All 57 international Online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs currently listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews are ranked based on verified customer reviews.

Customers rate programs using the star-rating system:

Online TEFL/TESOL courses can be either ‘Unaccredited’, ‘Accredited’, or ‘Fully Accredited’.

‘Fully Accredited’ is the highest form of accreditation. A TEFL/TESOL certificate from a fully accredited program equates to the worldwide recognition of the certification and access to the best-paid teaching jobs.

A TEFL/TESOL certificate from an ‘Accredited’ program won’t necessarily be internationally recognized and will place you at a significant disadvantage when applying for teaching English jobs when you are up against applicants with fully accredited certificates.

‘Unaccredited’ TEFL/TESOL certificates are sometimes accepted by employers, but your employment options are dramatically reduced and the schools that will employ you tend to have poor reputations.

TEFL/TESOL Programs | 2026 | Ranked Best To Worst

1. tefl online pro | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

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

Teachers’ Choice Award | TEFL Online Pro has won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award for the past seven consecutive years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

The winner of the Teachers’ Choice Award is granted a whole year’s free exposure on Trusted TEFL Reviews, where they may post, for example, any current Course Discounts or Promotions.

2. OISE University of Toronto TEFL | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

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

3. CIEE TEFL | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

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

4. Maximo Nivel TEFL | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

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

5. Vantage TEFL Certification | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/vantage-tefl-certification/

6. ICAL TEFL | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ical-tefl/

7. The TEFL Institute of Ireland | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-institute-of-ireland/

8. Global English | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/global-english/

9. INTESOL Worldwide | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/intesol-worldwide/

10. Bridge TEFL | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/bridge-tefl/

11. International TEFL Academy | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/international-tefl-academy/

12. The TEFL Org | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-org-uk/

13. ITTO | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/itto/

14. Let’s TEFL | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/lets-tefl/

15. TEFL Educator/TEFL Boot Camp | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-educator-tefl-boot-camp/

16. Oxford Seminars | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/oxford-seminars/

17. Premier TEFL | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/premier-tefl/

18. i-to-i TEFL/Love TEFL | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/i-to-i-tefl/

19. TEFL Training College | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-training-college/

20. Global Language Training | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/global-language-training/

22. UKtefl | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/uktefl/

23. Teflen | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/teflen/

24. CCELT | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ccelt/

25. Enjoy TEFL | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/enjoy-tefl/

26. Teacher Link TEFL | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/teacher-link-tefl/

27. TEFL Fullcircle | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-fullcircle/

28. UNI-Prep | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/uni-prep/

29. TEFL Iberia | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-iberia/

30. TEFL Express | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-express/

31. TEFL Graduate | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-graduate/

32. The Course Mix | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-course-mix/

33. TEFL Trainer | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-trainer/

34. ontesol | Fully Accredited and internationally recognized.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ontesol/

35. The Asian College of Teachers (ACT) | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-asian-college-of-teachers-act/

36. International Open Academy | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/international-open-academy/

37. Learn TEFL | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/learn-tefl/

38. TESOL Training International Online | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tesol-training-international-online/

39. Footprints Recruiting | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/footprints-recruiting/

40. Henry Harvin Education | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/henry-harvin-education/

41. Anaheim University TESOL | Fully Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/anaheim-university/

42. Dux TEFL | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/dux-tefl/

43. Greenheart Travel TEFL | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/greenheart-travel-tefl/

45. Teach TEFL South Africa | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/teach-tefl-south-africa/

46. TEFL Heaven | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-heaven/

47. TEFL Hero | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-hero/

48. TEFL Institute London | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-institute-london/

49. TEFL Lemon | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-lemon/

50. TEFL UK | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-uk/

51. TEFL Universal | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-universal/

52. World TESOL Academy | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/world-tesol-academy/

53. ITTT | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ittt/

54. MyTEFL | Accredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/mytefl-blacklisted-warning/

55. ESLinsider TEFL | Unaccredited.

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/eslinsider-tefl/

56. ITO | Unaccredited

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/ito/

57 . The TEFL Academy | Unaccredited

Verified Reviews: https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-academy/

Please refer to these Trusted TEFL Reviews articles for further clarification regarding TEFL accreditation:

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

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2022/01/05/best-tefl-accreditation/

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.

Check where your Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program ranks:

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

Taken an Online TEFL/TESOL certification course? Leave a review!

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 Online TEFL/TESOL Certification Course Program Rankings for 2026 appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Are you worried about being scammed? TEFL course scams are becoming more sophisticated!

