Teach English in Yankou Zhen - Hanzhong Shi

There is a saying that “Education is life” which I strongly believe is true. I’m a teacher by profession for 24 years now and I can say that I still crave for learning and improvement. I’m a Bachelor of Secondary Education graduate major in Technology and Home Economics but it’s really surprising that it’s not what I’m teaching since I graduated. I worked as an English, Math and Science teacher for twelve years in the Philippines and was able to work for another ten years in the Middle East as an English Teacher and Coordinator. Presently, I’m working as a Policy and Discipline Coordinator back here in the Philippines for almost two years now. Going back to my younger years, I really wanted to become an English Teacher but sad to say, the University where I enrolled was not offering English as a specialization. Because I really love English, I proved to all that I can still be an English Teacher in the future and the rest is history. To satisfy my desire to be an English Teacher, I thought of studying online. I excitedly searched the internet for it. I got more excited when my friend who successfully passed her TEFL online course referred ITTT to me. At first, I was so over-confident that I can also pass the course easily because I was thinking that lessons will just be very easy considering that I’m already an experienced English Teacher. But of course I was wondering also how the lessons will be conducted and what requirements will be given to me to finally finish the course. Out of great curiosity, I inquired and decided to enroll that same day. With too much excitement I started with Unit 1 and I found it too easy for me. But as I went along the units, I’ve encountered one lesson that really got into my nerves… meaning, I really got interested into it and it’s none other than the ESA methodology of teaching. I worked as an English Coordinator for ten years. I’ve checked tons of lesson plans and observed hundreds of classes so I was thinking that I already knew everything about methodologies. As I was studying this ESA strategy, I got really interested and found myself nodding my head as I went over reading about it. Yes, the usual lesson plan should always have the motivation part, the lesson proper and the application. Compared to ESA, they’re not so different. But honestly speaking, I found this methodology as the best one that I’ve encountered so far. ENGAGE, STUDY and ACTIVATE terminologies are really striking! You will realize that teaching and learning will really take place and success will be achieved using this. In Montessori System, we are trained not to always do the talking; that students should be the ones talking more. It exactly looks like ESA but I saw that the latter is really different and is more effective. I super like the Engage stage where students will be given a chance to just think and speak in English; that the teacher won’t intervene though students make mistakes. Students are given complete freedom and that will really be helpful in boosting their interest and confidence. There are times that the teacher should only work as a Facilitator but she has to be an effective one. She should not be so lax leaving everything to the students. She should always be alert at all times. In the Study stage, students are still involved but it’s more focused on the teacher’s task. She should make sure that the lesson is well understood by the students. Reinforcement activities designed by the teacher should also be administered here. What is really rewarding is when you see your students applying what they have learned in the Activate stage. The word itself will make you think that students will be active on this part. As I was going over the Activate stage, I remember our Arab Principal in the Middle East. She used to go around the school to observe classes. One thing that really annoys her is when she sees students standing during classes. If she sees a class like that, she would rush inside that room and reprimand the teacher and the students. Though we, teachers from the Philippines, are knowledgeable of students being active during application time and should move around sometimes, we can’t apply it because we are working in a different culture and the head is not so open with new innovations. Poor students! They are deprived of so many things that they should have been learning for long years. After finishing my TEFL course, I told myself that if I’m still in that school I will really do my best to talk to the Principal and tell her of the beauty of ESA method and the advantages that it could offer the entire school. I will convince her that the school badly needs innovation and that the teachers should be trained well. And of course, finally, I will recommend that teachers should enroll at ITTT so they could be on the right track. Now that I’m here in my home country, I’m pretty confident that I will share this with the teachers in my school, so that before I go abroad to work as an EFL Teacher I have something really helpful to contribute to them. Honestly, I’m well-experienced with lesson planning. But when I was already on the part of completing my TEFL course requirement, I really spent a couple of weeks in collecting ideas and in planning on how I’m going to do it without mistakes. I really desired for a one-time submission. I searched for feedback online about ITTT and honestly, I got worried when I’ve read some comments that many lesson plans were returned and rejected. They came to a point asking if ITTT was legit… that maybe, it only wants their money. Thank God that I was not affected… I did my best and God gave me the courage to continue. Because of my excitement about the course, I finished all the 20 units in just 16 days. Then it took me time to do my Lesson Plan as I became busy at work and I looked for a really peaceful place where I could do it completely. Praise God, I made it! It was just a one-time submission and I won’t ever forget that day when an ITTT tutor, Tania, replied and accepted my requirement. I’m so grateful to ITTT for their super effective style of online course. Thanks for the ESA methodology! This is something that will be a part of my teaching career wherever I may be in the future.