Choosing a TEFL certificate course can admittedly be a daunting prospect for those who are unfamiliar with the industry. You'll find a wealth of different advice and information on numerous websites, some of it honest and correct, some technically correct but misleading, some contradictory, and some simply untrue.

Before making a decision about whether you want to do a TEFL certificate course we recommend that you read through the following information.

Who should I take my TEFL course with?

The market is competitive and there are many companies, schools and organisations around the world that offer various TEFL and TESOL certification courses.

The cheapest course isn't always the best option.  And just because a course is more expensive doesn't mean it's necessarily better.  Your investment needs to be effective.  Your time, your training and your money are important.  Also keep in mind that if one TEFL course is going to land you with a good teaching job after completion and another isn't, a price difference of a hundred dollars or so may be a cost worth bearing.  So, how to choose?

Firstly, there are internationally accepted, industry proven standards for TEFL and TESOL certification courses worldwide. They have been collected, formalized and expressed by organisations such as TESOL (in the US) and the British Council (in the UK).

Secondly, most employers worldwide will want to know whether your TEFL or TESOL course fulfilled these basic standards.
The minimum requirements are:

• At least 100 tuition hours and 4 weeks in length on-site, (shorter courses than this are not generally accepted).
• At least 6 hours of real, face-to-face, observed teaching practice with actual groups of students.

Thirdly, the best endorsements for a TEFL course are the opinions of graduate teachers, and their employers. Once you have demonstrated your seriousness by applying for a course, a training school should upon request put you in contact with one or more graduates.

Questions to ask here include: 'Did your TEFL course provider assist you in finding a job after the course? Did your employer readily accept your certificate? Was the TEFL course professionally run according to the principles and guidelines promised on the course provider's website?' You can, undoubtedly, think of other questions.

Fourthly, if you need university credit for your TEFL or TESOL teacher training course confirm with your university that the specific awarding body for the certificate is acceptable.

Where should I take my TEFL course?

TEFL or TESOL teachers work with people from another culture and language who want to learn English. It is, therefore, of great advantage and benefit to get your training in a culture other than your own.

There are now training courses on offer in most popular travel and work destinations around the World.

In some very popular locations, such as Prague or Barcelona, you can take your pick of any one of a dozen course providers, (but do you really want to work in a location where you have to learn a less useful language such as Czech or Catalan?).

Popular destinations such as Prague or Barcelona may offer more opportunities, but there is a higher cost of living and lower earning potential due to a more competitive market place.

If you know where you want to work, it makes a great deal of sense to take your TEFL or TESOL course in that country, wherever possible. More and more these days, employers are unwilling to offer positions to teachers without their attending a face-to-face interview first. This is especially true for Americans (and other non-EU nationals) seeking to work in Western Europe. Unless you're prepared to travel halfway around the world for a 40-minute job interview, bear this in mind! A well-established local TEFL training centre can offer you far more help in finding work in a particular location than can one in a different country or continent, however good or professional their course may be.

Networked groups of TEFL training centres are able to offer all graduates, irrespective of where they took the course, access to local job guidance and help from any centre in the international group, at any time in the future. Additionally some groups have graduate 'clubs' via internet blogs or secure access sites so that available, non-advertised jobs can be posted and other information shared.

For certain world regions such as the Far East, where demand for teachers is high, interviews are normally conducted over the telephone or via agents. It is safer and often more satisfying to choose local TESOL teacher training centres that know the hiring organisations and often have good relationships with them or graduates who do/have worked for them.

In Europe, however, especially for non-EU nationals for whom work is always more difficult to find, most jobs are found by knowing local contacts. Private English language schools regularly employ newly trained TEFL teachers that way, especially in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, and Turkey.