The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

This 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026 article was last updated on February 24, 2026.

There are numerous Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses advertised online, and the pandemic was a catalyst for a tremendous surge in newly-established, fly-by-night companies, offering low-quality, dirt-cheap TEFL/TESOL courses.

In the past few years, Trusted TEFL Reviews has witnessed a significant increase in complaints from consumers who have purchased a 120-hour TEFL/TESOL course for less than US$100. These verified student reviews report that such courses don’t properly prepare you for teaching and that they tend to be unrecognized by employers and government visa agencies/offices.

It is, therefore, essential that you choose to take a TEFL/TESOL certification course that is legitimately recognized worldwide – for all online and abroad/overseas English teaching jobs.

The following Online TEFL/TESOL programs are on this Best Of list due to their consistently positive customer feedback, their better business practices, and because the certification awarded is recognized internationally by online and abroad/overseas employers and government visa agencies/offices.

These are the 5 best online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2026:

1. TEFL Online Pro

Top of our list is TEFL Online Pro. Students consistently rate their courses, customer support, and teaching online and abroad job-finding services as being excellent. All TEFL Online Pro courses come with 24/7 online tutor support, and there are no hidden fees.

TEFL Online Pro has won the Teachers’ Choice Award for the past 7 years in a row – it is the highest-rated Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program in 2026.

Is TEFL Online Pro accredited? Yes. The certifications awarded are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Courses start from US$149.

TEFL Online Pro website: https://teflonlinepro.com/

TEFL Online Pro verified reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-reviews-in-2025/

TEFL/TESOL online programs that win the Teachers’ Choice Award are granted the ability to enjoy a whole year’s free exposure on Trusted TEFL Reviews, where they may post, for example, any current course discounts or promotions.

TEFL Online Pro | Limited-Time Offer | Get $100 Off TEFL/TESOL certification + free shipping on hard-copy certificates! Ends 23:59 on February 28th | Get Discount >

2. OISE University of Toronto TEFL

In second place on our list is OISE University of Toronto TEFL. Student feedback on this program is consistently positive, and one of the standout positive points of feedback is the program’s links to the University of Toronto. All OISE University of Toronto TEFL courses come with online tutor support, and there are no hidden fees.

Is OISE University of Toronto TEFL accredited? Yes. The certifications awarded are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Courses start from US$995.

OISE University of Toronto TEFL website: https://teflonline.teachaway.com/

OISE University of Toronto TEFL verified reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/oise-university-of-toronto-tefl/

3. CIEE TEFL

In third place on our list is CIEE TEFL. Student feedback on this program is consistently positive, and all their courses come with online tutor support and international job guidance services. CIEE TEFL offers job placement support for countries such as Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and there are no hidden fees.

Is CIEE TEFL accredited? Yes. The certifications awarded are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Courses start from US$270.

CIEE TEFL website: https://www.ciee.org/

CIEE TEFL verified reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ciee-tefl/

4. Maximo Nivel TEFL

In fourth place on our list is Maximo Nivel TEFL. Student feedback on this program is consistently positive, and one of the standout positive points of feedback is their ability to provide job placement services for the Central/South American teaching markets. All Maximo Nivel TEFL courses come with online tutor support, and there are no hidden fees.

Is Maximo Nivel TEFL accredited? Yes. The certifications awarded are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Courses start from US$395.

Maximo Nivel TEFL website: https://maximonivel.com/

Maximo Nivel TEFL verified reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/maximo-nivel-tefl/

5. Vantage TEFL Certification

In fifth place on our list is Vantage TEFL Certification. Student feedback on this program is consistently positive, and all their courses come with online tutor support. Graduates highly rate this program for job-finding support services within Thailand. Vantage TEFL Certification also offers a 4-week (in-class) TEFL/TESOL course.

Is Vantage TEFL Certification accredited? Yes. The certifications awarded are Accredited.

Courses start from US$1,295.

Vantage TEFL website: https://www.englishatvantage.com/tefl-combined-class-thailand

Vantage TEFL verified reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/vantage-tefl-certification/

For clarification of the fundamental differences between ‘Accredited‘ and ‘Fully Accredited‘, please refer to the TEFL Accreditation Guide:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-accreditation-guide/

How do I know I can trust the reviews on Trusted TEFL Reviews?

✓ All reviews on Trusted TEFL Reviews are verified.
✓ We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
✓ We require proof of course completion to ensure our reviewers took the course.
✓ We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
✓ Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.

Online TEFL/TESOL course scams exist- be wary of any programs not listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews. A program not listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews might be a scam.

If an Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program doesn’t have a company Facebook page, or if it does and has the Reviews tab disabled, be likewise wary.

The Online TEFL/TESOL industry (yes, it is an industry) is highly competitive. Online TEFL/TESOL schools writing misleading trash about their competition online is a common occurrence. Verified customer reviews are your friend. Anything else is probably just mudslinging by a business competitor.

Online and abroad employers expect you to have either a 120-hour TEFL/TESOL certificate or a 140-hour TEFL/TESOL certificate if it includes 20 hours of teaching practice.

You do not need more.

Some TEFL/TESOL programs offer 168-hour TEFL courses and even courses with 170+ hours. These course lengths are unnecessary and will not increase your chances of employment.

If you already have TEFL teaching experience, a 60-hour refresher course will be enough.

If you don’t have TEFL teaching experience, a 120-hour or 140-hour course will be enough.

For the ranking of all Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews, visit the TEFL Course Directory page:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-course-directory/

This ‘The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026’ article was written by Mia Williams, co-owner of Trusted TEFL Reviews (TTR) | Best Featured TEFL Articles

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026 appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Selecting a TEFL course is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make before launching (or upgrading) your teaching career. With so many providers online—and with some noisy misinformation floating around—prospective teachers often end up comparing the same two programs: TEFL Online Pro and The TEFL Academy.

To simplify that process, this guide presents a clear, independently written comparison based on public course data, accreditation details, student review trends, and overall transparency. The goal is simple: help you understand how each program actually performs in 2025/2026, without the marketing fluff.

Course Options & Structure

TEFL Online Pro — Course Overview

1. 60-Hour Fast-Track Certificate
Designed for teachers with previous classroom or online teaching experience who want a quick, credible TEFL/TESOL upgrade.

2. 120-Hour Professional Certificate (Most Popular)
A full TEFL/TESOL course suitable for beginners.
No experience required; includes modules on:

• Teaching Business English
• Teaching Young Learners
• Teaching English Online / One-to-One teaching + groups

3. 140-Hour Hybrid TEFL/TESOL Certificate
Combines online study with a 20-hour in-person practicum (observed teaching).
Ideal for teachers who want hands-on experience before applying abroad.

No experience required; includes modules on:

• Teaching Business English
• Teaching Young Learners
• Teaching English Online/ One-to-One teaching + groups

Pricing: $149 / $299 / $549
Support: 24/7 tutor access
Extras: CV/resume editing, visa advice, job placement, lifetime support
Recognition: Accepted worldwide by online schools and onsite school employers

The TEFL Academy — Course Overview

1. Level 3 (120 hours)
A basic entry-level TEFL qualification designed mainly for the UK/Ireland framework.

2. Level 5 Diploma (168 hours)
Marketed as a higher-tier credential, though recognition outside the EU/UK varies significantly.

3. Add-On Modules (€180 each):

• Business English
• Young Learners
• Online/One-to-One teaching

Pricing: €413 / €610 / €180 per add-on
Support: Standard
Extras: General claims of “industry-best support,” but without clear deliverables

Accreditation & International Recognition

TEFL Online Pro — Fully Accredited (ACTEFLC)

TEFL Online Pro is accredited by ACTEFLC, an organization that evaluates:

• Course structure and assessment quality
• Tutor qualifications
• Academic standards
• Student outcomes
• Feedback trends

This provides straightforward, global recognition under the common TEFL/TESOL hour-based system (60h, 120h, 140h).

