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 20 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by teaching in HK on September 16, 2011 1:00 pm
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It’s a great programme. I was shocked when I read all the bad reviews. When I graduated back in 2007, they offered to find a placement overseas or money back. I don’t regret taking it. It was my first step into ESL teaching overseas.

Review 19 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Anna on September 6, 2011 6:44 pm
88%
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I was extremely impressed by the Oxford Seminars Instruction. I had a great instructor who keeps in touch with all of us even after we’ve completed the course. I finished the class in June and I’m already getting job offers…more than I can keep track of. I don’t have classroom experience, but there are PLEANTY of places that will take first year intructors. If you take a class from anywhere…make is Oxford Seminars.

Review 18 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Suanne Miki on July 20, 2011 5:23 pm
89%
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I studied the four weekend Oxford Seminars at SFU last February 2010. My instructor was well versed, had taught overseas, and was well prepared. She made the group fun and interactive. I benefitted by being able to show my Oxford TESL certification. My first time as a ¨ESL Teacher¨was for a major institution in Costa Rica. I received both a bouquet of roses from my students for my birthday surprise and also a beautiful red jeweled earrings with a necklace set from my other class. Yes, I taught part-time two adult classes. I have found that it is necessary to have a good command of the language of the country as my classes did express difficulty in understanding total English. I have since been given the opportunity to observe how a ¨student centered approach¨works. Great course as lots of ideas, books and ability to be placed abroad. The only problem is that most countries require one to have that DEGREE. I must say that it would be an advantage to complement the program with the GRAMMAR course.

Review 17 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Cynthia on June 19, 2011 8:05 pm
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Hi – I am very glad that I didn’t read these bad reviews and took my ESL Training with the Oxford Seminars. It is absolutely true that the experience is very teacher dependent – luckily I had one who loved teaching ESL and wanted all of us to love it too. The diversity of backgrounds of the students would have been a challenge for anyone – there were credentialed teachers with years of experience all the way to just barely attending community college – and I believe our instructor managed to give each of us something we found useful – or so every one said. The group dynamics also play a part – our group was exceedingly committed to either becoming good or better ESL teachers.

I originally chose Oxford because they were cost and time effective and I did not expect to learn as much as I did. I left pleasantly surprised with 1) the quality of my teacher, 2) the usability of the materials generated by class and of the book, and 3) how fast I got a “piece of paper” to mention on my resume. Although it would have been better if it had been more hours – an issue they have corrected by the way by adding an online component to the training – I felt that it was an excellent experience, gave me some very real tools to use in the classroom and was a decent value for the price. No, it isn’t a CELTA or MA in Linguistics/ESL – it is exactly what it was presented as – a fast way to get some training and information to get you started in the field at a moderate cost.

I think it is important to note that I have not gone overseas to teach ESL. That said, I do teach ESL to recent immigrants at a community center in a major city – one that has offered me additional free training and lots of experience – and I would never have tried to teach there if I hadn’t had my Oxford Seminar training. I use things I learned from “Oxford” *all* the time and after meeting many different people with many different ESL backgrounds I am of the opinion that great teachers are not made through credentialing programs – one of the best teachers I have ever seen there got his “piece of paper” online – but instead come from a combination of elements: Training, observation, ongoing supervision + “in-service”, good role models, trial and error, reading books and generally working hard at doing the best they can for their students benefit.

Again, your life, and your teaching career, is what you make it – so, whatever program you pick – it matters most what you do with it. Oxford Seminars was a good launching pad for me, I have only good things to say about my experience, and I hope you will find a program you enjoy too. Thanks.

Review 16 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by steven on May 8, 2011 10:13 pm
65%
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I found the materials were nice, our teacher was experianced and knew what she was talking about. altogether the class it self was pretty good. the problem i had is the job placement. they did set me up with a “recruiter” in china, the recruiter kept offering some very bad jobs. which generaly anoyed me so i stopped talking to her and got my own job.

Review 15 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Paul on February 13, 2011 9:38 am
100%
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I took the 60 hour Oxford seminars course in 2008. This course gave me a lot of good teaching ESL information. I thought it was good preparation for teaching abroad. I’ve taught for 3 years in Korea now. I’ve recently taken another 40 hour specialization module, and plan to complete all the modules they offer soon. These additional courses will enable me to teach all ages and levels with confidence and competency. Provided of course, that I continue to prepare my lessons professionaly. The courses are very informative, and give many ESL resourses and ideas for success. I’m very happy with Oxford seminars !

Review 14 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by TaraK on September 15, 2010 9:38 am
80%
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I had been teaching for 12 years prior to doing the course, so my objective was to put in the time to get the piece of paper I needed to get on with my life. The course was taught well, there was a great balance of theory and practical, and the teacher had a lot of great experience to share. I also did a specialization module via correspondence, which was a bit silly. Their final test for that had a few mistakes on it that I pointed out to them. But only a handful. I think, as with any course, it all depends on the teacher and how well you click with their style. On the grammar issue… this isn’t an English course. If you don’t know grammar, take a course on it. But this is a course to teach teachers educational skills, not subject matter. When our teacher asked if we wanted grammar a few of us told her that was not the point of the course. Then I moved to Rome with my requisite piece of paper and landed a bunch of jobs (most likely due to my experience, not the piece of paper…). Oxford didn’t help but they were honest that they wouldn’t help with Europe from the first day. The teachers I was teaching alongside in Rome sometime had a tenuous grasp of English and sometimes no certification at all. Most likely the jobs I got in the schools that paid the most required the certification before they even looked at your CV but I get the feeling that no one cares about where you got the certification from. Did I think it was a waste of money? It was the cheapest of those available but it was still extremely expensive. Too expensive. But overall, the course itself, due to the teacher, was a good one.

Review 13 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Kevin on July 13, 2010 8:12 pm
83%
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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.

Review 12 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by ESL1 on July 3, 2010 2:37 am
58%
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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.

Review 11 of 69 Oxford Seminars

Written by Marko on May 23, 2010 12:03 am
65%
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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.

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