OISE University of Toronto TEFL

The course was well laid out into smaller pieces o that one could concentrate on certain portion at a time. The timing was good. Whenever help was required, it was there. The staff at the University of Toronto teachaway were very patient and friendly. I would certainly recommend this course to anyone who would like to teach English as a foreign language. It would be wise to take note as you go along, so that you would be able to do the quizzes. The quizzes were very helpful. They were a good source of feedback to keep me motivated to hang in there. I enjoyed the material in the course. It really prepared me for teaching. It was informative and interesting as well. The journals also played a good part in helping us to apply what we had studied in the lessons. Also the little excises with our suggestions were very important as well. The structure of the course was great because we got feedback all the way.

I was enrolled and completed the Teachaway TEFL 150-hour certificate. I found that it covered a good and wide range of topics and lessons that one could use when teaching English. The topic I struggle with most was the English grammar portion. There was a lot of English rules and word types that I just took in as how to use without really know the facts and logic behind it. There were several that even now I get stuck with. During the course the tests would tell you which lesson to review so you could help yourself succeed. I took my own personal notes throughout the course and took pictures of slides and diagrams I wanted to remember which help my own testing and reviews. I found this course easy to narvigate and the marking was done efficiently.

This is an excellent course. I enjoyed it; found it quiet comprehensive; and, believe it has prepared me well. I found particularly interesting the background material on language acquisition theory which made what followed much more meaningful and was also important to me as a student of other languages. The faculty is excellent. They are steeped in knowledge and experience, and clearly know how to prepare you for the challenge ahead. The breadth of topics is large but necessary, and there is just enough repetition throughout that one begins to truly learn and internalize key concepts. In addition, there’s lots of opportunity to apply what you are learning, as you are learning it. I liked that. At the end, I did not feel as though I had been exposed to just slide after slide of information, but rather I felt I really knew how to do something, that is, how to prepare a thoughtful and effective lesson plan, and execute it so that students succeed.

Very good course, lots of information taught through this course. There were game materials, teaching support materials, and in-class activities provided for students to download throughout the course. The writer of this course was also very keen on communicating the importance of environmental protection, which is a significant challenge facing the current generation. It's worth spreading the message about how we can give back to the world rather than only take from it. The support normally responded quickly to my inquiries.
Three big concerns I had with this course:
1. During my course, there was a course update where all the course materials changed. All my past work had disappeared, including lesson journals. I wasted 6 hours redoing a few units because I wasn't allowed to move on.
2. Since the course update, the journal resubmissions at the end of every unit did not match with the journals we had written throughout the course. As a result, you were asking us to copy and paste our answers whereas in reality, we had to write fresh journal entries, sometimes about items which weren't included in the course.
3. It has now been almost 4 months since I completed my course and I still have not received my certificate. It's a ridiculous amount of time considering the $1000+ that this course costed. People lose out on a great many job opportunities in this period.

I think that some people have the naive assumption that being a native English speaker qualifies them as an English teacher. On the contrary, as I have learned throughout the process of this course, explaining the rules of English grammar to the initiate is far more challenging than simply knowing how to use them yourself. The course opened my mind to the complexities and challenging nature of the task that lies ahead. I feel that taking this course is a great first step on the path to what will become a successful teaching career.

Most of the units were interesting. I especially liked learning about the different philosophies of language instruction have been developed over the years. In one of the earlier units, for example, Noam Chomsky's theory of universal grammar is discussed in detail.

Likewise, the online assignments were actually quite engaging and allowed room for the exercise of creativity. For example, at the end of the grammar unit, after learning about all the different philosophies of grammar instruction, you are asked to write a document about your own personal philosophy to teaching grammar.

Overall, I found the University of Toronto's online TEFL program to be an effective and engaging introduction to the world of teaching English abroad. I feel more confident moving abroad and jumping into this radically new endeavor after completing this course.

I've heard about the program through a friend, I did research on the online programs and decided on Toronto University. Started in May, completed in October.
In the 100 hour core curriculum first couple of units were boring - necessary, but boring. After completing 100 hours, I got the chance to learn about the actual reason I enrolled. Teaching Abroad, and Teaching Young Learners. +20 hours specialization modules dd not took 20 hours to complete. There were 3 lessons in Teaching Abroad, and 10 in Teaching Young Learners. In all honesty I did not understand why they call it 120 hours.
Lessons are overall interesting and educational as well as fun and interactive.
Reflection journals can be frustrating at first but if you do the readings listed in the beginning of each lesson, you can get the hang of it. They are important to self check your progress.
Brochure is misleading. It says there are many job opportunities in Europe, which we can apply through Teachaway, I've been checking jobs since July and did not find a single TEFL job available in Europe. I will find a suitable job for me but it is not going to happen via Teachaway.

To Elspeth, Kevin, and Shannon,
Thank you! You were always available to answer my questions. I appreciate your solution oriented attitude.

Overall I really enjoyed this course. You definitely have to be a self starter as with any online learning material. The course went into alot more depth in certain areas than I would have ever considered myself. I appreciate the psychology this course follows - catering to individual needs and personalities, different generations of students etc. Its a very model approach by following this mentality, as well as touching on diversity im tje classroom. The support was great when I needed help too. I gave an 8 for the rating about helping to find a job only because I havent looked at that route yet - just trying online teaching for now while traveling. :) quite possible I'll use this in the future! Online teaching is definitely more restricted for flexibility and content, however theres still so much I can apply and practice from this course, before I move on to possibly teaching in q classroom. Appreciate all the support from staff and truly enjoyed this TEFL course.

I researched a number of courses before deciding on OISE. Major deciding factors was it was 1. coming from a University recognized everywhere, 2. Convenience (I work full time so distance learning method was perfect, 3. Price and affordability. The course is designed in manageable chunks so its easily digestible. Knowledge checks and assignments were frequent and the level of difficulty was just right!