Oxford Seminars Review by James, February 23, 2009

Not a good course. THey give you no classroom experience which is required by many schools. Finding a job will be tough with oxford seminars.

Oxford Seminars Review by Inbal, May 14, 2009

I was really disappointed by the Oxford Seminar course, in fact I was so disappointed in the quality of instruction I decided not to complete the course. The materials provided are very high quality, but how much you learn depends on the instructor you get. When I requested a refund, the company was not very flexible and returned less than half of the amount I paid. The instruction in class was very general, and I did not feel the course provides hand-on skills and experience for teaching abroad.

Oxford Seminars Review by Reg, August 23, 2009

I thought the training was really good. Especially given the short amount of time it it held.

I do believe it mostly had to do with the instructor. She was really well informed and had a wealth of experience to share. I can see how it might be a negative experience for folks who have a poor trainer - especially since it’s only one person leading the course. Even if you have the most in-depth training in the world, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a good teacher. The materials and job search help alone are worth it.

Oxford Seminars Review by Jerry O, August 26, 2009

I had a decent teacher who really stressed the importance of lesson plans, but gave us very little in terms of detailed guidance. The whole course was pretty breezy, and it seemed like a bit of a rubber stamp process, but I did get a good sense of what a classroom needs.

Oxford Seminars Review by DP, September 12, 2009

I totally agree with Inbal and also dropped out. This course is a complete waste of time and money. The training materials aren’t distributed until the first day of class so students are instructed to read specific sections and discuss the contents with small groups then share with the entire class. This apparently passes for education these days. Each student is required to give a short presentation on the second weekend of this course offered over three consecutive weekends then a long presentation on the final weekend. Almost the entire course comprises of in-class reading assignments and presentations. You’ll receive a certificate if you complete the course which may improve your marketability, but don’t expect to be prepared to teach English as a second language.

Oxford Seminars Review by Culain, September 13, 2009

I have mixed opinions about the Oxford Seminars TEFOL certification course. This course provides the knowledge on how to make and use a lesson plan. There is one individual exercise where you actually teach a lesson in front of the class. I am an intelligent person with multiple degrees and I did not feel prepared going into a classroom. There is not enough focus on teaching spoken English. I am employed in China at a Foreign Language College; in fact most teaching institutions want their American teachers to teach spoken English. I did not feel Oxford seminars prepared its students for this approach. There was not an emphasis on grammar and there was not much guidance on actually teaching either. I had a good teacher, but the content was really ephemeral. I could have gone into my classroom without taking this ESL course and been fine; however, most schools look for the certification. It dismays me to see that I spent $1000 dollars on this certification when there were better certification courses out there. I did not need their job placement services because I had found a job before even taking the class. Experience is always the best teacher.

Oxford Seminars Review by Kent, December 4, 2009

After reading the prior reviews, I do not share the predominant opinion about the Oxford seminar’s lack of quality.

My prior teaching experience is one year teaching oral English communication in Beijing. The students were mid-career analysts with a major Chinese company. Prior to that experience, I have very limited teaching experience of any kind, primarily teaching work related courses duiring my thirty plus years of public service employment. After the one year experience in China, I felt I had made every teaching error, although the students succeeded in passing the end of course test. (I wonder if they would have passed without the educational experience.)

My objective in taking the Oxford Seminar courses was to gain insights which would assist in future overseas teaching assignments. After completing the Basic course, the grammar course and the TOEFL course, this objective has been met. For example, although the actual teaching experience in the basic course was limited and artificial (the “students” being individuals whose first language was English) the emphasis in the class was on lesson planning and the need to integrate each lesson within a larger set of classes. The practicum also allowed me to plan a class and practice techniques which addressed several of my perceived deficiencies after the Beijing experience.

While I disagree with Culain’s comment about the lack of grammar in the basic course (at least within the course I took, the emphasis in the practicums and the primary text was on teaching grammar) I feel I could have (in fact, did) succeed without the Oxford courses. However, I am better prepared for additional assignments because of the courses. The Oxford training appears to be part of the evolution toward becoming a quality teacher. Like individuals who get collegiate degrees and enter teaching, the evolution does not start with entry into institutes of higher education, does not end upon completing the requirements for the collegiate degree, but continues throughout the professional life.

Oxford Seminars Review by jane sears, February 9, 2010

We attended the session in Winter Park, Fl. Our instructor was well prepared, had a wonderful grasp of teaching ESL, and good interpersonal skills with the students. Our class had 8 students, a good size for interaction. Because there was so much content in the material, we couldn’t linger long on each. However our instructor encouraged us to contact her if we needed more help. She chose portions of the books to focus on, giving the main ideas for that material. She was encouraging organized, and yet kept good discipline. We loved it!!!! We are considering taking the Grammar portion next. We are both in our 60’s.

Oxford Seminars Review by Reda Dashti, February 11, 2010

This course is a scam, sorry to say. The “teachers” are really allowed to skip most, if not all of the contents of the very big book they give you. It is a huge rip off. All that you get for the almost 1000 dollars is a book, and a teacher who will make up senseless activities in the class, and will never actually get into the important aspects of teaching (how to teach grammar, phonology, making up lessons, behaviour management…etc). These may be mentioned in their book, I am not sure because they never actually use the book.

Stay away.

Oxford Seminars Review by JAMES, April 2, 2010

Please understand that this is a beginner course. Did you want a PhD in education in 3 weekends? Before u pack ur bags and spend money on airfares, hotels, etc. this course gets your feet wet and will let u decide if this is a career path for you. My instructor gave us a lot of information on what it takes to make it abroad Although I decided to reinforce this course by coming to Madrid, Sp and taking another TEFL certification, I could have worked here with just the Oxford. If u like teaching kids and have a bachelors degree then just take the one year teacher certification course and you´ll be hirable just about anywhere. Good luck.

