The term diploma is actually very misleading. In reality all of them are certificates. If someone wants a diploma they need to get a degree. Cambridge and Trinity offer what they call diplomas but these are actually only add-ons to their original certificate programs and do little more in the way of training and will likely have very little effect on your chances for employment.

There are hundreds of organizations offering certificates in TEFL, TESL, TESOL or whatever acronym they happen to use. Sadly 80-90% of these are absolutely worthless. There are only about 10 that are accredited and even these are only accredited in the country in which they are offered (the UK and US). The fact is, there is no international accrediting body for language teaching and teacher training. So, when choosing a certificate program, look more at their curriculum and number of training hours than at their name of claimed credentials.

Anything over $2,500 is a waste of your money and anything below $1,000 is likely a sham because there is pretty much no way you can create the content, produce the materials, and pay the trainers needed for a certificate for less than that, and to even be able to do it for a thousand would be a serious stretch.

Don't trust anyone that offers you a 6 day program over weekends or a 1 week camp, or an online-only course. These won't teach you anything and any school that actually requires certifications won't take these seriously.

Ideally your chosen program should have a minimum of 100 hours of actual classroom contact in addition to 100-200 hours of self-directed study at a minimum.

Also, don't trust any offer than includes a guaranteed job or job placement as these are almost never legit.

Hope this helps,

Drew Ward
CALLE