A TEFL Certificate or a TESOL certificate is a ESL credential obtained after completing a TEFL/TESOL certification course. The program name TEFL and TESOL are the same thing and the terms are used interchangeably. TEFL stands for “Teaching English as a Foreign Language” while TESOL stands for “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages”.

Programs Required By

As of 2015, a TEFL or TESOL certificate is required by the Korean government to teach English at a Korean public school. Both the EPIK and GEPIK English teaching programs require that a certification is completed before arriving in Korea. Private Schools and Hagwons currently have no TEFL/TESOL requirement as of 2015.

Certification Course Methods

TEFL/TESOL certification courses are available in 3 forms: online, offline, and hybrid online-offline.

Online
Certifications that are completed purely online are accepted by the Korean government and EPIK and GEPIK programs. The courses must be of 100-hours or more. A physical certificate after completion of the course is required.

Offline (In-class)
Certifications that are completed offline at an accredited institute are accepted by the Korean government and EPIK and GEPIK programs.

Hybrid Online/Offline
Certification courses that are comprised of both online and offline class components are accepted by the Korean government and EPIK and GEPIK programs. MOEs and POEs prefer applicants with at least a 20-hour in-class component. The Busan MOE requires that its applicants have at least a 50-hour in-class component.

Korvia Recommended TEFL Course

For those that would like to take an accredited online 120-hour course to meet all the public school program requirements for programs such as EPIK, GEPIK, and SMOE, Korvia has partnered with the London College of Teachers to give applicants the chance to take a course that is both affordable as well as flexible for those with limited time schedules. For more information please visit www.korvia.com/tefl.