Many universities and community colleges worldwide offer Trinity TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification to aspiring students looking to gain footing in their teaching careers or those simply looking to travel abroad. Certification is achieved via group-oriented coursework. Trinity TESOL certification is comprised of five different courses and each course lasts a minimum of 130 hours accompanied with a recommended 15 additional hours of private study time.

Entry Requirement
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. They must also demonstrate a general competence in written and spoken English to be considered a role model for the language, demonstrate a cooperative spirit during group-oriented coursework, and pass two standardized tests to determine the applicant's competency in British Standard English and Received Pronunciation. Applicants must also specify whether they seek full-time or part-time coursework.

Unit 1: Teaching Skills
The first unit is designed to aid student teachers develop basic TESOL styles. Each TESOL trainee engages in eight hours of observation of certified teachers in classroom settings and six hours of hands-on teaching experience in classrooms with at least six students. The trainee also learns how to maintain a personal teaching journal equipped with customized lesson plans.

Unit 2: Language Awareness
Language awareness helps TESOL trainees learn the basic structure of the English language in its phonological, lexical, and syntactic form. Once these basics are understood, the trainee learns how to verbalize this to a classroom. Trainees will eventually learn how to properly explain the differences and subtleties of written and spoken English.

Unit 3: Learner Profile
This unit helps trainees identify the needs and issues of an individual student. The coursework focuses on differences in cultural background, how to identify strengths and weaknesses, and how to set individual student goals. The goal is to teach the trainee the importance of handling one-on-one interactions with students that need more tutoring than others.

Unit 4: The Materials Assignment
TESOL material assignment helps trainees develop better adaptability to an ever-changing classroom and student body. Trainees design their own lesson plan and create a customized list of teaching materials accompanied by a written rationale. The trainees must then assess why or why not their self-made lesson plan and teaching materials succeeded or failed with their test group of students.

Unit 5: Unknown Language
This requirement helps trainees develop an understanding of just how difficult learning a new language can be. Trainees are allotted four credit hours in an unknown foreign language. The trainee is expected to observe the teacher and keep an updated journal that details their effort.