TEFL Sandown New Hampshire

For my essay I firstly introduce what a tefl course is, and explain the ways in which the qualification can be obtained. I will then go onto discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option and give my own opinion on which route is best to take. Introduction A tefl (Teaching english as a Foreign Language) accredited course opens up a world of opportunities for people who wish to teach english to students of a foreign language. These courses are mainly designed for people who have studied english since an early age and there are 2 main ways to get this qualification. The first is to attend an institution which teaches the course directly face to face. However if the latter is not possible, then the second option is to take an online course. There are a number of reasons why people pick one or the other, and this can be seen from the advantages and disadvantages of both options which are explained below. Option 1: Attending the Institute Advantages This option has a number of advantages. The first and main one is that by attending the institute an individual can build up invaluable teaching experience. This encompasses a number of other things such confidence and motivation. The inexperienced teacher will most likely have an idea of how to teach however their methods may be incorrect. For example they may teach explain grammar points during bad times of their lesson i.e. explaining the meaning of ‘can and cannot' during an activity. This disrupts the flow of the lesson and it would be better to explain this during a study session. By knowing what the correct procedure for teaching is can be more motivating for the individual as they will feel like they are doing a good job in teaching their students. The second main advantage is that tutor help is instantly available. Whenever problems arise or if there is something that the individual cannot understand all they have to do is ask in real time. Disadvantages The two main disadvantages are as follows; the nearest institution maybe too far to attend and the course maybe too expensive – this combined with the first can lead to a very expensive course, for example, the price of a 4 week in-class course is £935 and when combined with travel expenses the total cost of the taking this course could vary greatly depending on how far you have to travel. Option 2: online courses Advantages The main two advantages of this option is that it allows the individual to work at their own pace, which is not possible to do in option 1 and that, courses can be much cheaper than £935. Some examples are; a 60 – hour course which is £129 and a 100 – hour course that is £270 . Disadvantages The first disadvantage of this option is that not all courses have tutor support, and the ones that do have it, may take time to respond to queries. Most queries can be answered within 24 hours; however this could be longer depending on unforeseen circumstances. For example, if your tutor suddenly is not well or got into a car accident, it could take much longer to receive help. In addition to this point, tutors may not be so critical of the individual's work . The second is that the individual could just copy material word for word from the module to answer questions which they receive to complete and send for marking. This could potentially lead the individual to not learn anything at all. Conclusion In my opinion I feel that there is no right or wrong approach in obtaining a tefl qualification. The method that the individual chooses depends entirely upon their circumstances. It must also be remembered that by offering a wide range of online courses, TELF are trying to help the people in these very circumstances. However I feel that more could be done to ensure that both approaches are equal in value. For example, more videos of teaching could be incorporated into online teaching, or in-class courses could be priced much cheaper.