Is TESOL certification accredited?
First we should define what is meant by accreditation. In general, business, industry, educational companies, and institutions are by regulation or voluntary means, subject to some form of external checks by an accrediting body.
In terms of the ESL teaching industry there is no single overarching body that does this. Historically the growth of the ESL market, which has taken place worldwide, has resulted in many such accreditation bodies coming into being.
Accreditation agencies are generally made up of a variety of sources, such as universities, examining bodies and private companies of varying size and coverage. When and how the accreditation takes place is up to the individual accreditation agencies, but over time a number of generally accepted worldwide measurement indicators have been developed. These would include criteria such as, number of course hours, level of trainer qualifications, methods of trainee assessment and so forth.
A good resource when looking at any particular ESL training course provider and their accreditation can be found here;
10 questions you need to ask before enrolling in a TEFL course
How can I tell if a TESOL course is accredited?
When looking for a course, take some time to look through the company’s website to see what they say about their accreditation. Firstly, is this easily visible on the website or do you have to search around to find it? Can you easily access the website of the accrediting body, does it appear professional?
Another factor to consider will be the views of past participants of the course. What are the general reviews for the company like? Do they appear genuine, such as using video reviews of real people, rather than just posted comments?
Have a look at teaching blogs and forums to find further feedback on courses and have a look at some of the awards the ESL teaching companies have obtained. Finally, have a look at who the ESL organizations are affiliated with. Are they linked with other well respected and well known teaching and learning organizations?
Are ITTT TESOL courses accredited?
All ITTT courses are accredited, both onsite courses and online courses.
Onsite 4-week courses: All our TEFL courses are validated and credit-bearing by Lamar University (USA) and the Paris College of International Education (France).
Onsite 5-day combined courses: Five-day combined courses are moderated by the Teacher Training Council.
Online courses: Certificates gained by completing an online training course with ITTT are validated, accredited and credit bearing from the Paris College of International Education (France).
More details can be found on our affiliations page.
It was mentioned earlier that one good way of checking on any organization was to have a look at their reviews and testimonials. At ITTT we publish many video testimonials from real trainees and these can be seen on our reviews page.
ITTT is also an institutional member of IATEFL. IATEFL is one of the most thriving communities of ELT teachers in the world. Our IATEFL membership number is 16020. For more information on IATEFL, please visit: www.iatefl.org.
What does it mean if a course has no accreditation?
There are two possible reasons for this. The first may be that it is a new company and they have not had time to go through the often long process that accreditation requires. Have a look on their website, does it say when the company was formed or how long they have been in business?
Secondly, they may not have been able or want to gain accreditation. If this is a cause for concern, you should contact the company directly to find out why they are not accredited.
