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Teachers' qualifications guidance

The British Council does NOT validate or accredit any teacher training qualifications and we cannot comment on specific courses. The Accreditation Scheme for UK English language providers (run jointly by the British Council and EnglishUK) assesses qualifications solely for the purpose of deciding whether an organisation meets its requirements for the Teaching and learning criteria of the Scheme. The managers of our Teaching Centre operations overseas and our central London-based recruitment team for our overseas Teaching Centres assess qualifications for the purpose of deciding whether someone is qualified to do the job.

TEFL initial (certificate-level) qualifications

TEFL initiating qualifications are first-level qualifications for teachers who want to enter the profession. The British Council considers that TEFL initiating qualifications should

be externally validated by a reputable examination body (usually a university or a recognised examinations board).
contain at least six hours supervised teaching practice (i.e. practice where a qualified assessor observes the trainee teacher teaching real TEFL students and gives feedback to the trainee on his/her performance).
Contain at least 100 hours of TEFL input.

TEFL qualifying (diploma-level) qualifications

TEFL qualifying qualifications are a higher level qualification, usually taken by teachers with relevant experience who want to follow a career in TEFL. The British Council considers that TEFL qualifying qualifications should

be externally validated by a reputable examination body (usually a university or a recognised examinations board).
require candidates to have prior EFL teaching experience.
contain at least five hours supervised teaching practice (i.e. practice where a qualified assessor observes the trainee teacher teaching real TEFL students and gives feedback to the trainee on his/her performance).
Contain at least 100 hours of TEFL input.

Examples of TEFL initiating qualifications are the Cambridge ESOL CELTA and Trinity College London Certificate in TESOL.

Examples of TEFL qualifying qualifications are the Cambridge ESOL DELTA and Trinity College London Diploma in TESOL, PGCE in TEFL.

Other qualifications will be considered but they must meet the validation, entry requirements, teaching practice and input criteria listed above.

When planning to take a course leading to a TEFL teaching qualification, you should ensure the course and the qualification meet the criteria set out above.

Please find attached the British Council Information sheet "Study English language teaching" which provides further details on qualifications and how to study towards them.

DCSIMG