The TEFL Academy review, submitted by Jade.
Poor video quality and inadequate feedback. Despite the content of this TTA Level 5 TEFL course being on the whole of a high level, the entire experience was dramatically lowered by the poor video quality in the tuition modules, as well as the feedback on my assignments being consistently subpar. I got the distinct impression that no one had bothered to read my coursework because the feedback didn’t correlate at all with the work I had put in. I also learned later on that TEFL Academy (Ireland/UK) isn’t an accredited program; meaning there are some jobs that I won’t be considered for with the certification from this company. When I brought this up with TEFL Academy they referred me to QUALIFI, which they said accredit them, but the reply I received from QUALIFI only stated that they regulate TEFL Academy’s courses and didn’t mention anywhere in the email that they accredit them. I am 100% certain that I will be able to find teaching work with this certificate as most schools don’t seem to care about accreditation, but the fact that I was misled into thinking TEFL Academy is accredited made me feel a bit cheated. It’s a shame really because apart from the low-quality course videos, I thought the course content was structured really well and it taught me so many things about teaching ESL. The 3 stars are for the course content.
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Jade.
Thanks for adding your review of The TEFL Academy.
Level 5 TEFL courses are regulated and recognized in the United Kingdom.
Outside of the United Kingdom, employers expect their teacher applicants to have a 120-hour TEFL/TESOL certificate (130 or 140 hours if there is a teaching practice component.)
Level 5 courses are 168 hours in length.
When you purchase a Level 5 TEFL course, you are purchasing a course that has no teaching practice component and you are purchasing a course that contains 48 hours of unnecessary course study time.
The same applies to some TEFL companies that offer courses consisting of 180+ hours.
These bloated hours courses won’t, in any way, improve your chances of TEFL employment.
If you are applying for teaching work online or abroad and you present your Level 5 certificate at an interview, the interviewer’s first thought will likely be what the hell is a Level 5 TEFL course?
By all means spend the extra money on a Level 5 TEFL course, but understand that these courses are mainly recognized in the United Kingdom and that you will be laboring for longer for your TEFL certification.
Mia Williams – Trusted TEFL Reviews
Went with The TEFL Academy.
If I’d known what I know now, I wouldn’t have chosen them.
Everything is fine until you need to get a hold of support (that’s never available).
The course was OK. It didn’t blow me away.
But the high price and the poor support made me regret my purchase.
To add insult to injury, I also had to purchase my certificate.
All hiding behind a wall of hidden terms and conditions.
Absolutely awful.
Go with a different provider.
I should have chosen one of these companies:
https://trustedteflreviews.com/2025/12/21/best-online-tefl-courses-tesol-2020/