TESOL Certification: FAQs

There are two specializations which consist of three courses each and a capstone project course. That is a total of 8 courses. Students often find that they can finish a course within 2-6 weeks, with a capstone course taking a bit longer on average. This means that you could finish this certificate program in as little as 16 weeks to 1 year.

Yes. Both specializations must be successfully completed in order to obtain the TESOL certificate from Arizona State University. A certificate of completion from Coursera can be obtained by taking either specialization separately, or for individual courses. All of the courses will be conducted online. The capstone for specialization 1 is peer reviewed, and the capstone for specialization 2 is expert reviewed. Only upon successful completion of the second capstone will learners receive a TESOL Certificate. Coursera offers their own certificates for completion of every course or specialization, but those certificates should not be confused with Arizona State University’s TESOL Certificate, which follows industry standards.

Coursera sets the pricing and they continually adjust the model independent from universities. Most recently we have been told that they may be moving to a monthly model of $49/month. For most of our learners who have joined before April, each course was priced at $49.00. Using that model, there are 3 courses and a capstone course in a single specialization (4 total), thus, the total cost of a specialization is around $196.00. The total cost for a TESOL Certificate would be $392.00. Whether through the monthly service or a single cost per course, we believe it is one of the most economically accessible TESOL certificate programs in the world.

Course Certificates are credentials that showcase what you’ve learned on Coursera. In addition to the course name and instructor signature, the Course Certificate features the logo of the partner institution offering the course, a statement attesting to your confirmed identity, and a certification URL that allows others to check the Certificate’s authenticity. Coursera certificates are often recognized by employers and may be possible use for promotion or job placement. Arizona State University is a top 100 school and is recognized for its outstanding educational programs and innovation. This TESOL Certificate carries no university credit and follows the standards outlined by the TESOL International Association for TESOL Certificate Programs. 

Currently, courses 1, 2, and 3 run every two weeks. Courses 4, 5, and 6 run every 4 weeks. Capstone courses run every 12 weeks.

We have received many questions about the ASU TESOL 150-hour certificate. As you know, after each course and specialization, you will receive a Coursera-ASU certificate if you have paid and verified for the course. After completing two specializations (Teach English Now, TESOL certificate, Part 1 & Teach English Now, TESOL certificate, Part 2), you are eligible for the ASU 150-hour TESOL certificate. When you finish both capstones, you will be given a link to fill out a form with your name, email, and the links to your two Coursera specialization certificates. We will use this information to send you a link to your ASU 150-hour TESOL certificate, which can be valuable when looking for employment. The link is permanent and shareable with other people. There is no extra charge for this service. The form will also ask you if you would like a paper copy of your certificate. The cost is $50.00 US. It will come with a raised seal from Global Launch (our department) at Arizona State University.

Learners prepare 10 hours of lesson plan content and recorded themselves instructing for a portion of each of those lesson plans in a micro-lesson format. 10 videos are recorded and full lesson plans are uploaded. Videos are 6-10 minutes long. Peers watch videos and read the lesson plans, and provide valuable feedback. We have also provided full lesson plan videos of ASU master teachers for additional 6 hours of observation.