Qualifications

The role of the English in Britain Accreditation Scheme

The English in Britain Accreditation Scheme is not an accreditation scheme for ELT/TESOL* qualifications. The
Scheme assesses qualifications solely for the purpose of deciding whether a provider meets its requirements for
Teaching and learning. Please see 2006 Handbook, Section 2.2 Inspection criteria, Teaching and learning.
(* ELT/TESOL is used by the Scheme as a general term covering TEFL/TESOL or other qualifications that qualify teachers
to teach English to speakers of other languages.)

The Scheme does not endorse and cannot be held responsible for the use of its assessment for any other
purposes.
Assessing an ELT/TESOL qualification: validity
When assessing a qualification, the following questions should be asked:

Is the qualification externally validated by a reputable examination body?

(e.g. a university, recognised examination board or other body with Royal Charter)
Does it contain sufficient supervised teaching practice?
(i.e. teaching practice where a qualified assessor observes the trainee teacher teaching real students
and gives feedback on his or her performance; minimum 6 hours for certificate level and 5 for diploma
level)
Does it contain at least 100 hours of ELT/TESOL input?

Assessing an ELT/TESOL qualification: level

The English in Britain Accreditation Scheme describes qualifications at two levels:
Certificate in ELT/TESOL (formerly described as TEFLI) first-level qualifications, usually taken by
teachers with little or no ELT/TESOL experience who wish to enter the profession.
Diploma in ELT/TESOL (formerly described as TEFLQ) higher-level qualifications, usually taken by
teachers with relevant experience who wish to follow a career in ELT/ TESOL.
The following questions should be asked:
Are candidates required to have prior EL/ESOL teaching experience?
(No = may be certificate level; yes = may be diploma level)
How many hours supervised teaching practice does it involve?
(See above: at least 6 hours for certificate level, 5 for diploma level)
Examples of qualifications accepted by the Scheme at each level
Certificate level
Certificates in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages accredited by the QCA at level 4 of
the National Qualifications Framework.
Some PGCEs in English/modern languages with ELT/TESOL subsidiary (provided they meet the
requirements above)
University Certificates in ELT/TESOL (provided they meet the requirements above).
Diploma level
Diplomas in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages accredited by the QCA at level 5 of the
National Qualifications Framework.
PGCEs in ELT/TESOL
University Diplomas in ELT/TESOL (provided they meet the requirements above)
Overseas qualifications (equivalent to a PGCE, Bed or MA in ELT/TESOL) which qualify teachers to
teach EL/ESOL in state educational institutions in their country of origin
MAs in ELT/TESOL or related subjects (provided they meet the requirements above). Where the
teaching practice (only) criterion is not met, a teacher with this qualification may provide evidence that
he or she has undertaken at least five hours of systematic observation of lessons by a fully qualified
academic manager or teacher trainer.

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