TEFL/TESOL Frequently Asked Questions

No, this is not necessary. As a matter of fact, within a short time, you will learn about other languages and may even learn to speak them depending on where you are teaching and living.
A TEFL Certificate is a document that indicates you have received sufficient training in TEFL to be able to teach English abroad.
Well, TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) prepares individuals for teaching English in a location where English is not an official language, while TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers to Other Languages) is more encompassing and applicable in any setting.
Our graduates have a very good track record, especially when you consider that no one at UCF is majoring or minoring in TEFL; it is only a short certificate. Our graduates have landed teaching jobs in South Korea, Spain, China, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In addition, many of our graduates have been awarded prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships in Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
No, you don’t, although it could be helpful. Through service-learning course components, the TESOL faculty makes available many opportunities for authentic interaction with non-native English speakers so that you can hone your teaching skills.
You should sign up for the program at myUCF. Once you sign up, you will receive official emails containing important information about local jobs, new sections of TSL courses, and other updates. (We can’t send you these announcements until you are officially in the program. You should sign up even if you do not intend to complete the entire program.)
  1. Log in to myUCF using your NID and NID password.
  2. Click on STUDENT SELF SERVICE.
  3. Go to the OTHER ACADEMIC drop down menu. Click the arrow.
  4. Scroll up to CHANGE MAJOR: REQUEST. Click the arrow. Click on NEXT.
  5. On this screen you should see your major, and minor if you added one already. If not, you'll see an ADD button under your major.
  6. Click ADD and search teach engl frgn and then apply.
  7. After applying, you may have to wait a day or so for UCF to approve it, but there are no additional steps.
  8. If you do not see TEFL CERT added to your audit within a week, contact the TESOL Coordinator or Administrative Services Coordinator.
  • You need to take four courses (3 hours each for a total of 12 hours):
(1) TSL 3346 English as an International Language is the introductory course, so we recommend that you take this course first. It is offered in FALL and SPRING. It is usually offered face-to-face, but occasionally there is a mixed mode offering. (2) TSL 4240 Second Language Acquisition would ideally be taken after TSL 3346 (or at the same time with TSL 4240). It is offered face in FALL and SPRING. It is available online every semester, including summer, but we strongly advise against your taking this online because many TEFL job destinations look down on online courses. (In this program, we recommend that you take no more than one online course.) IMPORTANT: Even though TSL 4080 Theory and Practice of Teaching ESOL Students in Schools is listed as a prerequisite for TSL 4240, this requirement does not apply to TEFL certificate students. It only applies to the students in the College of Community Innovation and Education who are required to obtain their ESOL Endorsement. TSL 4080 will not count towards the TEFL certificate. (3) Methods of teaching. Here you should take one of:
  • TSL 4363 ESL Classroom Experiences is offered in FALL and SPRING and is available to students who make a B or better in TSL 3346, no exceptions.
  • FLE 4340 Teaching World Languages in K-12 Schools is offered in SPRING as a semester-long course (please check UCF class schedule) and is available to all students.
(4) ONE Elective. The most commonly taken elective is ANT 3610 Language and Culture, but there are many electives. First, you can take any course in (3), and the second one you take will count as your elective. In addition, any UCF Study Abroad (in a non-English environment) will count. Below is a list of additional electives. Each elective should be 3 credit hours.
    • Any UCF Study Abroad in a non-English-speaking country
    • ANT 3362 Peoples of Southeast Asia 3 hrs
    • ANT 3610 Language and Culture 3 hrs
    • ANT 4332 People and Cultures of Latin America 3 hrs
    • ASH 3223 The Modern Middle East 3 hrs
    • ASH 4402 History of Chinese Civilization 3 hrs
    • ASH 4404 Modern China 3 hrs
    • ASH 4442 Modern Japan 3 hrs
    • COM 4461 Intercultural Communication 3hrs
    • CPO 3403 Politics of the Middle East 3hrs
    • CPO 4303 Comparative Latin American Politics 3hrs
    • CPO 4514 Politics of East Asia 3 hrs
    • CPO 4541 Chinese Politics 3 hrs
    • CPO 4553 Politics of Japan 3 hrs
    • CPO 4643 Government and Politics of Russia 3 hrs
    • EUH 4574 History of Russia: 1801-1917 3 hrs
    • EUH 4576 History of Russia in the 20th Century 3 hrs
    • FSS 3008 Culture and Cuisine 3 hrs
    • GEA 4405 Geography of Latin America 3 hrs
    • GEO 3470 World Political Geography 3 hrs
    • HFT 4375 Tourism Geography, 3 hrs INR 4243 International Politics of Latin America
    • INR 4224 Contemporary International Politics of Asia 3 hrs
    • INR 4243 International Politics of Latin America
    • LAH 3130 Latin American History 1 3 hrs
    • LAH 3200 Modern Latin America 3 hrs
    • LAS 3002 Topics in Latin America 3 hrs
    • LAS 3101 Latin American Popular Culture 3 hrs
    • LAS 3220 Brazilian Culture 3 hrs
    • LAS 3955 Study Abroad 3 hrs
    • LIN 4105 History of the English Language 3 hrs
    • LIN 4643 Cross Cultural Communication, 3 hrs
    • LIN 4680 Modern English Grammar 3 hrs
    • RUT 3505 Russian Culture and Civilization 3 hrs
    • SOP 3723 Cross Cultural Psychology 3 hrs
    • SPA 3112 Basic Phonetics 3 hrs
    • SPN 4510 Spanish Culture 3 hrs
    SPN 4780 Spanish Phonetics 3 hrs
Any specific “area” course*, e.g., Politics of Middle East, History of China, etc., 3 hrs* (*Must be approved IN ADVANCE by the TEFL Coordinator)
The prerequesites for TSL 4240 and FLE 4340 are waived if you are registered in the Undergraduate TEFL Certificate. TSL 4363 is available to TEFL Certificate students who make a B or better in TSL 3346, no exceptions.
