Is an online M.A. in TESOL really considered legitimate over...

YES, by all means most TESOL orTEFL are learned online. Make sure you have a certificate as proof.

If you have three years experience of teaching then it is not necessary to take a tefl. But the Chinese schools do like as many certificates as possible so it wouldn´t hurt.

The other posters don´t seem to understand your question. The MA in TESOL is an excellent qualification overseas. Universities in all countries check whether your university is accredited. The best universities throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East actually request the MA in TESOL. On that note, it would be best to determine whether the ONLINE program is accredited before enrolling.

I would have thought that all your experience would have been enough to find you a job anywhere. Kind regards

Depending on the position you´re going after you might want to research your degree to see if it´s from an accredited source but for 90% teaching jobs in China it´s more than enough to have the certificate. For a private language school they are not really concerned about your degree so much as 1. your skin color (white attracts the most, blacks next and they pay less for other skin colors no matter what experience or degrees you have), 2. how entertaining you are (they need teachers to be creative and fun since these classes aren´t mandatory and are usually very expensive), 3. how cheap you´ll work. For a private regular (international) school they will be more inclined to check up on your degrees since they´ll be paying more and the students will be expecting more. They are more like prep schools and have a very HIGH TUITION (I know it´s about $10,000 USD a year for K-5)...these are the students who can actually transfer credits to US or UK schools directly with no problem. For Public schools and universities...they will tell you they care but they don´t really. They tend to have the lowest pay and therefore the least amount of choices when it comes to teachers- that´s usually why they like to hire out of country because those teachers don´t know any better.

Private Language school 6,000-8,000 for new teachers
Private International school 10,000-15,000 for new teachers
Public school 3,000-5,000 Public universities (4,000-6,000)

MA TESOL Online are widely accepted abroad. Depending on the position you are seeking, a DELTA might be a cheaper option for you.

I know this is an old thread. Did you decide to take the MA TESOL online, offline or not at all?

I was considering taking a MA TESOL in Thailand, but reconsidered after finding out that MA vs DELTA is not really that great.