TESOL Teacher Training

What is a TESOL Teacher Training Program? It’s your way to become a qualified instructor of English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL).

TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Completing the TESOL course means you’re ready to teach ESOL students professionally at English schools in the USA or the rest of the world, from Argentina to Zambia.

SIT-certified TESOL trainers guide you through a comprehensive curriculum with the following modules: learning, teaching, speaking, pronunciation, structure, listening, reading, writing, and culture. 

Whether you’re a new or an experienced teacher, TESOL teacher training provides tools, techniques, and tips to transform your student-centered classroom into a dynamic learning community.

Benefits of TESOL Teacher Training at ILI

  • 180-hour training
  • Graduate with a World Learning SIT Graduate Institute’s TESOL Certificate, a leader in the field of TESOL for more than 30 years.
  • Get hands-on training and teaching experience from the first week of class.
  • Reflect on key teaching frameworks, core TESOL concepts, and multiple language acquisition tools
  • It’s cost-effective
  • Become qualified to teach ESOL around the world.
  • Teach at least 6 one-hour practice classes
  • Online and in-person options

NOTE: Our online, in-person, intensive, and extensive (part-time) options cover the same curriculum — it’s just the mode of instruction or pace of the course that differs.

A group of TESOL participants who have taught the ILI drop-in Free English classes.

Is the TESOL teacher training program for you?

ILI’s TESOL course is ideal if you’re interested in teaching English to speakers of other languages. With a TESOL Certificate, you can make an impact as an educator, a mentor, and an agent of change.

If you’re ready to take a deep dive into the concepts and techniques of teaching English, the TESOL course is right for you. Moreover, TESOL English teaching training is perfect if you’re ready to try new teaching tools, reflect critically on your practice lessons, and evolve as an educator.

Maybe you’ve already devoted years to English instruction or teaching other languages. Or maybe you’ve never stepped into a classroom before. Either way, you’ll benefit from ILI’s TESOL English teacher training program and its ongoing process of planning, practice, and reflection.

You’ll gain fresh insights into the student-centered communicative language learning environment. You may end up adjusting your ideas about best teaching practices. By the end of the TESOL intensive course, you may even end up reimagining the classroom and reinventing yourself as an educator.

As a participant in our TESOL Certificate you’ll learn the ins and outs of formulating learning goals that are relevant to the students’ lives. You’ll learn different approaches to  structuring lesson plans step by step. You’ll learn techniques to boost student talk time.

Another way that our TESOL Certificate makes an impact is that it puts into practice the ideals of fairness and equity in education. TESOL teacher training will help you show how you genuinely care about the learner.

Are online TESOL courses valid?

Definitely, yes! Online and in-person TESOL Certificates are equally valid.

Just like any in-person equivalent, the online TESOL Certificate course qualifies you to teach ESOL/EFL/ESL at home or abroad.  You will walk away with the necessary qualifications to move forward in your career as an ESL/EFL/ESOL instructor. Whether located in an English-speaking country or a country where English is not the primary language, schools and institutions are looking to hire candidates with an online TESOL Certificate to fill ESOL/ESL/EFL teaching positions.

Remember, however, that the best TESOL intensive courses provide opportunities to put TESOL concepts into action with hands-on teaching experience. In ILI’s TESOL course, you will benefit from the chance to plan, deliver, and reflect on your own example lessons.

That’s why, as a participant in our TESOL teacher training, you’ll teach at least 6 one-hour practice classes. You will practice teaching techniques with real students, process feedback, and engage in peer observation.

The same as any in-person iteration, ILI’s online TESOL Certificate unpacks the tool kit that can make you a successful teacher. Our fully accredited TESOL distance learning courses are delivered entirely online via Zoom and Google Classroom and result in 100% valid TESOL Certificate.

TESOL Course Options

Our TESOL Trainers

TESOL instructor Brian in training.
TESOL instructor Brian with participants working in groups.

Our TESOL Certificate Course is taught by a teacher trainer certified by World Learning/SIT Graduate Institute. Our certified teacher trainers bring a wealth of teaching experience and a passion for education.

“Brian Long was an incredibly supportive trainer who took the time to meet with us individually in order to go over our lessons plans, provide feedback and assist when we had specific questions. Brian made it apparent through his actions that he was completely dedicated to our growth and to supporting us in achieving our personal goals for the course. Brian Long is an incredible trainer!”

Alexander

Got a Question?

See if our frequently asked questions answer what’s on your mind…

Selected FAQs

Five Graduate Credits are available through the World Learning SIT TESOL Certificate.

You have the choice of whether or not to pursue graduate credit, but need to decide before the course begins. Regulations state that once the course has begun there is no reconsideration on the part of the World Learning SIT Graduate Institute Registrar’s Office. If you wish to pursue graduate credit you will be given a link by the Training Center at which you have enrolled in the course, and will register for credit on an online World Learning SIT registration site.

Choosing the credit option means that you will pay an additional $500 fee directly to World Learning SIT, and upon successful completion of the course you will be awarded five graduate credits. Ordinary payment method is by check, but as a convenience, SIT offers the choice of credit card online payments by Master Card, Visa, or Discover with a flat convenience fee of $50 per transaction for payment of the registration fee.

In submitting the graduate credit application you indicate that you have chosen to take the course for graduate credit, and that you understand that if you change your mind or fail to complete the course credit requirements the cost of credit will not be refunded.

ILI can assist you in finding local accommodation. *Rented rooms for $165 per week are within a short distance of the school. There is a $125 housing search fee for this service. If you need this service, please fill out the Home-stay portion of your application.

Participants teach 6 hours during the program, with group planning sessions before every class taught and group processing sessions afterwards.

ILI has many requests to observe classes. Participants in our TESOL program and tutors in our Volunteer Tutor Program may do this without charge, after which they process their observations in their respective programs.

For those not part of TESOL or the Volunteer Tutor Program, the procedure for independent observers is the following:

  1. Submit the short observation application form, which you can download here.
  2. Upon receipt of the application, an ILI trainer will arrange a class for the observer to watch.  Upon confirmation from the teacher, the ILI trainer will notify the observer and discuss the observation process.
  3. For a single class observation: after the class, the trainer and observer will talk again to process the observation. (This can also be done by email.) The charge for this is $50.
  4. For a block of 20 hours: the observer will meet with the trainer at the beginning, twice during the observation time frame, and once at the end. The observer may, upon a teacher’s agreement, teach a 20-min. observed lesson. The charge for a 20-hr.- observation block is $400.

Your daily schedule will be Monday through Friday from 9 am to 12 pm. Lunch from 12 to 1 pm. Afternoon from 1 to 4 pm. There are no classes or meetings on the weekends.

This program is the same as the one-month, intensive 180-hour teacher-training course that provides participants with the practical skills and confidence they need to be successful in the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classroom. This course meets one Saturday a month and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for three months.

The class meets live on Zoom. The schedule is one Saturday each month, from 10am – 5pm (Lunch from 1 – 2pm), and every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 4:30 – 9pm.

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What to do next

  1. Explore our TESOL program options and choose the one that suits you best
  2. Register for your chosen course!

Advice on TESOL From our Blog

The ILI Promise

At ILI, we believe that all our actions should stem from grace and loving kindness.

Portrait of Caroline Gear - Executive Director
  • We operate as an equal opportunity organization.
  • We nurture relationships beyond the classroom.
  • We are committed to providing the highest quality language instruction and teacher training.
  • We promote intercultural understanding and celebrates the diversity in our local communities.
  • We works collaboratively to build and sustain the communities we serve.
  • We believe in life-changing teaching and learning.