The World TEFL Accrediting Commission provided accreditation for providers of TEFL and TESOL courses and provided customers with much needed guidance.

Every year, an estimated 100,000 vacancies open up for English teachers around the world, and that’s not counting online teaching opportunities. For some it’s a chance to travel overseas – for others it’s a door to a new career. Either way, a TEFL or TESOL course, is a valuable qualification. However, as demand grew, so did the number of providers – and not all of them provided a useful qualification that would help them achieve their goals. It was a wild west environment and people had little or no guidance in choosing the best courses.

The World TEFL Accrediting Commission (WTEFLAC) was created to bring structure to the sector. They set up an accreditation process that would set minimum standards for providers. To be accredited by the WTEFLAC, providers would have to meet the standards set out in the code of conduct. An accreditation board would assess the provider’s courses, staff and marketing material to make sure they were run by professional people and were transparent and honest in their promotional materials.

Accredited companies

The Commission focused on two types of companies:

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language): A TEFL is an internationally recognised entry level credential for teaching English as a foreign language as a foreign language in schools and communities. Once you have a TEFL qualification you are qualified to teach English to foreign speakers anywhere in the world. It’s a great tool to finance an adventure overseas.

TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages): This qualification was primarily geared to teaching speakers of a foreign language in an English-speaking country, but it can also be used anywhere else overseas. When teaching English students and teachers may not share a foreign language. Breaking that gap and communicating the information necessary is a particular tool – and one that teachers will need to master.

Once accredited, these organizations would be listed on the WTEFLAC website and be permitted to display their logo on their website. It would give them a form of verification that would reassure potential customers that this course was legitimate and run by qualified individuals. Customers, meanwhile, would have some useful information on which to base their search for a course.

The standards for accreditation were set out in the Code of Conduct. To be approved, the provider would have to employ qualified and experienced staff, have provisions for staff development, and have a well laid out course structure which was constantly being reviewed and improved. Marketing material would have to present a realistic reflection of the course on offer and they would have to be clear and open about the costs involved.
All companies were carefully assessed by a board which would include site visits if appropriate. This careful process of assessment, helped to ensure each provider accredited by the WTEFLAC would give their students a high-quality qualification on which to base their future studies.