I'm not surprised that the owner of this school would take the trouble to post a rebuttal of Mr. Duke's comments. If I were in his position, I would do the same thing; after all, it's about wanting to continue raking in the profits.

Personally, I found Mr. Duke's review of this online course to be not only informative and detailed but also written in a manner that left little doubt about his sincerity. He also provided considerable background information in terms of his own life experiences and education to further bolster his well written warning. Please note the following excerpts from Mr. Dukes post:

If it sounds like I am a consumer advocate, you are right. In my former life I was on my States Attorney Generals Office Consumer Fraud Task Force in addition to my other duties. You can gauge the level of my furor and commitment to justice from the length of this posting.

Further, Mr. Duke also asked some very pertinent questions in his post, and I must agree that his questions are well worth considering:

On the surface(website) the outline of the Course looks like a good value for the money ($103.99 USD) compared to schools costing $300- 500 USD and up for less hours. However what is the value when the Course materials are poorly written, organized or questions relevant to the content of the course? What is the value when Q&As submitted are submitted but rejected over 72 hours, much less graded in a timely manner?

Mr. Woodward, in his rebuttal, chose to add some testimonials a time honored method of luring potential clients, so I dont take issue with the fact of him having done so. I do however marvel at the fact that he seems unable to acquire testimonials from graduates with an excellent or even passing command of the English language. Heres a quote from one testimonial and, believe me, this is exactly how it is written in Mr. Brewsters post.

Which this was GREAT to EXCELLENT for me and I suspect from anyone wanting this certificate and to LEARN Something.

Another poster, Kate Manifacier, has chimed in and accused Mr. Duke of a smear campaign. I see nothing in his post that would indicate to me that he is engage in such an effort. Basically, he has stuck to the facts, explained the difficulties he encountered and offered opinions based on sound reasoning. Furthermore, he has done so in a manner that illustrates not only his comfort with the English language but also, again, his sincerity.

Due to the ESL/EFL business not having yet reached its peak, there are countless entrepreneurs ready to pounce on the uninitiated and those who rightly believe there are opportunities for travel and/or the furtherance of their teaching careers. The ESL/EFL landscape is becoming increasingly marred by charlatans be they in the guise of recruiters, shoddy school administrators or the like. Lately, more and more of these online TESOL courses are popping up, and the unfortunate truth is that many of them work hand and hand with shady recruiters or are at least cut from the same cloth. Granted there may be a few legitimate, well run TESOL courses online, but they are few and far between. Those that are legitimate or, in my opinion, worthy, are offered by reputable Western colleges or universities and require a certain amount of on-campus attendance to go along with the online work. Whether or not Mr. Brewsters business and do remember it is a business is legitimate is not a determination I can make at this time. I can only look at what little evidence is available. That little bit of evidence makes me suspicious.

If you are serious about teaching ESL of EFL, my advice is to find a school in your home town or nearby. There are many very well organized, professional courses available. Yes, they are more expensive than most online courses, but believe me the Certificate you gain will have far more value than any that you can get online. Many of these programs are four to five week intensive programs where you will be working with very experienced teachers and where you will have to opportunity to do real classroom work and usually will have the opportunity to do real teaching and/or internships. Furthermore, many of them offer additional study that can apply toward your MA degree. The school I went to provided the opportunity for me to extend my study after the initial period of five weeks. During that time, I was able to communicate with my instructor as often as I wanted. I feel fortunate to have received valuable advice from her concerning a project I was working on that ultimately resulted in my being awarded 12 Masters credits from a very reputable college in America. This is not a scenario that could have been manifested with an online TESOL course.

Speak to administrators at local colleges where ESL programs are offered for adult immigrants. Ask them what their opinion is about online TESOL courses. Ask experienced teachers what their opinion is. Ask teachers here in the teachers forum. Do not fall victim to the lure of an easily acquired certificate that may do you a little good while teaching abroad in a situation where your credentials are not seriously perused, but that has little to no value otherwise.

Finally, remember that although Mr. Woodward may be providing what he considers to be a quality program, it is doubtful that he is motivated by little more than profit. I saw nothing in his post that convinced me that he is a serious educator. Is he seriously concerned about ESL/EFL students and the quality of English education that will be provided for them by graduates of his program? There is no real evidence to answer that question one way of the other. My advice, and I'm sure the advice of Mr. Duke, is to be very discerning.

Good luck!