Welcome to the wonderful world of Cactus TEFL!

Why should you book your course through Cactus TEFL?

• Fast facts

  • Cactus TEFL was established in 2002, and is part of Cactus Worldwide.
  • We currently work with course providers in 35 different countries.
  • We work with almost half of all private language schools offering the Cambridge CELTA and almost the same proportion of those offering the Trinity Cert TESOL.
  • We work with over 125 different course providers.
  • In 2009 we sent over 2,500 people on TEFL training courses.
  • We get over 25,000 unique visitors to our site each month.
  • In 2007, we received the great accolade of being nominated for a British Council Innovation Award for our English Language Awareness course.
  • We work closely with partners such as the Education Guardian, the Independent, Prospects and IATEFL.
  • The Annual Suzanne Furstner Foundation TEFL Scholarship is now into its 4th year with this years’ lucky recipient winning a TEFL programme in San Francisco.
  • In 2009 we also launched the first ever Cactus to Conference IATEFL Scholarship.

• FAQ

  • Who or what is Cactus TEFL?

    Cactus TEFL is an independent TEFL course admissions and advice service. We are not a provider of face-to-face TEFL courses in our own right.

    Our aim is to help raise the profile of the TEFL industry, with the objective of promoting high quality courses which are professionally delivered, providing the participant with a solid grounding prior to embarking on a teaching career. We also aim to unite teacher with employer through our TEFL Jobs section.

    Benefits of using Cactus TEFL:

    • Our service is completely FREE to applicants!
    • We can offer essential advice about which course is best for your plans. We have a very accurate and up to date knowledge of the TEFL industry and all things associated.
    • Because we do not offer any face-to-face TEFL training courses ourselves, we are in the fortunate position to be able to provide impartial advice relating to the choice of courses available to you.
    • Unlike other agencies/course providers, we will not ask you to pay a deposit until you have officially been offered a place on the course.
    • We pride ourselves on offering a friendly, helpful and fair service to our clients.

    Cactus TEFL forms part of Cactus Worldwide, an award-winning company with an established international reputation. In addition to Cactus TEFL, we are a leading provider of evening language courses and language holidays worldwide as well as tailor-made language training for both corporate and individual needs.

    
    

  • How do you know about all these courses?

    Over the years we've built up a fair amount of knowledge on the subject of TEFL and TEFL courses. We are in regular contact with schools and course providers around the world, we write on the subject of TEFL across all media, run university careers service talks, and have produced the "Little Book of TEFL" (which you can download in PDF format by clicking here). We also take it upon ourselves to visit the vast majority of schools which feature on the site. A tough job, but someone has to do it!

    
    

  • How does Cactus TEFL survive as an organisation?

    When you're ready to apply for a TEFL course we aim to give you the very best service with a speedy TEFL course admissions service, where we work with you to get you onto the course you need in the location you prefer. The information you give us is confidential and we will always try to help you through your plans and projects. Whether you phone, email or call round for a coffee, our advice is always completely free of charge.

    Cactus TEFL is funded by the organisations who decide to join our TEFL course admissions service, ie the providers of the courses featured on this site. The list of courses on our site is therefore not exhaustive, even though more and more organisations are choosing to work with Cactus TEFL.

    If you'd like to know more about Cactus TEFL or you'd like input in a press or media feature, feel free to contact us at any time. You can also visit our Press & Events page.

    
    

  • What TEFL courses can I find on your site?

    When you search for a course, Cactus TEFL seems to work mainly with Cambridge CELTA & Trinity TESOL. This is a reflection of the wider trends in the marketplace, where the Cambridge and Trinity courses are viewed as industry standard. We feature courses on the basis of individual agreements with selected course providers, and not on behalf of the awarding bodies.

    Cactus TEFL also works with the providers of other equivalent qualifications and shorter/intro TEFL courses, in recognition of the fact that the different schools around the world all have their own preferred qualifications, academic routes, and general requirements for their teachers.

    Cactus TEFL has recently launched its own online TEFL course, using all our knowledge and expertise about what people taking the short route into TEFL want. This course gives you an excellent grounding in both Language Awareness and Methodology, which are the essential elements for a course for potential TEFL teachers.

  More FAQ's »

• Meet the Team

  • 

    Rich Ambler
    

    Managing Director of Cactus in the US and Canada

    A graduate of Business & Hospitality Management, Rich has extensive business and teaching experience. Even before leaving college he had set up a student travel and television company. Widely travelled through China, Tibet, SE Asia, North and South America, Rich has taught English as a qualified TEFL teacher in Chile, Colombia and England and learned Spanish in Spain. He is passionately interested in making a difference. When not guiding Cactus, Rich loves all sport and diving in the Islands of the Bahamas.

  • 

    Lara Walker
    

    TEFL Consultant/Language Travel Consultant

    Lara is based in New York and works in both Cactus TEFL and in Cactus Language. Having attended a completely French primary and secondary school in Toronto and having studied Spanish in Mexico and Costa Rica for a little over two years, Lara has found it hard to stay in one place. Graduating with a degree in Spanish Literature, she has become very passionate about Latin American Spanish and culture. Aside from learning languages, Lara loves to travel and learn as much about other countries as possible which has led her to visit many parts of Europe, Latin America, Australia, Alaska, and South East Asia.

  • 

    Neil Stawarz
    

    TEFL Consultant/Language Travel Consultant

    Neil works in both Cactus TEFL and in Cactus Language. Neil has been interested in languages ever since he watched James Richardson presenting "Gazzetta Football Italia" whilst he sipped espresso and ate an enormous gelato in a busy Italian piazza. He since studied French and Spanish at university and travelled throughout South America before finally spending a fantastic year in Italy. He has recently moved to Brighton and plans to buy a Vespa and spend many happy summer days picking flies out of his teeth!

  • 

    Neha Sinha
    

    TEFL Administrator

    Neha was born in Mumbai and grew up in India surrounded by nature, music and (LOTS of) people. She came to England in 2006 for university and studied Media Practice and Theory at the University of Sussex. She has worked as a PR agent for Genesis Burson-Marsteller in New Delhi for Microsoft Xbox and Electronic Arts. She has also worked as a journalist for the Times of India reporting for the Crime and Health departments. Neha loves playing the piano/guitar, reading, watching movies, camping, yakking, using strange words like yakking, stating the obvious. Also, rainy days and jumping in mud puddles.

• Contact Us

  Our head office is in Brighton and as of October 2007, we also have a New York office. Please feel free to get in touch

• Excellent Service: Feedback to Cactus

  Cactus have experienced staff of the field who offer accurate advice making my decision making easier knowing it's based on practical information. Also, the person you speak to on the phone has often actually visited the school you are enquiring about. This gave me great comfort when asking about the school location, staff at the school and its facilities.
  Sarah Cater

  
  

  Thank you very much. I really appreciate you going through all this for me. I sincerely appreciate the time, effort and the care with just a name that you did not even meet!! It does impress me that in these days that are still personable companies that listens to their individual customers.
  Joana DaCosta

  
  

  The contact that I have had with Cactus so far has really impressed me. Cactus is certainly successfully and single-handedly demystifying the world of TEFL which really is hugely confusing to start with. When I come to apply I will do it through CACTUS, for either the CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL - although this will probably have to wait until we know when we are going to France and could be next year rather than this one (although I hope not because I'm rather excited about it!). However, the delay does give me time to do that market research. Thank you again for your time, it really is appreciated. You're doing a very good job. Joanna Coryndon