TESOL Certificate

Learn to Teach English: Your Passport to the World!

The World Learning SIT TESOL Certificate program is a 130-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.

World Learning has been a leader in the field of TESOL for more than 30 years and the International Language Institute (ILI) has been providing teacher training for more than 20 years.

Why Study with Us?

• Our certificate is internationally recognized and it will enable you to teach at quality schools around the world.
• Participants teach real classes of adult ESOL learners.
• ILI's trainers are certified by SIT and have Master's Degrees in Teaching ESOL or related fields, Our trainers have worked together for more than 15 years and bring a wealth of practical teaching and cross-cultural experience to the program.
• Participants develop skills in teaching speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation, intonation, vocabulary and cultural awareness.
• Participants gain a foundation in reflective practice that will enable them to continue to grow as a teacher long after the program has finished.
• Participants observe our teachers and their classes in action.
• Graduate support and job-placement assistance. Through our listserv of thousands of SIT graduates around the world, exchange ideas with other graduates and get information on job opportunities teaching English!
• Student-visa assistance for international applicants.
• Host family option. Rent a private room within walking distance of the school (see "Housing" below).

The SIT TESOL certificate course was worth every penny (and every second). I consider myself lucky to have chosen ILI over any other TESOL program, having found an amazing family in my trainers and fellow participants."

-Hannah

Who Should Take this Program?

• Prospective teachers : The course offers practical teaching techniques to help you enter the classroom with confidence, even if you have never taught before.
• Novice and Experienced teachers: Through a process of reflection, experienced teachers explore and critique their teaching, deepen their practice and principles, and implement positive changes in a supportive environment. They explore a wide range of teaching and classroom management techniques.
• Non-native speakers: Non-native speakers can teach English! The course is open to anyone who can function fully in an English-speaking environment. Our trainers assess applicants' English through an extensive oral interview and a written essay. We provide student-visa assistance.

Minimum Enrollment: 6 participants

ILI TESOL Certificate (5 or fewer participants)

This program is offered, instead of the SIT TESOL Certificate program described above, when 5 or fewer participants register. This course is very similar to the SIT course in that student-centered teaching is also the focus. The same trainers provide both programs.

With fewer participants, the ILI course offers even more individual attention and more practice teaching hours. In the ILI course, participants also examine existing methodologies and investigate integrated activities while looking at the components of a lesson. Like the SIT course, the ILI course covers the cornerstones of language teaching: Eliciting, materials, error correction, feedback and evaluation, as well as grammar (how, when and why we teach it), pronunciation, intonation, speaking styles, and understanding and recycling vocabulary. Both programs address learning styles and provide suggestions for multi-level classrooms.

Four-Week Intensive Program Dates

• March 1-26, 2010 *Register by Feb. 19th
• May 24-June 18, 2010 *Register by May 14th
• July 26-August 20, 2010 *Register by July 16th
• September 13-October 8, 2010 *Register by Sept. 3rd
• October 25-November 19 *Register by Oct. 15th

Daily Schedule

Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to Noon and 1:15 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. There are no classes or meetings on the weekends.

Program Fees

Program cost is $2,500, which includes a $300 non-refundable registration fee. The full payment is due no later than two weeks before the beginning of the course. If the candidate is not accepted or the course is cancelled due to low enrollment, the $300 deposit will be returned (along with the $100 housing search fee, if applicable). Download a TESOL Application and an ILI Fact Sheet.

For more information:

Program Trainers

Karine Roesch

Alexis Johnson

Caroline Gear

To learn more about the trainers please visit our Staff Page.

Former participants have said the following about our TESOL Certificate program:

• "The program focuses on teaching you HOW to be a better teacher, no matter what curriculum or level you are teaching."
• " I was skeptical about how much I would learn in only one month. I have learned an immense amount and also matured as a teacher, learner and person." L. Aloise, Aug. '09
• "This course is highly concentrated, finely tuned and designed to give the trainees the most opportunities possible to put into practice what they are learning.
• "This course will completely change the way you think about education. If you want to gain confidence in the classroom, this course provides real hands-on teaching experience that will cement your foundation as a true teacher."
• "You should definitely take this course if you are serious about learning to teach ESOL. It's NOT a 'workshop,' it's a full-blown year-long college course condensed into 19 days!"
• "Better than the CELTA, different, but less draconian and more practical." (Peter Putnam)
• "These were the best 25 days of my life."
• "Best thing I've done in a long time. It was very challenging and at least as inspiring, rewarding, mind-opening."
• "I learn by doing, so this was the program for me."
• "The teachers were tops, the curriculum complete and well organized."
• "Be prepared to live, breathe and eat TESOL for 4 weeks."

Obtaining the World Learning SIT TESOL Certificate

Acceptance into the program is not a guarantee that a participant will receive the certificate. If a participant has not successfully completed or mastered any segment of the course, or has not completed the written work satisfactorily, the participant will not be awarded the certificate. Instead, s/he will be awarded a Letter of Learning.

For non-native English speakers, if trainers determine that a participants English skills are inadequate to teach advanced-level students, the participant will not be awarded a certificate. Instead, s/he will be awarded a Letter of Learning.

The Letter of Learning details each participant's accomplishments in the course including a description of his/her ability to plan, implement and evaluate an effective ESOL lesson.

Graduate Credit

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 for credit 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, we offer 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.

For more information please contact Joyce Banford at the SIT Graduate Institute: joyce.banford@sit.edu, (802) 258-3312

World Learning SIT TESOL Graduate Credit Application: this site is for Participant who have already been accepted into a TESOL Program.

Please note:
The World Learning SIT TESOL Certificate is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Credits earned from the World Learning SIT Graduate Institute are transferable only at the discretion of the receiving school.

Housing

ILI can assist you in finding local accommodation. Rented rooms for $125 per week are within a short distance of the school. There is a $100 housing search fee for this service. If you need this service, please fill out the Housing application and send it in with your TESOL program application and deposit. Click HERE for more Housing information.

Refund Policy

If a participant decides not to attend a course to which s/he has been accepted, s/he may apply the $300 non-refundable deposit to another course within 6 months. If the candidate is not accepted or the course is cancelled due to low enrollment, the $300 deposit will be returned (along with the $100 housing search fee, if applicable). If a participant withdraws in the first two days of the program, s/he can receive half of the tuition payment back, minus the non-refundable deposit. Non-native speakers who decide to withdraw from the course in the first two days due to language difficulties will also receive half their tuition back minus the non-refundable deposit. There will be no tuition refunded after the first two full days of the course.

If a participant must withdraw mid-course for serious medical reasons or because of a family emergency, and can provide a doctor's certificate confirming the situation, s/he can re-enroll within 6 months without payment of further fees. There will be no refund.