Comments on: ICAL TEFL

By: Kim Dammers

Kim Dammers — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 12:32:25 +0000

The curriculum is appropriate and well organized. I was given the choice of a North American or a British tutor. As an American, I chose the former. I was a bit disappointed with the tutor right off the bat. Soon, she sent caustic comments. I had to give up on the course. The administration never reached out to me to help resolve the conflict with my tutor.

(Note: to submit this review, one of the things that I have to affirm is that i have completed the ICAL course. I have not, but since I paid for the course and took it until the conflict stopped me, I feel I am entitled to write a review: unsuccessful students as well as graduates should be heard from. Thus, I am submitting this even though it is not the case that I completed my ICAL training course.)

By: Julian

Julian — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 05:02:10 +0000

I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was looking into a TEFL Course and was struggling to work out which provider to choose. She told me that she did it through ICAL and found them to be excellent.

I ultimately took her advice and selected an ICAL 120 TEFL Course. I’m very glad I did so! The course was of an excellent standard – the materials were detailed and provided lots of information regarding teaching, classroom management, lesson planning and all sorts of issues I had never considered before. My tutor gave punctual and personalised feedback on the assignments and has given me many ideas of activities to try in the classroom. There were also numerous materials in the ICAL portal which helped to complete the assignments and fill in gaps in my knowledge.

I would happily recommend that other students choose ICAL to complete a TEFL course.

By: Barby

Barby — Tue, 15 May 2018 19:28:42 +0000

I met my tutor Sheila in 2017 attending a weekend TEFL course, I loved her and her way of approaching to her students. Later I decided to take a more complete TEFL course. It was very interesting and thanks to my tutor’s comments I learned good new strategies to teaching English although I have been an English Italian teacher for some years. The site is very well organized and easy to use; the personnel is really professional. Throughout my TEFL course I had the feeling that I was never alone although it was an online course. This is due to the professionalism of my tutor: I tried not to disturb but in any case I had the feeling that there was always someone behind my shoulders that I could “call” at any time in case of need.

Material and resources are very useful.

Thank you all very very kindly; I hope this can help the future TEFLers to think about how advantageous a TEFL course can be.

B 🙂

By: Jarod

Jarod — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 14:00:04 +0000

My ICAL tutor was amazing! She did NOT go easy on me, but that really allowed me to learn and grow. Overall, this was an amazing course.

The website and content were very professional and the quality was excellent. You will actually learn a lot from this course!

By: Sara Nauman

Sara Nauman — Sun, 29 May 2016 13:06:37 +0000

It was my first online course and I am glad and fortunate to find such a worthwhile institute.It was an amazing experience for me that helped me grow professionally and personally. My tutor was a superb, professional and welexperienced person who marked my assignment thoroughly and timely.i must add that I am really impressed by her honest comments and guidance. I have suggested this course to many of my colleagues and I highly recommend it.Thanks and Regards

By: Bruce Hall

Bruce Hall — Sat, 28 May 2016 14:48:36 +0000

Review by Bruce Hall May 27th 2016

Having no computer skills whatsoever, I took 3 months to build up courage to even start an internet based course! Looking at the Module format, looking where to source information and choosing a Tutor with whom you think you will have an affinity with, helped my journey along the way.Spending a few hours before even starting,with these points in mind, gave me the initial confidence to continue!

The more I progressed through the course,the more I realized how little I knew about teaching.It’s fine being a good student but this has no relevance to being able to teach.I can say with certainty, that completing the ICAL TEFL course is essential.

My Tutor, Scott Ward gave positive insights based on experience,and I found myself thinking how would he answer this question etc.At the end of the day,I hope he reads this, as then he will realize how much he helped.

The staff at ICAL were very professional and prompt. The course Director Susan responded more quickly than a 999 call one time-under 5 mins!

Basically, if you are looking at a TEFL course, don’t even waste your time looking anywhere else. You already could be half-way finished Module 1 Go for it!!

By: Amy G.

Amy G. — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 21:06:43 +0000

I loved working through this course. The syllabus is well put together, with informative reading material and assignments that challenge you to really think and assimilate new knowledge. My tudor was always very responsive and encouraging, and provided loads of helpful, constructive feedback. Since it is an online course, you don’t get hands on teaching practice. But there is plenty of bookwork to help you prepare lessons and materials and think through how to handle a number of realistic class situations. Having no deadlines to finish the coursework was also a huge benefit. I could balance the coursework around my chaotic schedule, turning in work that I felt satisfied with, rather than rushing through to meet a deadline and immediately forgetting everything I’d just crammed. In the end, I came out feeling like I had learned a lot. I definitely recommend this course to anyone looking for TEFL certification.

By: Derik

Derik — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 01:11:35 +0000

I can highly recommend this course! I have been teaching for almost 6 years when I did this course and to to be honest, I felt like I didn’t have too much to gain. But I was wrong! I did another TEFL course a few years ago but found that one a lot more shallow and since it did not have a practical teaching component, it also was not accepted here where I teach in Hong Kong by the education bureau (HINT – don’t always go for the cheapest option!)

The iCal course was recommended by a fellow teacher here in Hong Kong and since it was still very affordable compared to others, I gave it a shot.

Everything was of the highest standard. The e-mail feedback was quick (2 days at the most, often sooner). The course content was informative, practical and helpful. My personal tutor Jay was amazing. His individual feedback on each assignment and teaching practicals were insightful, encouraging, in depth and he was very knowledgeable and experienced himself. The assignments were well structured, understandable and relevant.

All in all it was a great way to consolidate some of my current teaching strategies and experience and also to add a few new tools and skills.

By: Elena C.

Elena C. — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:14:51 +0000

I loved this course. Very clear, with good instructions and materials and a very professional staff. I helped me better organize my knowledge regarding teaching (in general), to make a better use of the materials and resources for teaching English, I learned some new tricks to improve efficiency in teaching and it gave me more self confidence. I found all the 5 modules very well structured: with the right amount of knowledge – concise, that make you think and search for more (on the ICAL Student Center and on the web), but with all the necessary information.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 13:28:43 +0000

I’ve been teaching ESL for almost 4 years now and absolutely love it. I got certified with ICAL in 2011 and I’m very happy with the results. My tutor was very knowledgeable about the area I wanted to teach in. Giving valuable feedback concerning both the country I was going to apply to, and how to improve my teaching methods. I really appreciated the fact that ICAL was convenient and affordable. Taking the course really made me aware of my language, I’ve realized I took a lot for granted as a native speaker. I really appreciate this course and I’ve suggested it to a few friends.