TEFL Ashland Delaware

I have gained many different things from this course. It has been very valuable because it has given me strong foundations to become a great tefl teacher. However, it is important to remember that the journey is not over. I must continue to use what I've learnt and keep striving to improve. First, I have learnt many things from this tefl course about how to become a great teacher. One of the most interesting points is that it is a work in progress. Therefore, I must constantly strive to improve and look at weak areas of my teaching to strengthen. Every lesson I should choose an area to improve and I must also constantly evaluate how my lessons went. This way I will continue to get better. Second, I have learnt the importance of using language to suit the ability of the class. The video also made it very clear the differences between a ‘good' and ‘bad' teacher. A good teacher should be positive, friendly and make the classes interesting and fun. Third, I have learnt how important it is to plan lessons well. In order to do this one must use a good lesson plan every time. I will follow the format, so that I always Engage, Study, then Activate. (However, this can be in a boomerang or patchwork format).The lesson plan will also help me to focus on areas that I want to improve upon personally as a teacher. Fourth, I have also learnt the importance of using a whiteboard. It can be a very useful tool when used well. Therefore, I will make sure that I prepare how I'm going to use it in my lessons. Fifth, I have learnt a lot of different areas of grammar whilst doing this course. For example, I have learnt the different tenses, how to write direct and indirect speech, the use of modal verbs, the use of nouns, adjectives, auxiliary verbs, main verbs and prepositions. I have also learnt about the phonetic alphabet. Whilst this was quite complicated, I must not be scared of using it. Pronunciation is very important and as english words are not spelt as they are pronounced, this can be difficult for students. Therefore, I am going to practice using the phonetic alphabet and make an effort to teach pronunciation correctly in my lessons. I am also going to continually try to improve my knowledge of grammar. This will give me more confidence in my own abilities. It will also make me come across as a more knowledgeable teacher, which will give students confidence in me. Sixth, I have realized the importance of all four disciplines: reading, writing , speaking and listening. I will try to make sure I balance all of these disciplines, so that the students improve in all four areas. Seventh, it is all about suiting the lesson and the course to suit the student(s). I must adapt the lesson as to whether it is for a private or group lesson. I must also adapt it as to whether it is for beginners, general english or business english. In order to help me do this, I must investigate the objectives of the individual or group beforehand. It may also be useful to use tests to evaluate their ability. Eighth, I can use tests throughout the course to test students' progress. This is also a great way to end a course and can be very satisfying for a student to feel that they have reached a certain level. Ninth, I must also make opportunity of course textbooks and also other material/tools that can help me to make lessons interesting. For example, there are DVDs, dictaphones and video recorders that can all be used to make fun lessons. Lastly, I plan to re-read my course notes on a regular basis and constantly try to improve. This is so that I can become the best teacher that I can possibly be.