Reviews of Oxford Seminars

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69 reviews
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Description

Established in 1992, Oxford Seminars is a leading provider of TESOL/TESL/TEFL certification in the US and Canada. Join the 70,000+ graduates of Oxford Seminars by getting certified and starting your adventure teaching English abroad. If you would like more information about the 120-hour course, teaching overseas, or the unrivaled Job Placement Service, attend an information session with an experienced course instructor.

With Oxford Seminars you get:

  • Convenient Course Locations
  • Comprehensive 120-hour Course Curriculum
  • Limited Class Size
  • Experienced Course Instructors
  • Extensive Course Materials
  • Unparalleled Job Placement Service
  • 25+ Years of Industry Experience

Oxford Seminars graduates explore the world, collect experiences of a lifetime, and find themselves in high demand. Get certified to teach English abroad with Oxford Seminars, a leading provider of TESOL/TESL/TEFL certification courses, and join thousands teaching English around the globe.

Courses

Course Types

Combined TEFL Courses
Online TEFL Courses

Course Lengths

Standard (120-140 hours)

Certifications

TEFL / TESL / TESOL

Locations

Canada

Abbotsford BC
Barrie ON
Brandon MB
Brantford ON
Burnaby BC
Calgary AB
Coquitlam BC
Edmonton AB
Fredericton NB
Guelph ON
Halifax NS
Hamilton ON
Kamloops BC
Kelowna BC
Kingston ON
Lethbridge AB
London ON
Mississauga ON
Moncton NB
Montreal QC
Nanaimo BC
North Bay ON
North Vancouver BC
Oshawa ON
Ottawa ON
Peterborough ON
Red Deer AB
Regina SK
Saint John NB
Sarnia ON
Saskatoon SK
Scarborough ON
St John's NL
St. Catharines ON
Sudbury ON
Surrey BC
Thunder Bay ON
Toronto ON
Vancouver BC
Victoria BC
Waterloo ON
Windsor ON
Winnipeg MB

Oxford Seminars has received 69 student reviews and has an overall rating of 4.01 out of 5 stars based on the following criteria.

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69 reviews of Oxford Seminars

Review 10 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by g on May 15, 2010 4:20 am
23%
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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.

Review 9 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Prez on April 20, 2010 12:13 pm
87%
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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.

Review 8 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Steve on April 15, 2010 8:26 pm
89%
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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.

Review 7 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by JAMES on April 2, 2010 2:13 pm
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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.

Review 6 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by jane sears on February 9, 2010 11:14 am
97%
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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.

Review 5 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Kent on December 4, 2009 5:36 pm
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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.

Review 4 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Culain on September 13, 2009 9:54 am
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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.

Review 3 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Jerry O on August 26, 2009 12:25 am
70%
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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.

Review 2 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Reg on August 23, 2009 1:08 pm
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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.

Review 1 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by James on February 23, 2009 1:14 am
48%
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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.

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