Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Matou Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Heze Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
I'm new to the role of teaching. I'm a native speaker, great at speaking, writing, reading, comprehension and listening but have never taught English. I used to encourage people to learn English like I did - through reading and listening. As a teacher I realise these two may not be as easy to do, purely through self-motivation and no guidance, as they sound. I like teaching older students, professionals and self-motivated learners. Younger learners, while satisfying for some, are not my cup of tea. I also enjoy conversation and public speaking classes as they draw on my personal experiences and conducting those is easier than a structured class. I have also realized in my brief teaching experience, that I like teaching in smaller rather than larger groups. With this experience, this TEFL course has been an eye-opener for me. I re-learned the titles, the logic and rules of language that I learned nearly 25 years ago! It has also been extremely useful to understand how to structure a lesson, the different teaching methodologies, the most effective ESA techniques, the use of different types of games and activities for each stage of learning. The Engage-Study-Activate concept made logical sense in theory but was very difficult to recognise in the different test questions. I have a range of students from beginner level to intermediate, as well as in company clients of different abilities. It has been difficult in particular to plan the classes for the beginner and intermediate students. I had not done diagnostic or placement tests and was wondering how to measure my own progress as well. But the ideas and concepts in these units will certainly go a long way in helping with these as well as training me in making my own material besides readily available books. I’m not a naturally artistic or creative person and as such the ideas of different activities are good for a novice like me. Initially I thought this course was about testing my concepts and receptive and productive skills, and brief tips on how to convey this knowledge to others. This course was extremely useful – not only in testing my abilities and identifying weaknesses in my own understanding but also on reading the logic of why I am wrong. As a native speaker, the hardest part is explaining something that I’ve known like the back of my hand, to someone who is a stranger to the language and has yet to understand the logic or the rules of a new language. Now that I have the exact language, names, concepts and rules in the written form of these units, I’m most optimistic about the success of my classes. Despite the newness of being a teacher, I share the challenge of learning a new language as an adult, with my students. Currently being a B2 level student of another language, I can relate to the frustration of being unable to understand and communicate – something young learners never have to grapple with because they don’t suffer from a sense of humiliation as adult learners mostly do. All in all, I’m really glad I was required to complete a TEFL course to continue teaching ESL with a professional company. It has truly taught me a lot, despite the frustration of getting most ESA questions incorrect!
