Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Jingyang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xining 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.
Since receiving my certification from ITTT, I have been teaching English online to adults part-time. However, in my full-time job, I am a children’s librarian in a public library. This course has helped me combine my experience in these two jobs by certifying me to teach English to children. When working with adults, I am usually able to stick to the lesson plan and speak very directly about the grammar or vocabulary. The conversations flow easily, and I never have to worry about discipline. Recently, I was asked to teach one of my adult students’ five-year-old daughters. Since I work with children every day, I thought that it would be easy. I laminated some pictures so we could talk about them together, and I even bought a puppet to indicate when she should speak in the conversation. I was looking forward to the lesson that I had planned: simple greetings, emotions, colors, and body parts. I included songs, games, and even a reward system. However, when the lesson started, the student ran around the room screaming the entire 20 minutes. That was when I decided to take this course. This course helped give me more ideas about how I can be a better teacher. It is my first step toward teaching children English as a foreign language. The resource websites and professional organization seem like a good second step for me to explore all of the options out there. While I do not think that my first failed attempt was completely my fault, I know now that there were many things that I could have and should have done differently. One of the main points that I had not thought about was classroom management. In my library programs, I have to discipline or manage large groups of children every day. In an online one-on-one classroom setting, it’s different. I was totally out of my element. Another things that I had not done was use the classic ESA method. I tried to start with introductions, like I do with adults. I should have used a song or the cat puppet I bought to better engage with the student. By the time I used the song I had prepared, I had already lost the student’s attention. The final error that I will bring up was the fact that I did not have goals set for either myself or the student. After looking at the lesson plans in this course, I saw how important these aims are. I have another lesson scheduled with this same student soon. This time I will start with a song, using the cat puppet, because her mom told me that cats are her favorite animal. Then, we can start a small vocabulary lesson using props and the laminated flash cards that I had prepared. I think that a rendition of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” would be good to reinforce the body part vocabulary in a fun way. Finally, to activate, I would play a game of Simon Says, alternating who “Simon” is. That way the student can feel in control of the lesson and use the vocabulary that she has learned. Overall, I think that this course and its resources within were very helpful for both myself and my students. My desire to teach children EFL has been rejuvenated. I hope that I can do the course justice in my next lesson.