Graduate impact:
Employers worldwide accept the certificate
No need to explain qualification “levels”
Meets all major online and onsite teaching company requirements

The TEFL Academy — Recognized, but Not Fully Accredited

The TEFL Academy promotes affiliations with QUALIFI, AQC, and DEAC.
Important distinction:

These bodies recognize aspects of the courses, but do not accredit the training provider itself.

Additionally, the Level 3/Level 5 framework is primarily understood in the UK and parts of Europe—not globally.

Employer Confusion

Many international employers use standard TEFL metrics:

• 60-hour
• 120-hour
• 140-hour

Outside Europe, “Level 3/Level 5 Diploma” often requires explanation, which is a recurring complaint found in publicly posted reviews on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Job Placement & Career Support

TEFL Online Pro Jobs

• Round-the-clock tutor availability
• Guaranteed teaching job (typically within 4 weeks)
• Personalized job placement assistance
• CV/resume consultation
• Visa guidance for overseas hires
• Lifetime job support

The TEFL Academy Jobs

The company advertises:

• “More support than any other TEFL provider”
• “The best TEFL job resources”

…but does not provide measurable outcomes or guarantees.

Student Reviews & Complaint Patterns

TEFL Online Pro Reviews

• No confirmed negative reviews from actual graduates
• Positive feedback consistently appears on Trusted TEFL Reviews and Facebook
• Isolated negative posts online trace back to competitor activity, not genuine customers

The TEFL Academy Reviews

Common public complaints include:

• Difficulty explaining Level 3/5 qualifications to employers
• Certificates receiving mixed acceptance outside Europe
• Confusion over accreditation statements

These reviews are verifiable on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Terms, Conditions & Transparency

TEFL Online Pro Transparency

Clear and fully visible Terms & Conditions
Upfront pricing with no hidden fees
Policy pages available on every page of the website

The TEFL Academy Transparency

✘ Terms are not easy to access on-site
✘ Additional costs (e.g., add-ons) are not always obvious in early browsing

Final Comparison: Which TEFL Course Is Better for 2025/2026?

Both organizations offer legitimate TEFL training, but they serve different types of students.

Choose TEFL Online Pro if you want:

Full accreditation
Globally recognized TEFL certification
Transparent, fair pricing
Lifetime job support
A guaranteed teaching position after graduation
A choice of 60h, 120h, or 140h hybrid programs

Choose The TEFL Academy if you want:

A Level 3 or Level 5 certificate specifically aligned with UK/Ireland qualification frameworks
A more academic “level-based” system
Optional specialist courses (paid separately)

Bottom Line

For teachers aiming to work online or anywhere beyond the UK/Ireland, TEFL Online Pro offers broader recognition, more transparent support, and a clearer path to employment.

If your goal is to remain within the British/Irish qualification ecosystem, The TEFL Academy may still fit your needs—but worldwide, hour-based TEFL/TESOL certifications remain the universal standard.

TEFL Online Pro Enroll: https://teflonlinepro.com/enroll/

The TEFL Academy Enroll: https://www.theteflacademy.com/tefl-courses/

Thank you for reading this Trusted TEFL Reviews TEFL Online Pro vs. The TEFL Academy comparison article.

Leave a Reply if you would like to add a comment!

The post TEFL Online Pro vs. The TEFL Academy: A Fresh, Unbiased Comparison for 2025/2026 appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy Fraud. At Trusted TEFL Reviews, we are committed to providing transparent, honest, and verified feedback about TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) programs around the world.

We take this responsibility seriously because prospective TEFL students deserve to make informed choices—especially when investing in their education and future career.

It has recently come to our attention—and we believe it is now necessary to disclose publicly—that The TEFL Academy (https://www.theteflacademy.com/ has engaged in troubling behavior that raises serious questions about its business practices.

This notice is intended to alert our users and the general public to those issues, and to caution anyone considering enrolling in a TEFL course through this organization.

1. Pressure to Remove Reviews

The TEFL Academy has aggressively attempted to have all their reviews removed from Trusted TEFL Reviews. They initially succeeded. Due to the company’s financial resources and reputation for litigious behavior, we temporarily removed all reviews out of concern for possible legal consequences.

This decision was not taken lightly.

However, after thorough legal consultation and out of respect for the integrity of our platform and our reviewers, we have republished all reviews related to The TEFL Academy.

These reviews were all submitted by students who actually enrolled in and completed one or more of their TEFL courses.

We will continue to stand by these reviews because they represent authentic experiences—both positive and negative.

2. Mixed Student Experiences

The reviews we have received for The TEFL Academy are mixed.

• Some students have shared positive experiences. These students generally appreciated the structure of the course, ease of access, and support throughout their studies.
• Others, however, have raised significant concerns—particularly with the recognition and legitimacy of The TEFL Academy’s course certificates when used to apply for teaching positions outside the UK and Ireland.

It is important to note that Level 5 TEFL certificates, like the ones offered by The TEFL Academy, are generally only fully recognized within the UK and Ireland. While some students have successfully used their certificate to secure employment abroad, many others have encountered difficulty, often discovering that employers or visa authorities did not recognize the qualification as valid or accredited internationally.

3. Accreditation Claims: Misleading and Incomplete

The TEFL Academy claims to be the world’s #1 TEFL provider and to be fully accredited. We urge potential students to approach these claims with caution.

• There is no independent verification that supports the assertion that The TEFL Academy is the “world’s #1 TEFL provider.” This is a marketing slogan, not a verifiable fact.
• Their accreditation status is questionable at best. While they may be registered with certain organizations, this does not equate to true educational accreditation, nor does it guarantee the course’s global recognition.

This pattern of inflated marketing language and unverifiable claims is one of the reasons why The TEFL Academy Fraud concerns have been raised repeatedly by former students and industry insiders.

Trusted TEFL Reviews is updating this section of the article today, on October 17, 2025, to reflect an update that The TEFL Academy has recently made on its website.

It no longer claims to be “The World’s #1 TEFL Course Provider“.

Instead, it is now claiming to be “The World’s Favorite TEFL Course Provider.”

What WILL they change it to next?

4. Fake Reviews and Affiliate Manipulation

Our platform was also targeted by what we have determined to be fake reviews submitted on behalf of The TEFL Academy. This occurred when approximately 10 glowing reviews were submitted within a single 24-hour period. The writing style of these reviews was suspiciously promotional, many using identical phrases and marketing language pulled directly from the company’s website.

Further investigation revealed that one of the reviews came from someone known to us to be a The TEFL Academy affiliate, meaning they stood to gain financially from promoting the program. We have every reason to believe that similar tactics are being used on other TEFL review websites.

Such manipulation not only undermines the trustworthiness of review platforms, but also constitutes a clear breach of ethical conduct. The submission of fake positive reviews is a serious red flag and aligns with the growing body of complaints categorized under The TEFL Academy Fraud.

5. Misinformation and Attacks on Competitors

In addition to submitting fake reviews, The TEFL Academy has reportedly engaged in aggressive attacks against competing TEFL providers, spreading misinformation in an effort to damage their reputation. We’ve been made aware of unsubstantiated claims made by individuals affiliated with The TEFL Academy about other reputable programs—most of which were later proven to be completely false.

This kind of behavior is not only unprofessional, but also deeply harmful to the broader TEFL community. It reflects poorly on the organization and further calls into question its credibility.

6. Change in Ownership and Strategy

The TEFL Academy underwent a change in ownership in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The timing was no coincidence—demand for online TEFL courses surged during this period. The new owners appear to have capitalized on this boom by heavily marketing the course as a fast-track, affordable way to teach abroad or online.

While this business strategy may be smart from a profit standpoint, it’s not necessarily in the best interest of students who expect a recognized, legitimate, and career-enhancing qualification.

7. Final Thoughts and Recommendations

We want to be clear: Not every student who takes a course with The TEFL Academy will have a negative experience. Some people do complete the program and successfully find teaching positions afterward. However, the number of complaints we’ve received and the company’s pattern of behavior—legal bullying, fake reviews, inflated claims, and misinformation campaigns—have raised significant red flags.

