Accreditation for Oxford TEFL

Our CELTA and DipTESOL courses are accredited and externally moderated by Cambridge English and Trinity College London. Their quality is recognized by the British Council and employers worldwide.

Why is accreditation important?

Even if you are not sure that teaching is a career move for you, or perhaps you simply want the experience of studying abroad, choosing the right qualification is essential.

By taking the Cambridge CELTA course, future employers will know that you dedicated yourself to a worthwhile training program. You learn valuable personal and professional skills which you can take into any workplace.

If you plan to travel at any time in the future, you will know that your Cambridge CELTA certificate will be accepted and you will be able to work as an English teacher.

What are the advantages of accredited courses?

The CELTA and DipTESOL courses are independently moderated by Cambridge and Trinity representatives. This means that the quality of the training you’ll receive meets the highest of standards – wherever in the world you do your course.

As a result, over the years, the Cambridge and Trinity stamp of approval has come to be trusted by TEFL employers everywhere.

This has also led to the Cambridge CELTA being accepted by the British Council as an initial TESOL or TEFL qualification, and the Trinity DipTESOL as a full TEFL Qualifying qualification, for teachers in its accredited teaching organizations in the UK and overseas.

The Cambridge CELTA also gains you credits towards degree programs offered by the Open University in the UK, while the Trinity DipTESOL is a level 7 qualification and provides the holder credits towards some Master’s degrees (read more about DipTESOL).

Why is it important that your TEFL certificate is recognized by the British Council?

The British Council is an international organization that works towards building learning opportunities and lasting cultural relationships between the UK and countries around the world. The British Council runs accredited English language schools in over 100 countries, employing English language teachers in a respectable working environment with fair pay and conditions. The Cambridge CELTA is one of only two TEFL qualifications that are listed by the British Council as an acceptable introductory teaching qualification that meets their standards and requirements. This means that institutions associated with the British Council prefer to employ those with the Cambridge CELTA, which leads to greater job opportunities.

What about the other TEFL certificates?

An unaccredited course might provide good training, but the reputation of the training centre may well be limited to one city, region or country, and without regular external monitoring standards can vary.

Some course providers opt for a middle route; accreditation by an organization such as IATQuo (see comparison between the Trinity CertTESOL vs IATQuO) or the College of Teachers, who provide a more hands-off, low-cost accreditation system. These are not, however, specified in TEFL job ads and are not recognized by the British Council. This form of ‘accreditation’ does not include the presence of a moderator at the end of each course to get feedback from trainee teachers and participate in their assessment. It may simply involve sending a certificate for a fee at the end of the course with no contact with the trainee teacher at all.

For more information about Cambridge accreditation, visit the Cambridge English and the British Council website.