Teaching English abroad, specifically in Vietnam, is at the forefront of your mind. Still, you’re nervous about how potential employers (schools) will respond to your TESOL certificate. Why? The certificate you hold is a product of an online TESOL course, and the self-appointed experts on Facebook, Instagram, and similar, almost to the person, claim that online TESOL is frowned upon in Vietnam. I’m pleased to provide clarification from the ‘coalface’ given that I am currently teaching in Vietnam. Online or otherwise, TESOL certification, which isn’t a valid teaching qualification, is frowned upon in Vietnam, and so it should be. The good news is, nowadays, employers in Vietnam aren’t fussed about whether a valid TESOL certificate is from an online or in-class programme. What makes TESOL certification valid? Let’s delve into this question.
Validity
Any qualification, TESOL or otherwise, must be the product of a government-regulated programme for it to be valid. Consider the following analogy.
Suppose Warren has a law degree from the University of South Africa. The University of South Africa offers government-regulated study programmes, including the law degree that Warren completed. Warren’s law degree is a valid qualification. Therefore, he can expect to use it in South Africa and other countries. However, with the latter, he almost certainly will have to jump through a few (manageable) hoops.
Conversely, suppose Warren’s law degree was regulated, accredited, or similar by his mum and issued by his mum because she thought Warren would make a terrific lawyer. With this scenario, will Warren be able to secure employment as a lawyer in South Africa and abroad? Of course not. What would happen if Warren masqueraded as a lawyer based on a ‘certificate’ given to him by his mum? He’d be the one needing a lawyer.
For TESOL / TEFL certification to be valid, it must be the product of a government-regulated programme. Under this umbrella, TESOL programmes come with genuine international recognition, benchmarking, audits, accountability, a comprehensive curriculum including practical teaching experience, minimum standards for trainers, standardised assessments, and much more.
Returning to the topic of this blog post, if your online TESOL certificate is from a government-regulated programme, it will be recognised and accepted as a valid teaching qualification for teaching jobs in Vietnam. Disregard the incorrect advice from the ‘armchair’ experts.
Red Flags
Scam online (and in-class) TESOL / TEFL certification courses have multiplied ten-fold in recent years as more and more people, millennials to grey nomads, discover the opportunity to teach and travel abroad. Moreover, the introduction of artificial intelligence technology has meant that any random person can produce a comprehensive course by tapping a few buttons on a keyboard without knowing anything about the study area. Add half-decent marketing skills to a dubious online course, and you have a ‘cash cow’ indicative of the proverbial ‘race to the bottom’.
The lack of government regulation is an obvious red flag with a TESOL course, regardless of the study method. Still, there are other red flags to look out for while searching for a course that will meet your needs. Three red flags immediately come to mind: 1. the ‘promises galore’ TESOL certificate, 2. the ‘quickie’ certificate, and 3. TESOL websites without a street address, a direct phone number – or an email address. Let’s look at these three ‘red flags’ individually.
Promises Galore: With a simple Google search, you will find a bunch of 120-hour (+/-) online TESOL courses with an ‘accredited’ certificate that are free or close to free. In addition to the zero or close to zero price tag, enticements often include ‘internationally-recognised’ certification, ‘guaranteed’ employment, live and work abroad and ongoing support. Despite the ‘free’ or ‘dirt cheap’ price tag, these courses do make money from you. The ‘free’ courses will charge you an arm and a leg for posting a certificate (by ‘snail mail’) that carries the value of a single sheet of paper with some coloured ink. Courses with a minuscule fee operate under a business model that assumes people won’t bother with due diligence because there’s little to lose.
‘Quickie’ certificates: These courses promise you’ll be a certified English language teacher who’ll be ‘qualified’ to teach abroad in the blink of an eye. Firsthand, I have seen so-called ‘internationally accredited’ 120-hour online TESOL courses that can be completed somewhere between 30 minutes to two days for US $34.00. Mathematics was never one of my strong subjects at school, but even I know that 30 minutes, through to two work days without a break (around 16 hours), is far less than 120 hours. Let’s be generous and say that the 120-hour ‘internationally accredited’ TESOL course that costs US $34.00 takes a maximum of 16 hours to complete. That works out at US $2.12 per hour. Please, please, please tell me that you are not one of those people who believe that a genuine teaching qualification can be completed in a couple of days for a fee of US $2.12 per hour.
Websites without a street address, a direct phone number, and a direct email address: I’m saddened that there are people in our world who are so desperate for a better life that they’re willing to make an online payment via a dubious website without having done any due diligence whatsoever. Equally, I’m saddened that there are plenty of crooks out there who spend their day preying on unsuspecting people. Any sales-orientated website that doesn’t include a street address, a direct phone number, and a direct email address is almost certainly the shop front of a ‘garden variety’ online scammer. While ensuring the advertised product is government-regulated, only buy an online TESOL course from a website with contact details – unless you’re okay with being scammed.
Where to Get a Valid TESOL Certificate Online
I have been teaching in Vietnam for just over one year. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree and online TESOL certification from AVSE-TESOL, based in Ho Chi Minh City. AVSE offers both in-class and online TESOL programmes. I chose to do the online TESOL course with AVSE-TESOL over three months before I arrived in Vietnam.
Here are four positives with the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL:
1. Australian Government regulated and therefore genuinely internationally-recognised
2. An online course with an in-class practicum on arrival in Vietnam
3. One-on-one trainer support (same person from start to finish) throughout the online course
4. Certificate can be easily notarised and legalised for Work Permit purposes in Vietnam
Here are four negatives with the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL:
1. There’s a lot of work to get through
2. Assessment tasks are graded as either ‘competent’ or ‘not yet competent’. Close enough is not good enough, although you don’t get charged an additional fee if required to repeat an assessment task.
3. Online study is only for some. It requires ‘bucket loads’ of self-discipline.
4. The fee will be prohibitive for a lot of people.
Overall, the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL exceeded my expectations, and from my experience, it’s well-received in Vietnam. The certification I received from AVSE-TESOL, in part at least, meant that I was eligible for a Work Permit and a related two-year, multiple-entry visa in Vietnam. The Work Permit and the two-year visa provide security of tenure, stability, and legal status while teaching English in Vietnam. For me, nothing less would be acceptable.
Final Thoughts
Finding a valid online TESOL course for teaching jobs abroad can feel like navigating a minefield. Still, with some due diligence, you will find a programme that ticks the necessary boxes. Validity is the key. For a qualification to be valid, it must be a product of a government-regulated programme. Avoid online TESOL programmes that make ‘over the top’ promises, a quick (and cheap) fix – and those spruiked by dodgy websites that don’t provide basic contact information.
About the writer: Originally from London, England, Phil Cabram has been living and working as an English teacher in Ho Chi Minh City for over 12 months. He completed the Australian Government-regulated online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL in 2023 on the recommendation of a university classmate.