Before enrolling, we recommend that students:

• Verify whether the course certificate is accepted in the country where they intend to teach.
• Compare The TEFL Academy with other reputable providers, many of whom have better track records and do not rely on deceptive marketing.
• Read both positive and negative reviews from multiple platforms—not just those controlled or influenced by The TEFL Academy or its affiliates.

Above all, be cautious. A TEFL certificate is an investment in your future. Make sure the provider you choose is transparent, ethical, and truly accredited.

Have You Taken a Course with The TEFL Academy?

If you have taken a course through The TEFL Academy—positive or negative—we encourage you to share your experience on Trusted TEFL Reviews

The TEFL Academy Fraud Summary

This notice highlights multiple issues associated with The TEFL Academy Fraud, including attempts to suppress honest reviews, the submission of fake positive reviews, and inflated marketing claims. While The TEFL Academy remains a popular TEFL provider, it is our duty to report questionable behavior so that students can avoid becoming victims of misleading advertising or unrecognized certification.

Stay informed. Stay empowered.

— Trusted TEFL Reviews Team

The TEFL Academy (Verified) Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-academy/

The post The TEFL Academy Fraud appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Caitlin.

Not worth the money IMO.

I picked this program because of the hundreds of positive reviews on Trust Pilot. Looking back now, I’m extremely dubious of most of the reviews on that website regarding The TEFL Academy Program. I think many of them are fake or financially related coerced.

I agree with other Trusted TEFL Review reviewers that the course content is of a high standard. My issues began though when I submitted my coursework and then waited over a week for any feedback. When the feedback came, it didn’t correlate with the theme of my coursework. It was obvious that someone from The TEFL Academy office just got around to emailing me a generic reply, without even reading my submission(s).

They also charge you a lot for the certificate, I had no help after the course, and I recently read that they are not even accredited. I think it was Mia from Trusted TEFL Reviews who first exposed them for their accreditation false claims: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2019/03/25/the-tefl-academy-certification-review/ | https://trustedteflreviews.com/2023/10/30/tta-the-tefl-academy/

When I did even more digging, I saw that The TEFL Academy writes trash about their competitors. This was a real turn-off for me.

I wouldn’t take it if I went back in time and had this TEFL course option again.

Essential TEFL Tip!

Are you worried about being scammed? TEFL course scams are becoming more sophisticated, and (TTA) The TEFL Academy has been proven to be a scam!

Protect yourself from TEFL scams.

We strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2026:

The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

By choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course Programs, you are guaranteed not to be scammed.

Choose a fully accredited and internationally recognized online TEFL/TESOL certification course that you can use for all online and abroad teaching English jobs.

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “Not worth the money IMO” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Lendak.

My terrible The TEFL Academy (TTA) experience.

I chose to do the TEFL with The TEFL Academy because of all the good reviews online. I couldn’t find any negative reviews! So, I enrolled in their flagship Level 5 TEFL/TESOL course.

The first problem began right after I’d paid for the course. I paid and the money was taken from my bank but I didn’t get the payment received confirmation from TEFL Academy and I didn’t get any access to the course.

The first thing I did, after checking the payment had gone through successfully, was to contact TEFL Academy to let them know I’d paid and to ask if I could start my course because I only had a 3-week window to complete the course.

I tried phoning them but nobody answered so I sent off an email and got an instant bot reply that my email was in the queue. ONE WEEK LATER I finally got through to someone and then ONE WEEK AFTER THAT I finally got access to the course.

When I did get the course access I had to steamroll through the course and luckily the course is quite light on content so I was able to complete it in a couple of days. It took another TWO WEEKS to receive the digital certificate!!!

It was then that I began questioning all of the positive reviews and this lead me to trustedteflreviews.com where I was able to see the truth staring me in the face. So, I left a review on a website where TEFL Academy has about 1,000 positive reviews and my review wasn’t published, even though I showed them my course certificate and proof of payment.

I tried again with another reviews site and they basically said they can’t publish the review because they are worried about being taken to court by The TEFL Academy.

So the moral of this story is not to believe the positive reviews of this program because any negative reviews have been refused publication. Just believe the reviews of this program on trustedteflreviews.com because, as you can see, this reviews website doesn’t suppress freedom-of-speech reviews.

February 17, 2026, update:

Trusted TEFL Reviews only publishes verified student reviews, and articles containing true facts.

Examples:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2025/09/09/the-tefl-academy-certification-review/

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2025/09/09/fake-accreditation-warning-theteflacademy-com/

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2025/09/09/tta-the-tefl-academy/

TTA The TEFL Academy has tried every possibility to have all three links deleted.

They appear to have a penchant for stopping free speech.

Notice the comments sections on their YouTube channel.

Example:

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

Essential TEFL Tip!

Are you worried about being scammed? TEFL course scams are becoming more sophisticated, and (TTA) The TEFL Academy has been proven to be a scam!

Protect yourself from TEFL scams.

We strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2026:

The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

By choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course Programs, you are guaranteed not to be scammed.

Choose a fully accredited and internationally recognized online TEFL/TESOL certification course that you can use for all online and abroad teaching English jobs.

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

The post “My terrible The TEFL Academy (TTA) experience.” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Leeze.

I was browsing the internet for a good TEFL course online. I am a full-time teacher, but I wanted to expand my own skills a little bit. I did some research on a variety of courses and realized there are a lot of TEFL courses and deciding on the right one was tricky. The TEFL Academy seemed legit to me. I started doing the course online and found that each unit was easy to understand. The course covered a variety of essential topics, including reading and writing lessons and teaching methods. The fact that there were interactive questions to check if you are on track really helped. The progress from one unit to another was easy to follow. I do see that if you are not familiar with teaching how some of the information would be a little bit tricky. I could see the value of every unit and why this is important within an ESL classroom or lesson. There are 3 activities to do before completing the course. The instructions were clear with good sample documents. The feedback from the assignments was not as thorough as I hoped, but I did understand why I received the mark I did. It took me 3 months to complete the course however, they allow you 6 months. The last chapter of the course has resources on cv structuring, cover letter, and tips, and websites to look for a job in the ESL teaching world. I have done other online studying where the instructions were unclear and there was not any help or support. That is why I have recommended The TEFL Academy to some of my friends. It has been a hassle-free and fulfilling experience. They were quick to respond to any queries that I had. I feel accomplished for completing the course and believe that this is truly a great expansion of my CV.

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “I have recommended The TEFL Academy to some of my friends” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Carol.

The TEFL Academy (TTA TEFL) plus points:

1. This company has literally thousands of positive student reviews across the board on the many TEFL review websites which TTA TEFL self-promotes.
2. The payment process was quick and easy and I received my login keys almost as soon as my payment went through.
3. Help is on hand when needed. You create a ticket and the idea is that someone gets back to you within 48 hours with a helpful reply.
4. TTA TEFL is a company based in the UK, which I guess is where most of the more well-established TEFL companies have been located since the beginning.
5. The TEFL certificate looks wonderful! A true piece of art! It’s something that I would feel proud of presenting at a job interview.

The TEFL Academy (TTA TEFL) minus points:

1. I’ve come to the conclusion that the majority of positive reviews for this school, on the websites TTA TEFL self-promote, are more than probably fake reviews. There is a real disconnect between TTA TEFL’s reviews on trustedteflreviews.com and other websites, such as reviews.io, where TTA TEFL garner 10 or 20 5-star reviews a day from unverified reviewers. I’m much more inclined to believe the reviews written about TTA TEFL on trustedteflreviews.com.
2. Help is on hand and when it comes it is helpful. But, but, but, it takes a long time to receive a response. I often waited a week or more for someone from TTA TEFL to get to me. By the time they had, I’d just winged the part and hoped that my guesses were correct.
3. Feedback on assignments was very ambiguous. My friend and I submitted the exact same test answers and we each received a different grade for that test.
4. I chose the TEFL Academy because of its impressive list of accreditation partners. They are not accredited in the slightest. They are affiliated with a few education bodies that monitor the quality of distance learning courses, but these bodies don’t provide TEFL accreditation. It’s not within their power to do so. I’ve read numerous blogs and forum threads where people write that accreditation doesn’t matter and employers just want to see you have a TEFL certificate. This is fine, but I don’t like being lied to and I don’t like paying a premium for that lie.
5. Compared to CIEE TEFL, TEFL Online Pro, and Vantage TEFL, TTA TEFL is overpriced. I’d recommend going with one of these programs because you will receive the same product, except you will actually get a fully accredited TEFL+TESOL certificate at the end. It will work out cheaper too for you.

