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:

• Completely FREE service to applicants!
• We offer essential advice about which course is best for your plans.
• Accurate and up to date knowledge of the TEFL industry.
• Impartial advice relating to the choice of courses available to you.
• You don't pay a deposit until you have accepted a place on a course.
• We offer a friendly, helpful and fair service to all.

Cactus TEFL forms part of Cactus Language, 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.

• 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 2011 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.

Rod Mitchell

Academic Director of Studies Rod hails from Queensland, Australia, and has a BA (French, Indonesian; James Cook University), a PostGrad DipEd (ESL/EFL/French; University of Queensland), and a Masters in Linguistics (JCU). His interest in languages and culture - as well as his British-Irish background - first led him to Europe, he has spent the last 25 years in Britain, France, Italy and Australia. Anna, his wife, is from Sardinia, and their son, Kevin, is doing Mechanical Engineering at the University of Florence. Rod has close on 30 years of TEFL, Cambridge Speaking examining, linguistic research at UQ, JCU and Oxford, Torres Strait music research, computer networking, CALL and database development/management ... and was a postman for four years...

Helen Quin

Our Assistant Director of Studies in the UK, has a BA Hons in Hispanic Studies and Politics from the University of Liverpool, a certTESOL from Trinity College London and a post graduate Diploma in English Language Teaching Management from Trinity / English UK. She has worked extensively as a languages teacher, teacher trainer and educational manager in the UK, Spain and Mexico.

This is the biggest question we get asked.

All courses out there are TEFL courses. Only two are truly internationally recognised certificates, the Cambridge CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL. All of the rest, whilst they might have different accreditations, do not completely hit the same spot.

If any of these statements sound like you:

• You plan to teach English for a good few years
• You want the most thorough certificate course possible
• You’re planning to teach where there’s lots of competition for jobs
• You just love the detail
• You really want your own practical experience of teaching during the course
• You plan to teach in the UK at some point

Then it’s possibly best to stick with a CELTA, CertTESOL or equivalent course.

CELTA, CertTESOL and equivalent courses give you the fullest possible preparation, with a challenging, memorable and complete course. 

If, however, these statements sound like you:

• You’re just dabbling with the idea of TEFL for now
• You’re trying on TEFL for size to see if it fits your personality
• You’re planning quite a short gap experience where you might teach English, or you might not.
• You don’t have the time or money for a big 4 week, full-time course right now
• You want a course to get you started, and you may come back to do a fuller course in the future

Then it’s probably worth considering the wide range of shorter courses on this site

CELTA, CertTESOL and equivalent courses give you the fullest possible preparation, with a challenging, memorable and complete course. 

Weekend courses are a great way to find out more, face-to-face, with other people. They’re pretty inspirational.

Online courses are perfect if you like progressing at your own speed. Many are really interactive now, with forums, video clips, and marked assignments to keep you on track.

Combination courses You can add different components together, usually a weekend + an online course, to get as much exposure as possible before you head off.

Read much more in our FAQs section.

UK Office - Contact Details & Opening Hours:

4 Clarence House
30-31 North Street
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1EB
United Kingdom

Telephone (local rate): 0845 130 4775
Telephone (int'l): +44 (0)1273 725200

Monday-Thursday: 9am-7pm

Friday: 9am-5pm

US Office - Contact Details & Opening Hours:

Cactus Worldwide Inc
154 Grand Street
New York
NY 10013
United States

Telephone (local rate):(+1) 212-601-9343
Toll-free: 1-888-577-8451

Monday: 9am-5.30pm
Tuesday: 9am-7pm
Wednesday: 9am-7pm
Thursday: 9am-7pm
Friday: 9am-5pm
(US Eastern Time)