Free TEFL certificate from Teacher Record - is it any good?

In this video I take a look at the free TEFL certificate offered by Teacher Record and give my opinion.

[EndureTyrant]

I am currently living in a foreign country, and working at a local English school, but the coursework is extremely structured in a way that any English speaker can teach. I am going to take this course to help me improve my teaching skills, and to start private tutoring, as the finances from working in the country I am currently in isn't enough to pay for a class yet. I do plan on enrolling in a better quality course down the road though, when I can afford it.

[TchrGeorgie]

Thanks for your video...really informative run through this of particular prog and some humour 😅. As someone with a Primary Teaching Cert, I think it will be useful, with the courses coverage of our English language, terminology and grammar. Often, unfort this can be overlooked during Teacher Training or those who have attended Uni, assuming we all come with the same prior learning and knowledge of English (which of course, is not the case). I will use this to clarify further understanding, as I continue on with the paid TELF course (prior to hearing of this 😅). As you stated towards the end of your vid, we cannot assume any qualification makes someone the better teacher. I have seen this time and time again. Those with the highest qualification or study, have lacked the relational skills, empathy and patience... the crucial attributes of a teacher! Anything knowledge can be learned, yet having the right temperament, initiative and manner will have the greatest impact on the learners 😊

[dibiflawars]

Honestly, if people just didn't share answer keys online and took the time to actually study the course, this would've been a little more tolerable. Most of these channels are from Philippines too. Teacher Record should at least remove those accounts or constantly change the questions to avoid cheating. The free course provides useful information, to be honest. Those can still be helpful to some teachers who actually want to teach.

[BlueStarre_Pirates]

I liked your honest review. I watched your entire video. Especially at the end I thought you gave some proper credit. One parallel that came to mind is that not all delicious food is cooked by a chef. Many of the online jobs are only offering $10-15/ hour for ESL teachers, so you can't expect people would want to invest upfront extra monies after university debts on top. This seems to be a very valuable starter tool. Maybe test the waters to see if you enjoy teaching, and if you do, then reinvest in a higher level course down the road after you've got some experience under your belt and made a few bucks doing it. Seems like a few probing questions to a prospective canidate would be able to inform if they actually read and studied the material or just have a piece of paper they got after getting ahold of the answer key. Expertise builds on itself. Seems like good foundational material. Thank you, you seem to have a good discerning eye-- with a balance of taking on a little risk if a canidate clearly put in effort and demonstrates some talent.

[justthatsomeonewholoveseve]

This is a pretty good Thank you for taking Time to go through the TEFL course materials on that site. Saves me time 😊

[BitcoinGirl-tdpi]

I agree with what you have said in the video. However, I believe that the Teacher Record course is still a good start for teachers who can't afford a TEFL or CELTA course. For instance, in my case and in my country (Algeria), most people earn around 140 dollars a month, while these courses cost between 600 and 1000 dollars.

[queensenglish]

I don't think that everything is bad about this free course. If we program our minds to look at it suspiciouly, of course everything we read about it will sound ridiculous and stupid. I will check the course myself and do the course and see it for myself whether or not it is worthwhile. One interesting thing about this is that important employers/companies appear here not supossedly back this certificate up.

[milademjayy]

*having a BA degree in cooking or sky touching, will for sure will make you a great teacher in Asia*

[annalee]

Hi! What can I do if I live in Russia and thus have no opportunity to get CELTA or TESOL as you recommend? I’m trying to find a job in Europe or Istanbul, I’m an English teacher with a master’s honours degree.

[hafsinawres]

I believe that alongside with BA, MA and experience this free certificate can be really helpful especially for those who will read everything

[riyabcn]

Thank you for this valuable review. At the end, I also think it is well organized course, but there is no practice, what is essential for the teacher. It can be acceptable for people with teaching experience in other languages who just need an additional English certificate. However, what bothers me is the certificate issue. In the FAQ section they explain you need to take and send them a photo of your ID in order to confirm your identity. What is your opinion about it?

[KirstStar]

Hi Alex. I’m a South African with a teaching degree. I’m looking at teaching English online and possibly emigrating to the UK in the next couple of years. What TEFL course would you recommend?

THANK YOU for this video. You’ve saved me so much time.

[ShaareiZoharDaas]

Its excellent and it eliminates people get scammed by the $$$ companies

[English--Iraq]

Good morning Mr Alex walls. I hope you are doing well. My name is Tha'ir . I am from Iraq. I am a teacher of English for primary school. I have been teaching English since 2005. But until this moment I can't speak English fluently because in Iraq we don't use English in our society I mean we just use it at schools to teach grammar and vocabulary. As far as I can see, there are lots of certificates out there. Like TEFL TESOL, DELTA, CELTA, Cambridge C1...etc... so my question is, what certificate do you recommend for me to reach C1 level or maybe C2?? Thanks a million in advance.

[ednaogala]

Hello Alex, I hold a Bachelor's degree in English from Nigeria and I'm contemplating teaching English in Europe or the Middle East. What certifications do I need to pursue this opportunity?

[DASDOS]

Great and useful video keep up! Thanks. So would you recommend a paid TEFL certificate? Additionally, I saw 168 hours of TEFL and 120 hours of TEFL. Which one do you recommend?

[HeleenVanschalkwyk-zmwk]

Please could you enlighten me on an accredited and honest way to complete the TEFL course.

[KopanoDichabe-rmxr]

So for someone who doesnt have the money to dedicate to a proper TEFL course would you say its good enough? Honetsly i do believe teaching requires more qualifications than this but I wanted to do the course to build my skill set as a tutor since I have little experience and need a job

[noxologcabashe]

Please assist can you teach abroad if you have a Diploma/ is Advanced diploma recognised as a Degree abroad?

[brahimsaad]

ECRIF is not mentioned in their course.
in my country educational supervisors prefer ECRIF framework because it's more recent and "student oriented" unlike PPP.
i still don't know how ECRIF is student oriented. it seems to me as an elongated version of PPP