Overall, I’d give The TEFL Academy (TTA TEFL) 2.5 stars out of 10.

The course was very good, but the long waits for responses and the fact that they are dishonest when it comes to their accreditation claims have left me with a bad overall impression of this company.

In conclusion: The TEFL Academy program was on my to-do list for a long time, so when I finally got around to purchasing the course I wasn’t expecting the buyer’s remorse that immediately followed. I guess I’ll be able to use the certification in some form or another. It’s just annoying that TTA TEFL didn’t honor their refund procedure when I requested my money back; leaving me captive to the course and scrambling to find the reason behind all of the negative reviews written about this TEFL certification company.

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “The lack of accreditation transparency is very worrying when you factor in the high price of the course and certificate purchase costs” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Vanessa.

I recently took the TEFL through The TEFL Academy online program. It was a reasonably good course, with many good tips for using activities with students. I don’t think the course taught me all there is to know about TEFL, but I suppose no course can do this really in such a short time. The TEFL Academy sent me a school list for online teaching so I’m going to begin researching and try to find a teaching job online. I do wish there was more support after the course, but I guess you can’t expect so much from a TEFL course in this price range. I will be recommending The TEFL Academy if anyone asks. It didn’t blow me away, but it got the job done to a greater extent and that’s all that counts at the end of the day. I just hope I can find a job quickly because ideally, I want to start teaching at the start of January 2024. I just hope the certificate is recognized for the jobs that I plan to apply for because I have read that the program’s certificates are generally only recognized in certain countries and for certain online companies that are based in those countries. I guess it’s going to be a wait-and-see situation going forward. There do seem to be a lot of jobs available though – I had a quick look through a few TEFL job sites and was impressed with how popular teaching English online still is. Wish me luck!

Essential Tip!

We (Trusted TEFL Reviews) have had enough of the few rogue Online TEFL/TESOL companies that have been coordinating a sustained smear campaign against trustedteflreviews.com and managing to scam students by presenting themselves in a more professional light than they are.

You can read all about this scam in the following article:

Online TEFL/TESOL Course Review Scams in 2025

If you are concerned about becoming a victim of an Online TEFL/TESOL course scam, we strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2024:

The 5 Best Online TEFL TESOL Courses in 2025

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “I recently took the TEFL through The TEFL Academy online program” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Bruce.

I wrote a review of The TEFL Academy on another review website but it was deleted by the website moderators. They claimed it was because they couldn’t verify whether I was a TEFL Academy student or not, even though I presented my course certificate and copies of emails between the TEFL Academy and myself. I’m unsure if I can name that website here but it’s not too hard to find. The TEFL Academy has 5-star reviews after 5-star reviews on there and the website earns money from advertising its courses. I think Trusted TEFL Reviews is the only believable review website I’ve found so far when it comes to reviewing online TEFL and TESOL courses. The rest seem as though they are in the pockets of the TEFL and TESOL course programs. It’s shocking.

I bought into the lies that The TEFL Academy has published on their school website. The lies about them being accredited. They lie about all their happy grads teaching around the world. And the big lie is that they give amazing support and help you find a job. Yep, all of the above is not true. what is true is that the course is excellent, minus the odd spelling mistakes here and there in the content.

I can only give 2 stars because although the course was very good, The TEFL Academy lies about their accreditation and support services.

Essential Tip!

We (Trusted TEFL Reviews) have had enough of the few rogue Online TEFL/TESOL companies that have been coordinating a sustained smear campaign against trustedteflreviews.com and managing to scam students by presenting themselves in a more professional light than they are.

You can read all about this scam in the following article:

Online TEFL/TESOL Course Review Scams in 2024

If you are concerned about becoming a victim of an Online TEFL/TESOL course scam, we strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2024:

The 5 Best Online TEFL TESOL Courses in 2024

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “The TEFL Academy lies about their accreditation and support services” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

TTA The TEFL Academy | Fact-checked

Written by Mia Williams – co-owner of trustedteflreviews.com

It is said that a magician’s best friend is a drunk audience.

Well, please allow me to sober you up to the reality of the magic tricks of TTA The TEFL Academy.

FYI, this program also operates as Everything TEFL Ltd.

This article will peel away the facade of its accreditation claims, will question the legitimacy of its philanthropic work in the Nepalese community, will highlight its ongoing business operations in Russia, and will expose how this TEFL company uses its vast marketing budget to perpetuate the illusion that it has hundreds of thousands of TEFL graduates teaching all over the world.

There is, of course, also the question of its fake reviews – also covered in this article.

Let us begin this sobering-up process by looking at a few screenshots from its company website.

Btw, those reviews in the screenshot, listed under “Accreditation Partners”, are from reviews.co.uk. That site is infamous for deleting negative reviews in return for payment and letting fake positive reviews remain published without any quality control verification oversight.

Fake TEFL Accreditation

It claims that QUALIFI, DEAC, and AQC are its “Accreditation Partners”.

QUALIFI is a UK-based organization that APPROVES courses and institutions.

It approves hair, beauty, wellness, and aesthetics courses, and it also approves TTA The TEFL Academy’s courses.

“Approval” is not the same as “accredited”.

Even if it did (in another dimension somewhere in the universe) accredit its courses, would any employer really take its accreditation seriously when it also accredits hair, beauty, wellness, and aesthetics?

If an organization had the authority to accredit courses and institutions, don’t you think that it would use the term as often as it could on its company website?

QUALIFI uses the term “accreditation” zero times on its company website.

Instead, it uses the word “approved”.

“Approved” is NOT the same level of authority and recognition as “accredited”.

Are you sobering up a little now?

Let’s proceed!

DEAC DOES accredit courses and institutions.

I can sense that you are thinking that there may be a catch here because this article is exposing TTA The TEFL Academy for (among other infractions) false accreditation claims.

And, yes, you would be correct to be suspicious.

Two in a row!

All it takes is a few clicks to confirm that it is not accredited by DEAC.

Here is a screenshot from the DEAC website – its directory of accredited institutions:

The TEFL Academy is not in the directory, and is, therefore, not accredited by DEAC.

If it were, it would be listed in the directory.

AQC appears to be a sister organization of DEAC.

How can I know this?

Well, DEAC devotes a chunk of its website footer to AQC.

Does AQC accredit courses and institutions?

No.

How do I know this?

It is stated on the DEAC/AQC website:

And here is the listing for TTA The TEFL Academy, as an approved center, on the AQC website:

Three out of three strikes.

Bingo!

Trusted TEFL Reviews reached out to QUALIFI, DEAC, and AQC for comment.

DEAC promised to get back to us. This was two weeks ago.

AQC failed to respond to our request for further information.

QUALIFI had the gall to write that approval is the same as accreditation.

We had an email back and forth with QUALIFI for a week and we discovered that it could be very probable that QUALIFI and TTA The TEFL Academy are connected companies, which would be, if true, a textbook example of a clear conflict of interest.

When we asked whether QUALIFI is a sister company of the TEFL Academy, we were warned that no further emails would be answered.

Let’s now take a look at some more screenshots from the homepage of the TEFL Academy’s website:

Fake TEFL Awards

It is a bit ironic that the TEFL Academy has spent the latter half of this year complaining that teflonlinepro.com has won the Teachers’ Choice Award seven years in a row – 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 – and then miraculously, the TEFL Academy also (very recently) began promoting its “award wins” for the same years.