Protect yourself by reading about the latest TEFL scams in this article:

Online TEFL/TESOL Course Review Scams in 2026

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 2025:

The 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL Courses in 2026

Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews

The post TEFL Course Scams In 2026 – Public Notice! appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

The article begins under the two following advertising banners.

Banner #1 is for a limited-time discount from TEFL Online Pro – winner of the 2025 Teachers’ Choice Award. The winner of the Teachers’ Choice award may, at their discretion, advertise for free on Trusted TEFL Reviews for as long as they are the holder of this prestigious award.

Banner #2 is the current list of the 5 Best online TEFL/TESOL certification courses, based on verified student reviews. If in doubt, choose from one of the 5 Best course programs because they are all internationally recognized and reputable companies.

Both banners represent top-rated online TEFL and TESOL certification course programs.

Online TEFL TESOL course review scams in 2026.

(Updated: December 21, 2025)

This is a must-read article if you are choosing which TEFL course to take and are confused by which ones are legitimate and which ones are scams.

The scams are becoming more and more sophisticated.

To prevent your TEFL dream turning into a TEFL nightmare, we strongly recommend that you read this article in full.

Online TEFL TESOL Scam TEFL programs.

Currently, the more notable scam TEFL companies are ESLinsider, ITTT International TEFL and TESOL Training, MyTEFL, The TEFL Academy, and World TESOL Academy.

1. ESLinsider

ESLinsider (Ian Patrick Leahy) portrays himself as a TEFL whistleblower and he trashes almost every TEFL program online for seemingly altruistic motives, but his endgame is to sell you one TEFL course – his TEFL course. Among a long list of criminal activity, he was recommending TEFL students without college degrees to buy fake ones online. Some people followed his advice and (in China) were arrested, fined, deported. Ian is currently wanted by the Chinese authorities and is essentially on the lamb, living a transient life in the United States. Ian was banned from Facebook for spreading misinformation and disinformation way back in 2017. https://www.eslinsider.com/

2. ITTT International TEFL and TESOL Training

ITTT International TEFL and TESOL Training operates under more than 20 different websites. Each one looks similar, but is different just enough so that you would be forgiven into believing that one website is a different company from another website. This company has a bogus accreditation from a website that spells it as “Accredidation”. Affiliate marketing is their lean and they have one favorite who will say and write anything to get you to make the purchase: Linda Dunsmore. ITTT will take your money, give you access to a subpar course, fail to respond to online tutor requests, and ghost you when it comes time for the advertised “free” job-finding help – unless you pay through the nose for their job placement services, which you are recommended to avoid like the plague.

3. MyTEFL

MyTEFL used to be accredited by OTTSA (a website they created) and are now accredited by a bogus company: International TEFL Accreditation Council (ITEFLAC). Folks, official accreditation company website’s don’t have stock images of business people in office boardrooms. MyTEFL offer affordable TEFL courses, but they make their real money from paid job placement services. Do not pay for this service. If you do, when you receive your weekly or monthly teaching pay, without realizing it at first, MyTEFL will be skimming up to 25% off. And what can you do about it when you have locked yourself into a job contract with a language school through MyTEFL? https://mytefl.com/

4. The TEFL Academy (TTA)

The TEFL Academy (TTA) is a truly corrupt corporate company. They claim to be the “Worlds #1 TEFL Course Provider!” They are not. And, despite their many claims, they are not accredited. The TEFL Academy claims to be accredited by AQC, DEAC, QUALIFI, and even by Ofqual. It is only regulated by Ofqual and QUALIFI, and it also appears that QUALIFI might have been created by the good folks at The TEFL Academy. AQC is a sister website of DEAC, and you can see that The TEFL Academy is not accredited by DEAC because DEAC has a search feature that shows all the companies that it accredits – The TEFL Academy is not listed. As with ITTT, The TEFL Academy pays affiliate marketers to promote its courses. More about this below. https://www.theteflacademy.com/

5. World TESOL Academy

World TESOL Academy is likewise shady as hell. They offer TEFL courses for $38 and this appears to lure in a lot of unsuspecting folk. After you pay, you get bombarded with requests to become one of their affiliate marketers. Students rate the course as “terrible” and a bit like flying with Ryanair, with a smorgasbord of hidden fees and additional costs. World TESOL Academy is accredited by Accreditat and CPD that are pay-for-accreditation companies that are not recognized by any reputable language schools. Another red flag is that they have the Reviews tab disabled on their Facebook page. https://www.worldtesolacademy.com/

How TEFL companies scam you.

Besides the above mentioned scams, there are some complex ways in which some TEFL companies will scam you.

And the sophistication of the scams is intensifying.

