Even though
english is not my birth language, I learned it at a very young age when my family moved from
china to America when I was four years old. Though I was technically an
esl student when I began elementary school in America, I was never formally taught the grammar and other components of the language. Instead, I simply “picked it up” from my friends,
teachers and surroundings. As a result of this, there are many aspects of the
english language which I find very difficult to describe and explain when asked to. For me, it simply “sounds right” and I couldn't provide the grammatical reasoning behind it. This course has provided me with a basis of language knowledge about
english. Furthermore, I always thought that
teachers taught however they wanted to. Sure, there would be a syllabus of topics, but I was unaware that there are specific methods of teaching. This course has provided me with knowledge on the theories, methods and techniques of teaching that will result in receptive, interested and motivated students. Overall, I believe that these are the two most important things that I have taken away from the course - the grammatical reasoning behind the language and the methodologies of presenting the material.
After I have completed this course, I plan to practice some one-on-one tutoring/teaching in my home of Vancouver, BC. Following this, I hopefully will be able to travel abroad and teach using the
tefl certification as a means for me to find jobs at schools, in companies, etc.