You should now be almost sober, so this explanation will be easier to digest – despite its underlying complexity.

goabroad.com and gooverseas.com are two TEFL course and TEFL travel websites that earn revenue by promoting TEFL programs and TEFL job placements on their websites – rarely can you trust any of the reviews published on either platforms.

Some Trusted TEFL Reviews reviewers have complained that their negative review of the TEFL program they took was deleted from either goabroad.com or gooverseas.com, so they chose to have it published on trustedteflreviews.com instead.

trustedteflreviews.com is a non-profit website and we publish every positive and negative TEFL course review that has been verified as having been written by a real TEFL course student/graduate.

goabroad.com and gooverseas.com are for-profit websites, and it is in their business model interests to publish positive reviews and hide negative reviews.

It, therefore, logically follows that any awards dished out by both these websites have a monetary motive – for both of the websites and for the TEFL program that won the award and which likely paid a substantial amount of money to “win” the award.

The Teachers’ Choice Award (https://trustedteflreviews.com/2023/12/04/the-teachers-international-online-tefl-tesol-certification-course-choice-award-winner/) on the other hand, is a non-profit award that is based entirely on merit.

Trusted TEFL Reviews asks language schools, universities, current English teachers, and recent Online TEFL/TESOL course graduates to take part in the Online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award, by voting for their favorite Online TEFL/TESOL international certification course program.

TTA The TEFL Academy (https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-academy/) likely won its awards by handing over a large bag of unaccredited TEFL course cash.

We are 100% certain that TEFL Online Pro (https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2024/) won its awards by being voted the best Fully Accredited Online TEFL/TESOL certification course provider.

Fake TEFL Reviews

We know with absolute certainty that the TEFL Academy is involved in the mass faking of its company reviews.

How can I be so certain of this?

Last year, and a part of the year before that – just after the TEFL Academy brought in a new Marketing Manager (Thomas Gibbons) Trusted TEFL Reviews began receiving an unusually large amount of reviews for this program.

In one week, we received something like 30 reviews for the TEFL Academy.

Out of those 30 reviews, just one (1) was verified as being written by someone who had taken the course.

The remaining 29 all came from the same IP address in Dublin, Ireland, where TTA The TEFL Academy has its headquarters.

The remaining 29 reviews were written by school staff and by its Brand Ambassadors.

This appears to be a pattern in TEFL Academy’s marketing campaigns online.

They show photos of people who work for them and claim that they are, instead, English teachers living the best time of their lives.

Btw, when you read a review that states that the TEFL course was “amazing” or “extraordinary”, you must know that it is a fake review or that the person writing the review has been paid for writing the review.

TTA The TEFL Academy incentivizes its graduates to write positive reviews – sending out a mass email each week to its recent grads – with the quid-pro-quo offer of a free mini TEFL course, such as a Teaching Business English course.

Such an example of a review that has been written by the TEFL Academy, or written by a graduate of the program that has been offered a free course for writing a review:

Russia TEFL Money | TTA The TEFL Academy

Now that you are fully sober, it might be time to have a shot because what follows makes me feel angry and repulsed.

TTA The TEFL Academy still makes money from its business operations and partnerships in Russia.

This Google Ads screenshot was taken earlier today:

Spending money on Google Ads to maintain its business operations and partnerships in Russia.

The Google Ad takes you to these pages on the TEFL Academy website:

As of May 19th, its Russian Jobs page and its TEFL Fact-Book Russia page are still live on theteflacademy.com site.

I have sent TTA an email, today May 19th, imploring them to take down both pages from the website.

May 20th, 2022 UPDATE

TTA The TEFL Academy has stopped its paid Google Ads for its TEFL courses in Russia.

It is, however, still promoting Russia as a teaching destination on its school website, where it states that it has a school located in Moscow.

TTA The TEFL Academy | Conclusion

Should this company be avoided for all of the above reasons? We will leave this up to you to decide for yourselves.

This is not financial advice, but we have received credible first-hand reports of TTA TEFL students getting full refunds on their course purchases because they were able to prove to their bank or PayPal that the course is not accredited.

1. You could contact TTA the TEFL Academy and ask to cancel your TEFL course and ask for a full course refund. It might take up to two weeks to get a reply from them, but you would need to provide proof to your bank that you have requested a refund. Take a screenshot of the refund request.
2. You could contact your bank or PayPal and instigate a chargeback. The reason you could give is that you didn’t receive the goods that you paid for. If pressed further, you can quote passages in this article and the financial institution could agree that the TEFL Academy is misrepresenting itself by claiming it is accredited.
3. You could choose a Fully Accredited TEFL/TESOL certification course that you can use for all online and in-person international teaching jobs.

Take a look at the Trusted TEFL Reviews TEFL Course Directory:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-course-directory/

The top-rated programs are top-rated for a legitimate reason.

For all accreditation questions:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2023/12/03/best-tefl-accreditation/

https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-accreditation-guide/

June 10th, 2022 UPDATE

Who is your money going to when you pay for an Unaccredited TEFL course with this company?

Your money is, in large part, financing the lifestyles of two men who are originally from Brighton, England.

Andy Norman and Rhyan O’Sullivan.

Tom (Thomas) Gibbons is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business. I have read some of his online material – defamatory attacks against the TEFL Academy’s competitors – and I was immediately struck by just how badly written his posts were. Tom isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

I found this (two-page) press release online:

There is no evidence, whatsoever, that other TEFL companies “copied” Tom Gibbon’s TEFL webinars.

If you are convinced to take a course with this company, please do ask them exactly how much of your course fee will be donated to the charity that they promote so heavily on their program website.

Ask for proof (receipt) of the charitable donation.

Call me skeptical, but it is difficult to believe anything that is claimed to be true by this Unaccredited TEFL program.

August 23rd, 2022 UPDATE

Lo and behold! We stumbled across an About Me webpage for TTA The TEFL Academy, and it contains some very interesting information.

The TEFL Academy used to be “accredited” by WTEFLAC – a known fake TEFL accreditation website.

TTA The TEFL Academy has gone from having fake accreditation to having no accreditation.

Essential TEFL Tip!

Are you worried about being scammed? TEFL course scams are becoming more sophisticated, and (TTA) The TEFL Academy has been proven to be a scam!

Protect yourself from TEFL scams.

We strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2026:

The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

By choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course Programs, you are guaranteed not to be scammed.

Choose a fully accredited and internationally recognized online TEFL/TESOL certification course that you can use for all online and abroad teaching English jobs.

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

Related article: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2019/03/25/the-tefl-academy-certification-review/

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post TTA The TEFL Academy appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Louise.

I want to be fair to The Tefl Academy so I will begin my review by writing that the course was very good. I thought it was structured well. It also covered a lot of ground and I truly learned a lot. Not everything advertised was promised though. There wasn’t any tutor support and nobody got back to me when I emailed off a question. I wasn’t made aware that I needed to make an additional purchase to receive the certificate either. The costs add up. This is not a cheap course. Still, though, I was more than happy with what I had learned so I just paid the certification fee and began searching for teaching jobs in Asia. I’ve always wanted to live and work in Asia, so when the option to teach English in South Korea presented itself I jumped at the chance. There was a hell of a lot of paperwork to prepare for the work visa and the SMOE needed lots of docs also. I spent two months getting all my ducks in a row for the visa and right at the last minute, my application was declined because the SMOE couldn’t verify my certificate. I later discovered that my TEFL Academy certificate couldn’t be apostilled because they don’t recognize Level 5 TEFL certificates in South Korea and The Tefl Academy isn’t an accredited school. They are regulated, but not accredited. Someone should tell them to take the accreditation claims off their school website.

Essential Tip!

We (Trusted TEFL Reviews) have had enough of the few rogue Online TEFL/TESOL companies that have been coordinating a sustained smear campaign against trustedteflreviews.com and managing to scam students by presenting themselves in a more professional light than they are.

