Is it Possible to Fail a TEFL Course?

Published 28th January 2016

Undertaking any course of study is a daunting prospect, especially when you consider the time and the money that you will put into it. It’s no wonder many people worry about quitting their jobs and taking a TEFL course in order to begin a new adventure teaching english online or abroad. A question that many of you out there may be asking yourselves, is it possible to fail a TEFL Course?

Is it Possible to Fail a TEFL Course?

So let’s put this into perspective. Yes, it is possible to fail the TEFL course. But probably not in the way you are imagining. For some people, the idea of failing a TEFL course conjures up images of hours and hours of impossible coursework and tough exams. There is obviously a strong academic component to TEFL courses but the vast majority of people are well able to complete the TEFL course in this sense.

Dropping Out

There are no two ways about it, doing a TEFL course requires a huge commitment in terms of time and effort. It generally takes about 4-6 weeks when studying the course full time. It can take longer depending on the individual. The majority of TEFL students who “fail” our courses are in fact those who drop out. This may be due to them not having the time available to keep up with the coursework. But if you have the right mindset, there is a very slim chance of not passing the course. Motivation is key to getting your TEFL qualification and having the chance to pick up a really great qualification before setting off on your new life in the world of TEFL is definitely a strong motivation for most!

Schools Don’t Want You to Fail TEFL

Bear in mind that the school or organisation that is offering the course does not want you to fail. They want to keep their pass rates up for advertising and marketing reasons. It doesn’t look good if everyone fails the TEFL course. At the same time, these courses are designed to develop teachers so any school or organisation worth their salt will want to send out adequately qualified teachers. This, again, is an issue of reputation. 

We create our level 5 courses with this in mind, we ultimately want our students to get the best jobs possible in the industry. The level 5 courses that we offer are highly regarded by the top TEFL language schools and recruiters that pay the highest salaries and have the best working conditions. We are renowned for the quality of our graduates and for this reason we do not want anyone to fail. With our students best interests at heart will do everything possible to make sure that this does not happen. So, help us by letting us help you!

You Will Be Able to Pass

With the high standards that the best school and recruiters look for, a TEFL course is naturally not a walk in the park. We have a full blog article on how hard TEFL is exactly that you can read. That said, if you have the time and the dedication you will definitely be able to pass. You will be required to do a lot of reading and various assignments based on these readings. It is essential that you do these readings and the assignments because this is the way to keep on track for the whole course. Obviously, if you do badly in an assignment, then you know you need to focus on that area again or ask someone for help.

Tutors are There to Help You

This is also the reason why there are always tutors to help you through the course. Even if you do an online TEFL course, there will be people you can contact if you need any help. Use them. It can be hard to keep up with all the course requirements if you have a job or haven’t studied in a while. If you have no experience to teaching, it can also be a lot of information to digest. Work at your own pace, making sure you work regularly and consistently, and you should be fine.

What is comes down to is commitment. Before embarking on a TEFL course seriously consider whether you have the time to do the course. Be honest with yourself because if you find yourself overwhelmed and struggling, it’s only yourself that will suffer. If you have the time and are prepared for the work and effort that will go into to studying, then you can feel comfortable signing yourself up for a TEFL course.

Time Management

There will be assignments and deadlines of submission to met, it’s really important that you meet all of them. Time management to avoid missing submissions and ultimately to avoid failing TEFL is crucial. We understand that many students may be juggling lots of other things in their life like work, college or family commitments. Obviously extraordinary circumstances can come up in anyone’s life that we can excuse, but as a rule we require students to keep up with all the deadlines that we set. There are more time management tools in the world today than you can shake a sick at. One tech solution that we recommend is Google calendar (or the calendar of any email platform) with reminders enabled. One old school (but in our opinion, very effective) solution is keep a pen and paper diary!

Online TEFL Course

Completing our online TEFL course is becoming increasingly popular. In many ways it is the  most efficient way of getting TEFL certified. Online fatigue or feeling slighted alienated by completing the course 100% online can happen. At this point disillusionment can kick in and the risk of failing the TEFL course increases. Some people are happy to complete the course online but miss the human contact and camaraderie that a classroom learning environment possesses. Being part of groups where you can chat about what you are doing with peers is often useful to combat this. This can be questions about the course work itself or possibly a bit more casual, like talking about peoples travel plans for when they finish the course! Our teaching practice course webinar is another great opportunity to engage with fellow students and is often completed as an add on to the online TEFL course. Via webinar you will get to put the things you are learning from the online course into practice to your peers and guided along by one of our expert tutors. 

Light at the End of the Tunnel

The key to getting through and to allay any fears or asking yourself, is it possible to fail a TEFL course, is to keep reminding yourself of why you wanted to do a TEFL course in the first place. Think of all the amazing places you can travel to and cultures you can experience once you are qualified. Think about an once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the world famous Mekong River Delta in Vietnam on a weekend excursion. Maybe it’s your dream to be able to gain the benefits of flexible working via teaching english online from your own home. Getting TEFL Certified is your ticket to scoring that ideal life and this is definitely worth bearing in mind which you are getting through the coursework.

We Will Help You Get There

Like starting anything new, TEFL may appear as a mammoth task to complete. It is a big time commitment and a bit of a monetary investment. But in answering the question of is it possible to fail a TEFL course above you can see that with some determination and discipline you have nothing to worry about. Just keep on dreaming about the Mekong River Delta or wherever you dream beauty spot is!