In this Specialized Certification course, you’ll first establish an onsite mentor at a teaching location in your area. (Suggested teaching locations are community centers or English language institutes, and you may teach in a paid or voluntary capacity.)

You’ll then complete 10 hours of online preparation, with the guidance of a tutor. Following that, you’ll work under your established onsite mentor to complete 5 hours of in-person EFL teacher observation and 5 hours of hands-on teaching practice in a real EFL classroom.

Throughout the course, you’ll also complete a variety of components that will comprise your required teaching portfolio.

You will have 3 months from the day you enroll in your Specialized Certificate to complete it.

If you sign up Specialized Certificate along with one of our TEFL courses, we recommend you first complete your general TEFL course and then start your Specialized Certificate course. You will then have 3 months from the day you begin your Specialized Course to complete it.

If you don’t finish in time for any reason, you can purchase an extension to complete your Specialized Certificate course, either before it expires or for up to one year after expiration. Extensions cost $100 for an additional 3 months. Please note that once your course/extension has expired, you will no longer have access to the course.

To take Bridge Specialized Certificates, you must be at least 18 years old. If you are not a native English speaker you will need a high level of proficiency (C1) in order to successfully complete the course.

We also recommend that students have a background in teaching English as a foreign language, either with completion of a TEFL/TESOL course or previous English teaching experience. You can also enroll in a Bridge course and a Specialized Certificate course simultaneously to meet this requirement. We recommend, however, that you work through your general course first, followed by the Specialized Certificate course(s), in order to build a foundation for this training.

Specialized Certificate courses can either be taken individually to complement general certification or teaching experience you already have. They may also be added-on to your enrollment in any Bridge course.

If you add specialized certificates to another Bridge course, your final certificate will reflect the total number of hours completed. For example, if you added the Specialized Certificate: Guided Teaching Practice (20 hours) to the IDELTOnline™ (150 hours), you would receive a 170-hour TEFL certificate.

Yes, you may sign up for as many as you like. We recommend you complete one certificate course before beginning the 3-month timeline on the next one.

No. All the materials you will need to complete your course are available online. You can complete these courses from anywhere in the world with Internet connection.

Yes. In this self-study course, you will have a tutor available to answer any questions as you work through the course content. Your tutor will also provide feedback and a grade on your two written assignments.

This course requires that you establish an onsite mentor at a teaching location in your area, such as a community center or English language institutes. The role of your mentor is to facilitate your 5 hours of in-person EFL teacher observation and to observe your 4 hours of teaching observations and 5 hours of hands-on teaching practice in an EFL classroom.

You must earn a minimum of 70% on your course assignments/final exam, in order to pass and receive your 20-hour Specialized Certification.

Yes! You'll earn 1 CEU for every 10 hours of Bridge certification. For example, if you successfully complete a 40-hour Specialized Certificate, you will earn 4 CEUs. Click here to learn more about CEUs

Yes! This course has been recommended for 1 undergraduate-level credit by the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT®).

For students interested in requesting a nationally recognized transcript from ACE CREDIT to present to the university of their choice for the potential award of academic credit, we recommend meeting the following requirements:

• A graduate of or currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program

• For upper division credit, at least a junior with a GPA of 3.0 or higher

Contact tefladmissions@bridge.edu to learn more.

Upon successful completion of your Specialized Certificate course, you can download and print your certificate from our online certificate verification portal for free. You may also order a hard copy certificate mailed to you anywhere in the world for an additional fee. Click here to view fees for hard copy certificate orders.