TEFL Review Website Bedfellows

Go Abroad, Go Overseas and TEFL Course Review are the three biggest TEFL review websites. They each make their money from charging TEFL companies for a listing on their site – the TEFL companies are their customers – and it is in their best financial interests to have positive reviews about (fill in the blank) TEFL company than to have bad reviews published. This is why a company like The TEFL Academy has a high review score on all three websites – they make certain that negative reviews of them are minimized and they are free to have fake positive reviews appear on all three sites, and on the other review sites where they have a listing. Incidentally, The TEFL Academy has a lot of money at their disposal and frequently sue individuals and companies if they dare to publish something negative about them. Trusted TEFL Reviews published a few negative student reviews of The TEFL Academy and we were warned that if they were not taken down, they would sue us. We simply responded that the reviews will remain published because they were written by students of their program.

Affiliate Marketing

If you see an individual excessively promoting a TEFL program – with or without a coupon code for a discount – it will certainly be an affiliate marketer. Caitriona McTiernan and Megan Broccoli are the two main ones for The TEFL Academy and Linda Dunsmore heads the ITTT affiliate marketing side of the business. A large majority of TEFL programs belong to affiliate marketing companies, paying people who have never taken their courses to promote them online and earn money for themselves in the process. They will say and write absolutely anything (“the course was AMAZING!”) to make the sell, such as promises of earning $100 per hour for teaching English online. No one earns anywhere near to $100 teaching English online.

Trashing A Business Competitor

In the Wild West of online TEFL, anything goes. It’s very common for TEFL companies to trash each other online. They create fake profiles and then write fake complaints and fake reviews – misinformation and disinformation – on complaints websites and Reddit. And TEFL programs with deep pockets, such as The TEFL Academy, have now started to pay people to take a competitor’s course and then slam it online. This is cruel and clever because the person can show that they have a certificate from the TEFL company and can write exactly what the company tells them to write. A recent case involved one of the affiliate marketers from The TEFL Academy – Megan Broccoli – who purchased a TEFL Online Pro course, completed it, claimed after an hour of course completion that she couldn’t use the certificate, and began spreading her message on Reddit and elsewhere that the company is a scam. Something similar also happened to OISE University of Toronto TEFL and CIEE TEFL. CIEE TEFL, OISE University of Toronto TEFL and TEFL Online Pro are among the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

Reddit

When Online TEFL/TESOL courses were gaining traction about 15 years ago, in response to the established in-person TEFL/TESOL course industry, a few of them set up Reddit communities – communities that they used and continue to use to push their agenda. This tends to focus on trashing their competitors and clandestinely promoting their courses. We recommend avoiding Reddit for Online TEFL/TESOL course information because of this, and because of the vast number of TEFL shills active on the site.

Niche subreddits, such as online course communities, are often run by people with a vested interest in promoting certain courses—for which they receive a financial kickback. This often leads them to delete positive comments about any business competitors of the courses from which they receive kickbacks.

The r/TEFL subreddit is well known for this type of behavior—they allow positive comments for their favored TEFL companies but prevent students of some other TEFL programs from posting honest reviews of their course experiences. They even have a Reddit Wiki page that clearly demonstrates the quid pro quo partnership they maintain with certain programs.

Trashing Trusted TEFL Reviews

It must be so frustrating for the many TEFL programs that don’t have the kind of power over Trusted TEFL Reviews that they lord over other TEFL review websites. So what do they do? They spread misinformation and disinformation about me and Trusted TEFL Reviews because they just can’t handle having even one or two negative reviews published online about them. By trying to discredit this website, they hope that people won’t believe the reviews of their program. All TEFL programs listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews have a free listing and all TEFL programs are free to respond to reviews and to add comments.

The TEFL Wall of Shame.

Important Clarifying Information.

Several points need addressing, and I will write about each one separately:

The Teachers’ Choice Award

Several Online TEFL companies are claiming that the Teachers’ Choice Award is fake. It isn’t. We created the Teachers’ Choice Award back in 2019, after noticing that other mainstream TEFL review websites had also created their awards. The fundamental difference between our award and the awards of other mainstream TEFL review websites is that the winner of the Teachers’ Choice Award is based on merit alone – voted for by language schools, universities, TEFL students, and TEFL graduates. If a company has won an award from a mainstream TEFL review website, it means they have likely paid for the privilege of “winning” that award.

TEFL Online Pro

TEFL Online Pro (https://teflonlinepro.com/) has won the Teachers’ Choice Award for seven consecutive years – they are the highest-rated in 2026. They have won the award every year because they were the Online TEFL/TESOL program that received the most votes. Trusted TEFL Reviews does not own TEFL Online Pro, just as it doesn’t own the other four Online TEFL/TESOL programs that currently hold the place of being one of the 5 Best Online TEFL/TESOL programs. Trusted TEFL Reviews is an independent Online TEFL/TESOL reviews website. We are not affiliated with any TEFL/TESOL program listed on the Trusted TEFL Reviews website.

