course page, then start the first lesson of your course.

Learning involves watching videos, reading the text, and then either re-watching the videos or re-reading the text (or both!) to make sure you’ve really understood the content. After this, you should complete any lesson flows to get the secret password to use in the matching unit quizzes. Lesson flows are guided multiple choice flows that eventually get a bit more complex as the course proceeds (in order to help you visualize a real TEFL classroom environment).

After completing all the units, there’s a final multiple-choice exam with some questions relating to an attached lesson plan. Pass these quizzes and you’ll receive 2 beautiful digital certificates and a transcript in your inbox: the QR code on these certificates links to this online version for verification. You can also self-print your own TEFL certificate to use officially and when applying for jobs (do so on thick card for legitimacy of touch).

Our accredited TEFL program is 120 hours long – calculated by combining reading time, instructional videos, and comprehensive quizzes. While some students complete this online TEFL certification course faster, we recommend fully absorbing the material to excel in future online TEFL jobs or teach English abroad opportunities. If you dedicated 12 hours a day to your study, you could finish the course in just over a week. If you are already familiar with some of the learning material, are a fast learner, or decide to skip some of the material (which we do not condone) then you could become TEFL certified slightly quicker. However, our material is vast and our quizzes require thought, so please do not expect to pass our course in a day! 

The 40-hour Teaching English to Young Learners courses and 8-hour TEAL course are time-rated similarly. Students enrolling in these extra courses alongside their 120 hour online TEFL course will have the additional hours applied to their official TEFL certificate (e.g., 168-hour TEFL certificate online), unless they specify that they want the certificates separately. 168 hours is the maximum we can put on a TEFL certificate because that is the limit of our accreditation. Therefore, if a student completes the 168-hour TEFL certification course and then completes a 40-hour Business TEFL course, they will receive two separate TEFL certificates – it also looks more impressive on your c.v.!

Level 3 TEFL courses are OFQUAL-regulated (England regulator only) at 120 hours of TEFL training. Level 5 TEFL courses require around 160 to 170 hours of TEFL training and OFQUAL regulation. Many TEFL companies claim to be Level 3 or Level 5, whereas they are only ‘equivalent’, since without OFQUAL approval in England, they simply are not. Our courses are ‘equivalent’ to Level 3 and Level 5 TEFL courses, but we are not willing to pay the many thousands of pounds annually to get the official recognition of ‘Level’ status. Our 120-hour TEFL course covers all of the same topics, theory, and knowledge as other 120-hour TEFL courses, whether they are Level 3 or not. It’s a bit like trying to highlight the difference between an Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphone – they both share similar capibilities on 99% of checkpoints, but they differ ever so slightly on what they offer for the other 1% of capabilities. Our 120-hour TEFL course is a Level-3 equivalent. Our course speaks for itself in terms of quality, but we are also accredited independently. Employers look for 120-hour TEFL certification in most cases, as do other officials such as education boards. Our 168-hour TEFL course, which we will include on the site soon, is a Level 5 TEFL course equivalent, but this is only really recommended for those seeking positions with young learners. With that said, most teachers find the 120-hour online TEFL course to be sufficient for all of their English teaching needs.