For most courses on the Cactus TEFL website, the application procedure is as follows:

1- Register (1 minute)
2- Download your chosen school's application form (30 seconds or so)
3- Complete the form offline in your own time (could take a good couple of hours with help from books)
4- Log in and upload your form (30 seconds)

:: Why register?

Because we want to save you having to fill in your personal contact details again and again. We don't use 'cookies' on our site, so it means than when you download an application form or when you submit it back to us by uploading it back to your space on our site, we save you time and frustration. Your info is utterly secure, and is only passed on to the schools you apply to.

:: Why it's good to apply early

Many courses fill up very quickly, either because they are in a popular locaation or because the centre only runs a few courses each year. Uploading your application form to us does not automatically guarantee a place, and only at the end of the interview will you know whether you have been accepted for the course date you have chosen. So you increase your chances of getting your ideal course start date by applying nice and early. After the interview, you'll usually have a few days to decide whether or not to take the place, and only then will payment be due.

:: How it all works

When you upload your application to us, we fast-track it to the school. If the course requires an interview, the course provider will contact you directly with a suggested interview time (or occasionally the news that they cannot take your application any further).

After your interview, you'll be told if you're suitable for the course. Then it's time for you to decide if you want to proceed.

If the course does not require an interview, the course provider will let you know if you are accepted or not onto the course.

If you want to proceed, you will either be required to pay the school direct, in which case the school will let you know how to pay them, or we will set up an 'online quote' for you. In this case, you receive a message from us with a payment link, you log on, and securely submit your payment details. We confirm your payment, and inform the school that you're booked onto the course.

:: Why apply through Cactus?

Please take note: Although Cactus TEFL functions as an admissions agency, we do not charge you a penny extra for our service! You pay exactly what the centre would have charged you direct, but you benefit from all our expert TEFL knowledge and the unbiased advice we can give you.

Once you're through the course, come back to Cactus TEFL and search the job ads on the site. And once you have some experience under your belt, come back again to Cactus Teachers for teacher development courses in areas like Teaching Young Learners or Business English Teaching.

:: The application process for Cambridge CELTA & Trinity CertTESOL courses

To secure a place on a CELTA or CertTESOL course, you need to complete an application form and attend an interview (face-to-face or over the phone). See here for advice about the interview.

:: Submitting your application form

If you are applying for a course that requires you to submit an application form, you must download it from your chosen course page, then complete and upload it via our website. You simply need to go to the ‘sign in’ section, enter your email address and the password that you created when you registered with us, and follow the instructions.

If for any reason you are unable to do this, you can simply send the document as an email attachment to info@cactustefl.com.

Please note that we cannot accept paper applications by fax or post.

:: Applying for other types of TEFL course

Other TEFL courses, that are not Cambridge or Trinity courses will have a slightly different application format, explained in the info on each TEFL course page. Some courses, such as most online TEFL courses and weekend TEFL courses do not require you to complete a pre-interview task, but have just a simple online form with payment by card only at the end of the process.