Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Niuwu Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yan'an 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.
Without a doubt, the best thing I have learned from my TEFL/TESOL course is the ESA teaching system. It provides English instructors with a solid frame work for lesson planning to expand upon and vary as needed. During the engage phase I believe warm ups to be vital in order for students to begin thinking in English. While minimizing teacher talk time and providing students an opportunity to practice what they know before beginning the days lesson, warm ups are a great technique to motivate and grab the attention of students. While observing the second video in Unit 10 I came to the conclusion that a gap fill exercise is a fantastic warm up to get the class engaged. In addition to gap fill exercises I will utilize anagrams, Pictionary, fizz buzz, I spy, and a plethora of other exciting activities. In the study stage, elicitation is essential and an invaluable tool when developing future lesson plans as it provides teachers with a gauge of current student knowledge. With a general level of class skill in mind, I can more effectively develop activities and lessons for my students, in addition to having more accurate self-evaluations. I also plan to use spelling, meaning, analysis, pronunciation, and word order activities in the study stage. I believe the activate stage to be a sort of test to show the teacher if his or her class is truly absorbing the information being taught, It is also the most rewarding for the teacher as you can see and hear your students in action developing real language skills. That is not to say that any one phase is more important than the other, as in all things, balance is everything. During the activate stage I look forward to helping students actualize what they have learned by using techniques such as role play, story building, communication games, group activities, and surveys in addition to other creative materials I will be providing. Taking this course has given me all the confidence I need to begin my adventure teaching abroad and the ESA system will be a cornerstone in the castle of classroom. I am looking forward to experimenting with different approaches such as straight arrow, boomerang and patchwork, as well as creating my own style. The tips given on correction during the ESA unit were extremely helpful as well, and I feel this new knowledge will be fundamental to my growth as a teacher and is a massive aid in getting started in my career. I know I still have much to learn as a teacher, that being said, ITTT gave me more than I had expected to receive from an online course and I will definitely be recommending this program to my friends and other prospective instructors I come across in my travels. I am thrilled to be able to make a difference in the lives of eager minds and can’t wait to see the smiles of my future students! After finishing ITTT I feel more than ready to get started teaching. Thank you ITTT!