Oxford Seminars Review by Steve, April 15, 2010

Clearly, two criteria govern whether you will feel the course is worth your time and money: the quality of the instructor and your personal objectives.

The instructors can be researched online and, I would think, if you got a commitment before handing them a check that you could switch to a different workshop if you didn’t like the instructor, you’d probably be ok.

My instructor was phenomenal. Her lesson plans were direct, coherent; her experience was evident from the moment she introduced herself. It was relaxed, but when she gave a critique, it was sharp and to the point. I was very impressed.

If you know what you want to get out of the course, then you’ll know if this course is for you. I was in school full-time and needed the schedule they offered. They also guaranteed job placement assistance afterward and provided many great resources for finding positions as well as valuable warnings about what to look out for.

Those of you who are disappointed were probably thinking you could get a university-level certification in three weekends. I’m not sure why anyone would think that, but I can also tell you that those friends who have gone through college TOEFL programs have hated them. They’re tedious, full of overly simple lessons that could be accomplished in much less time and for less money. (Education degrees in general are not very reliable at most universities.)

With my Oxford TOEFL certificate I secured a job teaching at a major state university in New York. (I did this on my own, so I didn’t take advantage of Oxford’s job placement and cannot speak to that service.) While there were a few minor gaps here and there–no classroom experience with actual students–I thought Oxford was great. Indeed, I’ve recommended the program to about a dozen other students since then. Just know what you want.

Oxford Seminars Review by Prez, April 20, 2010

I took this course in October in Memphis, TN. I have an Elem. Ed K-8 degree and wanted to get training in ESL, TESOL, TEFL etc. It opened a lot of avenues for me to investigate in my learning this to teach adults. I am currently volunteering with the Refugee Empowerment Program here and have found it very rewarding and encouraging. The course cracked open the door for me to see there is so much to learn! Our instructor was very well prepared and had great ideas for us in what the students will need to grasp. In the beginning, working with REP, I referred back to my notes often. Now that I’m more comfortable, I don’t look at them. But I’m very glad that I had them as my support in the beginning. I would not have taken this on, if I didn’t have this training. Thank you Oxford! I know at least 2 people from my class were hired to teach English in other countries, based on the Oxford Seminars Course.

Oxford Seminars Review by g, May 15, 2010

This course is an absolute waste of time and money. I lived in Europe and know how hard it is to get legal residency and employment for foreigners. The teacher Kate proceeded to tell all of these young, ready to graduate college students how great it is to live in Europe and so what if you are working illegally! She told us how easy it is to get work in Germany, just go and work illegally! So what if you have no retirement, you are young! The courses, of which I took three, teach you absolutely nothing.

As for the “Placement Service” there isn’t one. I was in Europe for five weeks looking for work, and asked them to line up some interviews. They sent me back a job opening in South America, and one in the Middle East. In six months, I sent several requests for Turkey(very popular for American teachers)- they couldn’t come up with one job. Upon applying for many jobs on my own, I found that the popular, accredited schools would not accept, nor had they heard of Oxford Seminars. I also find it interesting that a Canadian based company is not accepted at most Canadian schools???!!!

Save your money, go to England and take the Celta otherwise you will end up in the crappy schools, with no future.

Oxford Seminars Review by Marko, May 23, 2010

I found the Oxford seminar to be helpful. I have teaching experience, but no ESL experience, so I learned quit a bit about teaching ESL.
I did not view this as something necessary to get a job teaching ESL in Asia, but as a relatively low-cost program that provided me with background knowledge about teaching ESL that I could add to my other teaching knowledge.
G’s May 15 review mentions how he finds it odd that a Canadian based company is not accepted at most Canadian schools. This is not surprising at all, and Oxford made it clear from the time that I signed up that this was mainly oriented towards teaching overseas. Of course a 60 hour course that took place over 3 weekends will not qualify me to teach in a Canadian school. Teachers in Canada all have at minimum four years of full-time University education. If you think this course will get you a job in Canada you’re nuts.

Oxford Seminars Review by ESL1, July 3, 2010

I took this course back in 2007 and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised about the quality of the course. Yes, it depends on the instructor you get, and of course going into the course knowing that this is NOT going to open every door for you. I have 2 degrees and I took this course just to get me exposed to the world of ESL. Now I had some issues finding a good job at the beginning. Let’s face it, Free-Lancer contracts are total garbage; however, you can scrape on by with it - stick it out for a year to get some “experience” abroad and try your chances elsewhere. I’m currently working full-time in Luxembourg which has surpassed my expectations on pay and job satisfaction. I would not have been able to get my job had it not been for the TESL certification and subsequent specialization in Business English. Just go into the course with the expectation of being introduced to the theoretical side of things, unless you spend more money and time doing a full, University grade; multi-year course, this is the best bang for your buck. Well provided you’re willing to stick with it and accept that fact you won’t be working for high level institutions right off the bat. At least that’s how it works in Europe.

Oxford Seminars Review by Kevin, July 13, 2010

I also took the Oxford course backin 2007 in southern California. I found my instructor very knowledgable. Overall she did a great job. I learned a lot about teaching overseas. Remeber this is for teaching English, it’s not like they’re getting you ready to be a fully qualified full time teacher. I had a very pleasant experience with Oxford Seminars.
The placement service was great. They lined me up with three different schools. I ended up finding a school on my own, but they reviewed the contract to ensure I wasn’t being taken. I ended up working in China. It was a great experience. My actual employer was in Australia, so I was able to get paid in US dollars directly deposited into my U.S. checking account. It was such a good experience I have kept their contact information in case I decide to go to China again. For now I’m on my way to Colombia to teach history at a private school.