Both are Level 5 TEFL qualifications, the CELTA offered by Cambridge University and the Trinity CertTESOL by Trinity College London. The main difference between them and our Level 5 TEFL qualification is that they include observed teaching practice. Although 90% of employers do not ask for these qualifications, some offering very well paid jobs in the Middle East or those based in native-English speaking countries, such as Australia, the UK or the USA, may ask for these qualifications as they are highly respected in the industry.

Ninety percent of jobs do not ask for the CELTA or TrinityCertTESOL qualifications, so our students completing our main Level 5 TEFL course usually find employment within 4-6 weeks of course completion. Employers that ask for the CELTA or TrinityCertTESOL qualifications usually require teaching experience in addition to a TEFL qualification. These employers usually offer very well paid jobs in the Middle East or can often be based in native-English speaking countries, such as Australia, the UK or the USA.

Completing a Level 5 TEFL qualification with us will give you the qualification you need to apply for 90% of TEFL jobs without the high up-front cost or lack of flexibility of the CELTA or TrinityCertTESOL courses. You can get into the classroom faster, allowing you to decide whether TEFL is the right career path for you. If you only want to teach for a few years, online-only, whilst travelling, and not in a Native-English speaking country, then there is no real need to ever complete a CELTA or TrinityCertTESOL equivalent qualification. If, however, you decide that TEFL could be a long-term career, then you can choose to complete our Observed Teaching Practice course. Once completed you will have teaching experience and a CELTA or TrinityCertTESOL equivalent qualification, allowing you to apply for jobs that ask for these qualifications and making you highly employable.

Employers will only accept an Observed Teaching Practice course as a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL equivalent qualification if it sits on the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications. This is because regulated qualifications ensure that the trainers observing the lessons and providing feedback are suitably qualified.

You can find our qualification on the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications here.

This course has been designed as a continuous professional development course for teachers who have already started work, therefore it is up to the learner to ensure they are in either volunteer or paid employment when they start the course. You can be teaching face-face-face in a classroom or online. Once you have completed your main qualification you can find work on our jobs board, external job boards, our volunteer and paid internships or online teaching. There is a unit dedicated to finding employment in our main Level 5 TEFL Diploma course.

For classroom teaching you can use any smartphone (we discuss how to set up your phone within the course) to record your lessons. For online teaching there are several ways to record your lessons on your computer device, which are also discussed within the course.

Most schools and online ESL/EFL providers will allow you to observe your fellow teachers in order to complete your qualification. If this is not possible we will provide videos for you to observe instead.

The course is regulated by Ofqual (UK government department) and awarded by Qualifi, a UK government-recognised awarding body. You can find our qualification on the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications here.

The TEFL Academy is fully accredited by Qualifi an Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, a UK government department) regulated awarding body. Qualifi have robust quality assurance systems and procedures in place which all course providers must successfully pass in order to be accredited under the scheme.

You can find out more about Qualifi on their website: https://qualifi.net