TEFL Certification Comparison: 120-Hour vs 150-Hour, Online vs In-Person

Last updated: 2026-08-05

120-hour vs 150-hour: what actually changes

The 120-hour course is the baseline every major destination country in our country guides accepts as the legal minimum for a work permit or visa application — Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Mexico all treat 120 hours as sufficient on paper. South Korea's E-2 visa asks for a 100-hour minimum, which any accredited 120-hour course clears. The extra 30+ hours in a 150-hour course generally covers deeper grammar/methodology modules and, in many providers' packages, an observed or supervised teaching practicum — real classroom time with feedback, not just coursework.

Whether that extra depth matters to you depends on where you're heading. If you're applying to language centres in Vietnam or academies in Mexico, 120 hours plus a bachelor's degree covers the legal requirement and most employer expectations. If you're aiming for an international school, a government programme with limited spots (EPIK, JET), or you have no prior classroom experience at all, the practicum in a 150-hour course is worth the extra cost and time — it's the difference between a certificate that says you studied teaching and one that says you've actually done it, even briefly.

Online vs in-person

For the legal minimum, online-only courses are accepted almost everywhere covered on this site — Vietnam's labour authorities, for example, explicitly don't distinguish delivery format for the 120-hour legal minimum. The real difference online vs in-person makes is on your CV and in an interview: a course with a live, observed teaching practicum (even if most of it is online) gives you something concrete to talk about and demonstrates you can actually run a lesson, which matters most for competitive or higher-paying placements.

In-person courses run in-country (a growing niche, especially in Southeast Asia) add the advantage of arriving with some idea of the culture, classroom norms, and job market already in hand, plus in many cases direct introductions to local schools — but they cost more and take longer than a self-paced online course.

Accredited vs not — why it's the one thing not to skip

Accreditation is the single factor that determines whether a certificate is actually accepted for a visa or work permit application, regardless of hour count. An unaccredited "TEFL certificate" from an obscure or defunct provider can leave you with a document immigration authorities and reputable schools simply won't recognise — wasting both the money and the time spent earning it. Before enrolling anywhere, check that the provider is externally accredited (by a recognised TEFL/TESOL accrediting body) rather than just self-certified, and that its certificate is explicitly recognised in the country you're targeting — our per-country requirements pages link the specific hour minimums each destination expects.

Which course fits your destination

Destination	Legal minimum	Employer preference
Vietnam	120 hours	150+ hours with practicum for international schools
Thailand	Not legally codified — 120 hours is the market standard	150+ hours helps for the teaching-licence waiver
South Korea	100 hours (E-2 visa)	120 hours is the common course length sold to meet this
Japan	Not a legal visa requirement	120 hours minimum; some eikaiwa prefer 180-hour Level 5
Spain	Not legally required for assistant programmes	120 hours is the academy market standard; 250-hour Level 5 pays more
Mexico	Not a strict INM requirement	120 hours is the effective standard for visa sponsorship

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