Trusted TEFL Reviews is a not-for-profit website

Contrary to what some Online TEFL programs claim, it doesn’t cost anything to list your Online TEFL/TESOL program on Trusted TEFL Reviews. Also, we don’t allow any paid advertising because we feel that it could present a conflict of interest. The only advertising allowed is granted to the TEFL program winner of the annual Teachers’ Choice Award. TEFL Online Pro (https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-reviews-in-2025/) is the winner of this year’s award, so they have been allowed to promote any TEFL course discounts that they may run during the year. This additional exposure on Trusted TEFL Reviews is without charge for the TEFL program currently enjoying Teachers’ Choice Award winner status.

I am not a man

I identify as a woman because I am a woman, living and teaching English in Vienna, Austria. Contrary to what some Online TEFL/TESOL companies have written about me online, I am not a “man”, I am not a “dyke”, and I am not a “b!tch”. I am a mother. I co-own Trusted TEFL Reviews with my partner and we run Trusted TEFL Reviews together, from our apartment in Vienna. We also have a small office within the city limits that we visit mostly during the summer months when the air-con in the office is a welcome respite. We also run the Teachers’ Choice Award from this office. It is no Online TEFL/TESOL program’s beeswax what our addresses are and we both feel safer not disclosing our addresses. I have received threats in the past simply because I wouldn’t delete a negative review written about one of the TEFL programs listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

We never delete reviews from Trusted TEFL Reviews, unless the review is later found to be fake

Online TEFL/TESOL course programs are the customers of the mainstream Online TEFL/TESOL review websites. The programs pay a yearly fee to be listed on the review website, and this is how those review websites generate the majority of their commercial income. Those review websites have a strong financial incentive to hide negative reviews and hold almost no verification process for publishing positive reviews – the vast majority of which are written by the TEFL company. Trusted TEFL Reviews has a strong verification process in place and we only publish reviews that have been proven to have been written by a real TEFL student. This has infuriated a few Online TEFL/TESOL companies – companies that are used to chalking up fake 5-star reviews on those mainstream TEFL review platforms.

We allow all of the TEFL companies listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews to respond to reviews

All Online TEFL/TESOL companies listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews are free to respond to any review published about their program. The vast majority of programs choose not to, but some do. The most prolific company to respond to reviews – responding to every review they receive – is TEFL Online Pro. This company is proactive and recognizes the importance of thanking customers for writing positive reviews and addressing any issues presented by negative reviews. If an Online TEFL company writes that they tried responding to a review but were unsuccessful in doing so, it is a flat-out lie.

Russian review websites

A few months ago, an Online TEFL/TESOL company reached out to me – a company not listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews – complaining that their business wasn’t doing so well. They blamed their dwindling revenue on the many cheap Online TEFL/TESOL programs undercutting them with lower prices. They suggested that they would “handle the Google Ads campaigns” of those programs through a process known as click fraud. They also suggested that I should write some damning reviews about those programs on complaintsboard.com. I refused the offer and told the individual to focus on improving their course offerings and customer services. complaintsboard.com, dirtyscam.com, and ripoffreport.com are all Russian-owned websites. They may claim otherwise, but they operate outside of countries where they can be held accountable for the defamatory material that they allow to be published on their websites. I read one recent “complaint” that TEFL Online Pro is offering courses illegally and not paying their taxes. This, of course, is just fiction. I also read another “complaint” where someone had written that OISE University of Toronto TEFL is a scam and their certificates are not valid internationally. Also, fictitious. The rogue Online TEFL/TESOL companies use these websites to badmouth their business competitors because all you need to do to have your review published is to verify your email address – using any name to create an account. Those Russian websites feel protected from legal repercussions and they are the go-to websites for the dregs of the Online TEFL/TESOL certification course world.

TEFL companies that want to take over the world

The TEFL Academy (https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/the-tefl-academy/) is the perfect example of a company that wants it all, and they are willing to break all the better business rules to achieve their objective. We began listing this program on Trusted TEFL Reviews a few years ago. Within a couple of days, we received an avalanche of 5-star reviews for them, but not one of the reviewers was willing to prove course participation in The TEFL Academy program. They were fake reviews. We also have it on good word that this company reaches out to its graduates and offers them a free mini TEFL course if they write a positive review. This is why there is such a disconnect between their reviews on Trusted TEFL Reviews and their reviews on Facebook, Trustpilot, etc. World TESOL Academy (https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/world-tesol-academy/) is also guilty of this shameless and flagrant middle finger to the better business rules. They claim to be the “Worlds #1 TEFL Course Provider.” This obviously isn’t true, as are many other claims on their website.