Yes, ideally, you would take TSL 3346 first and TSL 4363 last. However, there is no mandatory sequencing of courses.
No course substitutions are allowed for the required course; however, the elective courses may be substituted provided you obtain written approval from the Undergraduate TEFL Coordinator prior to taking the course. Be sure to save the document showing that you have permission to make a course substitution.
The English Language Institute (ELI) on campus offers an intensive English program to students from all over the world. In TSL 3346, you are required to complete a set number of hours volunteering in their Conversation Hour. The more hours of classroom experience you get during this program, the better your chances of landing a good job overseas.
International conditions change all the time, so this question is addressed in TSL 3346. In fact, TSL 3346 has important modules about current job conditions as well as how to write a CV or resume to land the job you want.
No, UCF does not allow any course transfers for a certificate.
No, you cannot. Just as you cannot complete a major or minor before you actually graduate, you cannot complete a certificate in advance. As clearly stated in the catalog, degrees (including certificates) are awarded only at time of graduation.
No, UCF does not allow any course transfers for a certificate.
First of all, do not panic. In your last semester, your degree audit with the TEFL courses highlighted is sent to the Undergraduate TEFL Coordinator, who will verify that you meet (or do not meet) the stated requirements, including courses and GPA. If there is any discrepancy, the Coordinator will contact you to see why something is missing. If you are using a course substitution for ANT 3610 (the 4th course), it is likely that that course will show up as “not meeting requirements” until it is manually changed in the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you would like that label changed earlier, contact the Undergraduate TEFL Coordinator.
Yes, the minimum requirement to graduate with the Undergraduate TEFL Certificate is 2.0. Please note that this is the bare minimum and is very unlikely to result in letters of recommendation to facilitate your finding a teaching job overseas. The best students do not make less than a B in any course and have a TEFL GPA of 3.25 or better.
Caveat emptor! Buyer beware! Neither our opinion nor your opinion matters here. The only opinion that actually matters is that of any future employer, and they do not want online training. There is no international controlling body for a TEFL certificate, so anyone can put together any kind of training and issue you a “TEFL certificate”.
Again, there is no international body that controls any TEFL certificate, but the most widely known TEFL certificate is the CELTA. A CELTA will cost about $2,700 plus travel to the location (CELTA is offered in certain locations only) and will take either 4 weeks of intensive training or a longer six-month semi-intensive version. Typically prospective employers ask for a non-online certificate. What they prefer is a TEFL certificate from a known entity, and CELTA and UCF certainly meet that criterion.
Please visit and like our Facebook page: Undergraduate TEFL UCF. We frequently post job announcements as well as stories from our UCF TEFLers who are traveling and working all over the globe.
Yes, the Olga Pustovalova TEFL Scholarship awards up to $2,000 for a student who has a specific plan to teach English overseas. Typically, these are short summer positions for as little as two weeks, but longer positions are preferred.
To get a good job overseas, you need your TEFL Certificate, teaching hours in a classroom with English Learners, and a passport ready to go. Make sure you have contacted potential recommenders for any required letters of recommendation and prepared some sample lesson plans for your interview.
Admission is open to those with a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution recognized by UCF. An application to the graduate certificate program and official transcripts must be submitted. Applicants must apply online. All requested materials must be submitted by the established deadline. Meeting minimum UCF admission criteria does not guarantee program admission. Final admission is based on evaluation of the applicant's abilities, past performance and the applicant's potential for completing the certificate.