You can read all about this scam in the following article:

Online TEFL/TESOL Course Review Scams in 2024

If you are concerned about becoming a victim of an Online TEFL/TESOL course scam, we strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2024:

The 5 Best Online TEFL TESOL Courses in 2024

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “The certificate couldn’t be apostilled” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Fake Accreditation Warning The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Mia Williams.

Fake Accreditation Warning.

The TEFL Academy – TTA (https://www.theteflacademy.com/) claims to be accredited by Ofqual, TQUK, QUALIFI, DEAC, and AQC.

This is intentionally misleading because these are regulatory bodies and not accreditation bodies.

TEFL students are reporting to Trusted TEFL Reviews that when applying for jobs outside of Ireland and the UK, their TEFL Academy certificates are often not being accepted – both during the job interview process and during the work visa process.

Essential TEFL Tip!

Are you worried about being scammed? TEFL course scams are becoming more sophisticated, and (TTA) The TEFL Academy has been proven to be a scam!

Protect yourself from TEFL scams.

We strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2026:

The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

By choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course Programs, you are guaranteed not to be scammed.

Choose a fully accredited and internationally recognized online TEFL/TESOL certification course that you can use for all online and abroad teaching English jobs.

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

Concerning TEFL students reporting that when applying for jobs outside of Ireland and the UK, their TEFL Academy certificates are often not being accepted: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2019/03/25/the-tefl-academy-certification-review/

It also appears that The TEFL Academy is employing graduates of their program to act as ‘Brand Ambassadors’ – pushing the notion that only a TEFL Academy certificate will suffice and that other TEFL TESOL programs are inferior products.

If you stumble across any blog or other website that is critical of any Online TEFL TESOL program other than the TEFL Academy – offering The TEFL Academy as an alternative, better option – we recommend taking the contents of that blog or website with a healthy helping of salt.

It will simply be a front for directing readers to an alternative TEFL course: The TEFL Academy.

In conclusion, The TEFL Academy certificate will be fine if you plan on teaching English in Ireland or the UK. However, for international teaching jobs, we would recommend choosing a Fully Accredited and internationally recognized TEFL TESOL certification course program.

April 25, 2022 update:

As it turns out, a TEFL Academy (TTA) certificate is not even accepted in Ireland as a teaching English as a foreign language qualification.

Trusted TEFL Reviews received a carbon copy of an email, from a worried TTA TEFL certificate holder, in which The TEFL Academy clearly states that its certificates are not valid for teaching English jobs in Ireland.

This news comes as quite a shock because the TEFL Academy’s main headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland.

Not even the country where the company is located will accept its certificates.

A TEFL Academy certificate should be fine for some low-paid teaching English jobs.

For better-paid teaching English online and abroad job opportunities, we recommend choosing a Fully Accredited TEFL/TESOL program.

Institutions providing Online TEFL programs with Fully Accredited status include:

ACCET – Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training | https://accet.org/

ACTEFLC – Accreditation Council for Teaching English as a Foreign Language Courses | https://www.acteflc.com/

OISE – University of the Toronto Faculty of Education | https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/

TESL Canada | https://tesl.ca/

University of Cambridge’s English Language Assessment | https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/

Online TEFL courses that are directly accredited by the Ministry of Education also enjoy Fully Accredited status.

The following Online TEFL/TESOL programs (in alphabetical order) are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized:

Bridge TEFL | https://bridge.edu/tefl/ | Bridge TEFL verified trusted TEFL reviews.

CIEE TEFL | https://www.ciee.org/ | CIEE TEFL verified trusted TEFL reviews.

Maximo Nivel TEFL | https://maximonivel.com/ | Maximo Nivel verified trusted TEFL reviews.

ontesol | https://ontesol.com/ | ontesol verified trusted TEFL reviews.

OISE University of Toronto TEFL | https://teflonline.teachaway.com/ | OISE TEFL verified trusted TEFL reviews.

Oxford Seminars | https://www.oxfordseminars.com/ | Oxford Seminars verified trusted TEFL reviews.

TEFL Iberia | https://tefl-iberia.com/ | TEFL Iberia verified trusted TEFL reviews.

TEFL Online Pro (Teachers’ Choice Award winner, 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025) | https://teflonlinepro.com/ | TEFL Online Pro verified trusted TEFL reviews.

Trusted TEFL Reviews recently tried to reach out (twice) to The TEFL Academy, for a clear answer to their bogus accreditation claims. For reasons of fairness, we also reached out to a competing program of The TEFL Academy – TEFL Online Pro – and the results of our telephone conversations can be read in this article:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2021/05/01/the-accreditation-watchdog-the-tefl-academy-versus-tefl-online-pro/

Learn more about TEFL TESOL accreditation:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-accreditation-guide/

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2021/03/28/tefl-tesol-accreditation-101/

Related article: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2021/03/30/6-tefl-red-flags/

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post Fake Accreditation Warning appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

This ‘The TEFL Academy certification review’ article uncovers the extremes that this program will go to, to present and maintain a positive public image. Fake Reviews | Affiliate Links | Ambassador Program | False Accreditation Claims.

The TEFL Academy certification review. This article was last updated on September 14, 2025.

The TEFL Academy (TTA) is not a legitimate online TEFL/TESOL certification company.

The TEFL Academy (TTA) is not a fully accredited online TEFL/TESOL certification course program.

Despite its website claims, TTA The TEFL Academy is Unaccredited. This is a TEFL scam.

Trusted TEFL Reviews recommends avoiding The TEFL Academy (TTA).

Think about it. Would you employ someone who presents a TEFL certificate at a job interview that isn’t accredited?

After reading this article, we recommend reading:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2022/05/19/tta-the-tefl-academy/

Trusted TEFL Reviews’ advice is to invest in a Fully Accredited TEFL/TESOL certificate that will be recognized for all online and abroad teaching English jobs.

Essential TEFL Tip!

Are you worried about being scammed? TEFL course scams are becoming more sophisticated, and (TTA) The TEFL Academy has been proven to be a scam!

Protect yourself from TEFL scams.

We strongly recommend choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs in 2026:

The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

By choosing from one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course Programs, you are guaranteed not to be scammed.

Choose a fully accredited and internationally recognized online TEFL/TESOL certification course that you can use for all online and abroad teaching English jobs.

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

8th June 2022 UPDATE:

TTA The TEFL Academy – Fake TEFL Accreditation | Fake TEFL Awards | Fake TEFL Reviews | False TEFL Advertising:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2022/05/19/tta-the-tefl-academy/

The main reasons for this Buyer Beware Warning:

1. This program has attempted, on several occasions, to get reviews written by their staff employees published on Trusted TEFL Reviews. Trusted TEFL Reviews only publishes verified Online TEFL/TESOL customer reviews – we don’t publish fictitious reviews, self-written by Online TEFL/TESOL programs.
2. The TEFL Academy (TTA) claims to be accredited by a bunch of “external bodies” but these are only regulatory bodies – AQC | DEAC | OfQual | QUALIFI. The TEFL Academy (TTA) is only regulated by the bodies that it claims accredit them.

The TEFL Academy (TTA) provides unaccredited Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses, that are only recognized within the United Kingdom and Ireland. This is further backed up by the poor The TEFL Academy (TTA) verified student reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-academy/

Instead, we recommend choosing to take your international TEFL/TESOL certification course with a program offering a fully accredited course that is far more recognized internationally than The TEFL Academy’s.

The four highest-rated TEFL Academy TTA fully accredited alternative course options, listed in order of customer review ratings:

1. TEFL Online Pro – https://teflonlinepro.com/
2. OISE Toronto TEFL – https://teflonline.teachaway.com/
3. CIEE TEFL – https://www.ciee.org/
4. Maximo Nivel TEFL – https://maximonivel.com/

CIEE TEFL, Maximo Nivel, OISE Toronto TEFL, and TEFL Online Pro are Level 5 and CELTA-equivalent Online TEFL/TESOL certification programs.