Our advice for Online TEFL/TESOL companies

Interact with your customers! If you receive a positive review, thank the customer for spending their time to review your program. If you receive a negative review, apologize and try to right a wrong. Don’t write false sh*t about me or Trusted TEFL Reviews just because you got some negative feedback.

Our advice for Online TEFL/TESOL students

The Online TEFL/TESOL industry is unregulated and highly competitive. Some companies will swear blind to you that you need to take their course because it has more hours or because it has won so many awards. The Teachers’ Choice Award is the only Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program award that cannot be bought. The industry standard is a 120-hour TEFL/TESOL certification course (140 hours if it includes 20 teaching practice hours). You don’t need more training hours because those extra hours are meaningless for TEFL employers. If you pay less than US$100 for a 120-hour Online TEFL/TESOL certification course, you WILL regret it.

Accreditation

To prevent you from becoming a victim of a TEFL scam, we recommend that you choose a Fully Accredited TEFL/TESOL certification course provider.

The most well-known accreditation companies – offering Full Accreditation:

ACCET – Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training.

ACTEFLC – Accreditation Council for Teaching English as a Foreign Language Courses.

OISE – University of the Toronto Faculty of Education.

TESL Canada

University of Cambridge’s English Language Assessment

If you read anything negative about these organizations online, it has been written by an Online TEFL/TESOL program – a program that likely has no accreditation itself or one that simply pays a dodgy accreditation company an annual fee.

You can see which companies are Fully Accredited and internationally recognized by looking through the program listings in the TEFL Course Directory:

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

The top-rated schools in the directory are top-rated for a legitimate reason.

The low-rated schools in the directory are low-rated for a legitimate reason.

Be smart. Don’t fall for the disinformation and misinformation.

Trusted TEFL Reviews

If and when we are notified of shady practices or even outright scams, we will post details of them in the Online TEFL Course Scams section of this website.

This ‘Online TEFL Course Reviews Scams’ article was originally written and published by Mia Williams, co-owner of Trusted TEFL Reviews (TTR) | Best Featured TEFL Articles

Related articles:

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

https://trustedteflreviews.com/2021/03/30/common-tefl-scams/

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 Online TEFL TESOL Course Review Scams in 2026 appeared first on Trusted TEFL Reviews.

Ian Leahy ESLinsider review, submitted by Caitlin.

My ESLinsider TEFL certificate wasn’t accepted for my work permit.

I got scammed by Ian Leahy from ESLinsider, and looking back, I really should have noticed all of the obvious red flags.

I first got to hear of Ian Leahy’s TEFL program from one of his posts in Quora. He came over as being very knowledgeable, and I liked how he was prepared to go out of his way to shine a light on some of the dodgy TEFL courses out there. After a couple of emails back and forth, I enrolled in his TEFL (TEKA) course. The course payment was arranged by wiring the money to his bank account. Ok, a little strange, but this was a reliable person, who seemed completely legit.

The course was OK. It wasn’t worth the 300 bucks I paid, but it did cover a lot of the basics for teaching kids. Despite the not-that-great video quality, and having to manually email Ian my course assignments, I managed to see the course through to the end and I received my TEFL certificate.

I must write that Ian was helpful throughout the course and came over as being professional.

The problems began when I started applying for jobs.

Despite assuring me that he would help me find a job, Ian stopped returning my emails as soon as my course was complete. So the first lie was that he provides job support. He doesn’t.

I eventually landed a job with a school based in Shanghai, China. Because of the COVID restrictions on traveling at the time, all my paperwork went through the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. The plan was to get all my ducks in a row before the new year, and then I would travel over to China to begin teaching after the Chinese New Year.

It shook me when I received the news that my application had been declined.

I went through all my paperwork. Everything was in order.

When I checked with the embassy, they informed me that my work permit was declined because my ESLinsider TEFL certificate wasn’t accepted.

So now I am back to square 1 and need to take another TEFL course, but this time one that WILL be recognized. I decided on the TEFL Online Pro program and checked with the embassy and my school if this one would be recognized, they gave it the thumbs up, and now I’m back on course for an early March start to begin my teaching job. So far, the TEFL Online Pro program is excellent.

I wrote to Ian Leahy, asking for a partial refund of my money, but he didn’t respond.

ESLinsider’s TEFL online is a course that you should avoid at all costs. There is no reason for taking it if you can’t use the certificate.

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