If you have spent much time on the blog or site searching around for information on TEFL/TESOL courses you may have found contradictory info. If you found "TEFL/TESOL Courses are a Waste of Money" and then found out that ESLinsider also offers an online TEFL course then you may be scratching your head and wondering what's up.
TEFL/TESOL Courses are a Waste of Money is an article that describes my experience with the first TESOL course I took before I taught abroad. I was dissatisfied with my course and especially annoyed with how many TEFL providers tell lies or stretch the truth to the public in order to make money. If it's a waste of money for you or not I don't know.
You can see the article on lies and deceipt for more.
Anyways I had created many videos first and then thought that it would be resourceful to make a TEFL course with it a few years later.
Initially the course was free. I was hoping to make money from donations, however hardly anybody donated. Nobody had to donate as they just got what they wanted (a certificate) and left.
So then I made the course free and then had students pay if they wanted certification. And that model was used until maybe 2016 or so and then I gradually decided to discontinue it.
Here is a timeline of ESLinsider.
- In 2009 the idea for the site is born along with a test site for eslinsider.com
- At the end of 2010 a completed paid membership site is unleashed with an Ebook and around 100 videos. Funny as I thought it would take just a few months to make.
- More content has been created, more videos and another PDF.
- Around a year later (beginning in 2011) all content is made free (our membership site wasn't very successful) and videos were moved to Youtube.
- In 2012 we decided to turn much of our content into a course and make it free.
- More courses were developed after 2013.
- Free TEFL was discontinued in 2016.
- As of now (2019) there are several courses: Basic, Advanced and Practical. The advanced and practical courses continue to receive updates and progress.