TEFL Online Pro verified customer reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-reviews-in-2025

OISE Toronto TEFL verified customer reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/oise-university-of-toronto-tefl/

CIEE TEFL verified customer reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ciee-tefl/

Maximo Nivel verified customer reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/maximo-nivel-tefl/

CIEE TEFL, Maximo Nivel, OISE Toronto TEFL, and TEFL Online Pro certificates are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized. The TEFL Academy TTA certificates are not fully accredited and are not internationally recognized.

TEFL Online Pro has won the Teachers’ Choice Award in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/teachers-choice-award-winner-2019-2/

All 56 Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs are currently listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-course-directory/

More on The TEFL Academy scam: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2021/07/26/common-tefl-scams/

The TEFL Academy certification review.

19th May 2021 UPDATE:

The TEFL Academy has been exposed by The TEFL Watchdog, for falsely claiming to telephone inquiries from prospective students that The TEFL Academy is accredited by Ofqual. When further questioned on this false claim of Ofqual accreditation – in two separate telephone calls – both TEFL Academy sales reps put the phone down on The TEFL Watchdog.

It does need to be clarified that the TEFL Academy sales reps assumed that they were having a conversation with real prospective students, and had no idea that they were speaking with members of The TEFL Watchdog.

Further details can be read in the ‘X TEFL Watchdog’ section of Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/x-tefl-watchdog/

Trusted TEFL Reviews would like to repeat that The TEFL Academy (theteflacademy.com) is not a fully accredited and internationally recognized TEFL certification program.

If you telephone The TEFL Academy and ask who accredits them, they will reply that they are accredited by Ofqual. This is a lie. Ofqual is a regulatory body and not an accreditation body.

If you press The TEFL Academy further on this bogus accreditation claim, they will likely put the phone down on you.

The TEFL Academy Level 5 TEFL certificates are only recognized within Ireland and the United Kingdom. Try using the certificate anywhere else, and you will likely be met with puzzled looks by school employers and government work visa officers.

25th April 2022 UPDATE:

A distraught customer sent Trusted TEFL Reviews a carbon copy of an email from The TEFL Academy, which explicitly states that TEFL Academy certificates are not recognized in Ireland. They also state that its certificates are not recognized in Malta.

Given that the TEFL Academy’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, it puzzles us as to why its certificates are not recognized in the country in which it is headquartered.

Go figure!

The TEFL Academy Certification review.

This is a long, informative article that we recommend reading through from start to finish before purchasing a TEFL Academy/TTA ‘Level 5’ Online TEFL/TESOL course.

We will be looking at this program’s “accreditation” claims, how this program floods the internet with fake reviews, this program’s ‘Brand Ambassador’ program, and the dirty tricks that The TEFL Academy employs to inflict damage on its competitors.

The TEFL Academy certification review.

The TEFL Academy Certification Review Part I: Fake Reviews and the Spreading of Misinformation.

1. The TEFL Academy (TTA) brought in a new Marketing Director, Thomas Gibbons, in 2021.
2. Not long afterward, Trusted TEFL Reviews (TTR) began receiving a lot of unverified TTA reviews, supposedly written by students of TTA. None of the reviewers could prove course participation. TTR took the correct decision not to publish the reviews because there was no way of knowing if TTA graduates had written the review, or whether employees of TTA had.
3. These reviews have since been published on other TEFL review websites, where there exists little or no verification process. Such websites include TrustPilot and Reviews.co.uk
4. Thomas Gibbons contacted TTR to ask if we could delete a (verified) TTA negative student review on TTR. When we said that we wouldn’t, Thomas began pressuring TTR for a face-to-face video call. TTR politely declined the request.
5. In March of this year, an individual left a review for TTA on TTR. The review was flagged for containing commercial content, and we soon discovered that the individual works for The TEFL Academy as one of their ‘Brand Ambassadors’ – earning 20% of all TTA courses purchased through their website. When we took a look at their website, we saw a website set up to sell TTA courses and a website full of exaggerated promises and misleading facts – such as the claim that teachers can earn $100 per hour teaching English online, and the claim that teachers don’t need a college degree to teach in South Korea. This Brand Ambassador has since branched out – reviewing TEFL programs that they have zero first-hand knowledge or experience of and earning a 20% affiliate’s fee on each referral in the process.
6. In response to our refusal to publish the aforementioned reviews, TTA decided to attack TTR. They have done this in two different ways:

1. Through Black Hat SEO. As a direct result of our refusal to publish the aforementioned reviews, TTR has been receiving a large number of spam emails from x-rated websites. We know that this is because of TTA because we began receiving these emails exactly from the time just after we exposed their Brand Ambassador for submitting commercial content to TTR.
2. TTA has begun spreading the lie, via one of their Brand Ambassador’s websites – the Brand Ambassador whose review was flagged for commercial content – that TTR is run by TEFL Online Pro. This is a blatant lie and is one more inaccuracy on their commercial website. With regards to this second point:

Ian Leahy from ESLinsider was the person who first started spreading the lie that TTR is run by TEFL Online Pro. ESLinsider has also claimed that TTR is run by OISE University of Toronto.

Ian is notorious within the TEFL world for spamming the internet with his conspiracy theories. Pick any Online TEFL program – Ian will have written some trash about it in the past.

This is likely the reason why Ian Leahy and his ESLinsider TEFL program have been banned from Facebook.

Ian Leahy from ESLinsider is also famous in the TEFL world for his scams and deception. Just Google ‘ESLinsider Scams Asia’ and you will discover a treasure trove of complaints and warnings.

This, btw, is the same (Ian Leahy) ESLinsider that has been exposed for making illegal purchases with the credit card details of some of his clients and being indirectly responsible for the imprisonment of Western teachers in China.

You can read all about Ian Leahy’s ESLinsider well-documented scam here: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2020/02/03/eslinsider-reviews-scam/

It just makes us feel so frustrated when TEFL programs behave this way – spreading false rumors about TTR online – because we originally established TTR to be a genuine source of trusted TEFL reviews. Some TEFL programs are so used to being able to manipulate the review websites, where they have affiliate marketing agreements, that they don’t seem to know how to behave when they are faced with an authentic review website.

TTR has noticed a pattern in behavior: A TEFL program asks for a (verified) negative review to be deleted from TTR, TTR refuses to delete the review, and the TEFL program responds with attempts at reducing the credibility of TRR – thereby, hoping to reduce the credibility of the negative review.

A few TEFL programs have chosen this path: ESLinsider, Henry Harvin Education, ITTT TEFL, MyTEFL, TEFL Fullcircle, The TEFL Academy, World TESOL Academy.

TEFL Online Pro seems to be the favored target of these attacks, given that TEFL Online Pro is an award-winning program on TTR. OISE University of Toronto TEFL, CIEE TEFL, and Maximo Nivel TEFL have also been the targets of similar claims. What do all these programs have in common? They are the highest-rated Online TEFL TESOL programs on TTR.

It is rather coincidental that when some Online TEFL programs receive negative reviews on TTR, they claim that the site is biased against them. And it is rather coincidental that the top-rated Online TEFL programs are the ones that are claimed to be the owners of TTR.

TTR is an independently run Online TEFL/TESOL reviews website. We are not affiliated, in any way, with any of the Online TEFL/TESOL certification programs listed on this site.

If an Online TEFL/TESOL certification program has a high rating on TTR, it means that they are doing something right when it comes to the product it offers and how it treats its customers.

If an Online TEFL/TESOL certification program has a low rating on TTR, it means that they are doing something wrong when it comes to the product it offers and how it treats its customers.

The TEFL Academy Certification Review Part II: False Claims Regarding Accreditation and the Recognition of The TEFL Academy Courses.

TTA TEFL boldly claims that their Level 5 TEFL courses are Ofqual and TQUK accredited. They also claim that they are ‘Accreditation Partners’ with QUALIFI, DEAC, and AQC.

QUALIFI, DEAC, and AQC are organizations that simply confirm that a course meets certain criteria, whereby the student can be assured that they are receiving the education that is advertised by the course provider, i.e. they check if what TTA claims they are teaching in their courses is what TTA is providing to their customers. So whilst TTA claims that they are accredited by these organizations, they are not. At most, they should state that they are loosely regulated by them.

TTA also claims, on the TTA school website, that TTA is accredited by Ofqual and TQUK, and that a ‘Level 5’ TEFL certificate is the same as taking the 4-week, in-class CELTA certification course.

Ofqual and TQUK are often (incorrectly) claimed to accredit Online TEFL programs offering a ‘Level 5’ certificate. Some Level 5 programs even go as far as to claim that the Level 5 TEFL certificate is the same as the CELTA certificate. ‘Level 5’ refers to one of the levels on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In other words, it’s a United Kingdom qualification that means very little to anyone outside of the UK. Furthermore, a qualification assessed at Level 5 doesn’t mean that it is “equivalent to the CELTA qualification”. Instead, it means that the level of education, knowledge, and skills required to complete the course is the same as that required to complete the CELTA, i.e., to be over 18, and to have a level of English and education that is equivalent to the average UK high school graduate.

Ofqual and TQUK are regulatory bodies, not accreditation bodies.

A TEFL program can be regulated by Ofqual and be accredited or fully accredited by an external accreditation body, but this is not always the case.

Several Ofqual-regulated TEFL programs blatantly lie to their customers by claiming that they are Ofqual accredited, or lie and claim that they are Ofqual regulated and fully accredited by another body that only regulates courses.

The TEFL Academy is a good example of this.

The TEFL Academy – https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-academy/ – claims to be accredited by Ofqual, QUALIFI, and DEAC.

All three of these bodies are regulatory, not accreditation bodies. The TEFL Academy is neither accredited nor fully accredited. They are Unaccredited.

Ofqual and TQUK-regulated courses should provide you with a high level of TEFL training (although this is by no means guaranteed) but Ofqual and TQUK are by no means of the stretch of the imagination accreditation bodies.

The TEFL Academy, though, carries out its business practices in such a shady manner that we can see that they fail to follow the most basic of the strict guidelines that you would expect an Ofqual-regulated course should follow.

More information on Online TEFL/TESOL accreditation can be found in The Accreditation Guide: https://trustedteflreviews.com/tefl-accreditation-guide/

Part III: Affiliate links/Brand Ambassadors.

Since the arrival of Thomas Gibbons, TTA has aggressively adopted the affiliate’s marketing model.

Like some other Online TEFL programs, such as MyTEFL, TTA also uses ShareASale to gain an advantage in the market.

If you Google search ‘The TEFL Academy reviews’ you will find unverified reviews on the reviews websites that we have already mentioned at the beginning of this article, and you will also find websites that have been created solely to sell TEFL courses through affiliate marketing.

There are two types of TTA affiliate marketing websites:

1. A travel blogger writes articles about many different TEFL course providers and agrees to also write an article about TTA. This person has never been a TTA customer and, therefore, knows nothing about the TTA customer experience. This person writes an article about TTA, and included in the article is a promo code – where the reader can get a TTA course discount when they use the promo code at checkout. The blog owner receives a commission on each sale when their promo code is used.
2. A TTA Brand Ambassador – a sales rep for TTA – creates a website in the guise of someone wanting to help people with useful teaching tips and other TEFL/Teaching-related information. They begin reviewing other TEFL programs and also some online teaching platforms. The sole purpose of the website is to get people to click on a link, where the ‘Brand Ambassador’ receives a “small commission” for recommending TTA courses. This small commission is 20% of the sale. This means that if you pay €448 for your TEFL Academy course, you are paying The TEFL Academy €358 and you are paying the Brand Ambassador a finder’s fee of €90.

The big problem with people writing about a product that they may or may not have taken when they are motivated by the money that they could be receiving from what they have written is that they tend to exaggerate what the product or service can do for you. We have witnessed this with posts and websites created for TTA courses – unrealistic claims, and outright lies, about the results of taking a TTA certification course.

TTA’s Brand Ambassadors have two roles:

1. Sell TTA courses through affiliate links and receive a 20% commission on every sale.
2. Write negative things about the TTA competition, and in doing so strengthen the brand awareness of TTA courses and earn a 20% commission if someone believes what has been written and decides to buy a TTA course through the Brand Ambassador’s website. The Brand Ambassador knows that by writing a critical post about a TTA competitor, it will show up in search results for that competitor. And TTA helps the post climb to the top of the search results by asking all of their affiliate partners to link to that particular post in their travel blogs. This is what is known as ‘link farming’. And this last point now leads us to the final part of this article – the part where we dish out some karmic justice.

Trusted TEFL Reviews recently published a TEFL Affiliate Marketing Scam article:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2022/02/07/tefl-affiliate-marketing-scam/

Part IV: The TEFL Academy vs. TEFL Online Pro.

Since The TEFL Academy insists on carrying out a prolonged attack on Trusted TEFL Reviews – claiming that we are owned by TEFL Online Pro – we thought it only fair to dish out a bit of karmic justice and briefly compare TTA with the TEFL program competitor whom they are currently spreading false information about online.

Having extensively looked through both The TEFL Academy and TEFL Online Pro school websites, we can conclude that:

1. Both programs offer identical courses in terms of what is included in each course syllabus. This means that the information taught in TTA’s ‘Level 5’ 168-hour course is equal to the information taught in TEFL Online Pro’s 120-hour TEFL/TESOL course.
2. Both programs appear to offer identical support services.
3. The TEFL Academy is ‘Unaccredited/Regulated’ and TEFL Online Pro is ‘Fully Accredited, and internationally recognized’.
4. TEFL Online Pro has won the Teachers’ Choice Award seven years in a row – 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |2024 | 2025.
5. The TEFL Academy relies on affiliate marketing to win new customers. TEFL Online Pro doesn’t use affiliate marketing.
6. TEFL Online Pro is a more affordable option than The TEFL Academy.

If we had to choose between The TEFL Academy and TEFL Online Pro, we would choose to take our international TEFL/TESOL certification course with teflonlinepro.com.

Visit the TEFL Online Pro school website

TEFL Online Pro reviews on Facebook

Read TEFL Online Pro verified trusted TEFL reviews

Part V: The TEFL Academy and it’s close business comptitors

You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they have.

The TEFL Academy acts more like a cartel than a professional online TEFL certification program.

It’s sicarios are its affiliste marketers; two of which are Caitriona McTiernan and Megan Boroccoli.

This ‘The TEFL Academy Certification Review’ article was brought to you by Mia Williams at Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Related article: https://trustedteflreviews.com/2021/03/30/6-tefl-red-flags/

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

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Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

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The TEFL Academy review, submitted by SM.

The Online Level 5 TEFL Academy course is a 168hrs program but you could easily half those hours and still have room for some editing of the online materials. I just found it overly complicated and unnecessarily long. I was also very surprised to notice spelling and grammatical errors on the materials and this just didn’t fair well for my overall impression of the program. I see they have a 50% discount now, but instead of reducing the cost of the course, I feel they should improve its materials content. Yes, I’m angry that I paid for a course that is now 50% slashed in price and yes, I think this reflects the desperation of a school trying to peddle a subpar course. Not a lot of thought is placed on applying for jobs and I’m actually having a hard time right now trying to find work with this certificate.

The TEFL Academy Warning! Before you decide whether to choose to take your TEFL certification with this company, we strongly urge you to read the following TEFL Academy/TTA Scam article:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2019/03/25/the-tefl-academy-certification-review/

Read more The TEFL Academy reviews

New! Click here for the online TEFL/TESOL international certification course Teachers’ Choice Award winner. International Online TEFL/TESOL course certification at its best.

Verified Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program reviews, ranked in order of customer satisfaction: TEFL Course Directory

TEFL Accreditation Guide | 6 TEFL Red Flags | TTR Home | TEFL Course Special Offers

The post “having a hard time right now trying to find work with this certificate.” appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.