TEFL Vaughn New Mexico

This course has helped me fine tune my teaching skills. I have been using many of the principles from the course as part my teaching profession already but until I read the course units, it was difficult for me to identify the problems I was having and how I could improve. It was as if I had pockets of teaching information that I had gained from here and there without any organization. Now, it's all compartmentalized and makes sense. Now, I understand why my students don't pay attention. Now, I understand why I get blank stares after I ask a question. Now, I know to pay attention each class and make mental notes of what the students are having trouble with and gear my following lesson to their needs. The units in the course are very detailed and address many of the problems I was having. I will refer back to the course units I have saved on my computer as a reference when I have trouble or need clarification. One of my main responsibilities here in Korea is to teach correct pronunciation. I learned from Unit 13 that there is a whole world of pronunciation I didn't know about. It made me feel small. After reviewing the content several times, I felt more confident teaching what I previously thought I knew all about but had no clue. The position of the tongue, jaw mouth, nasal sounds, and breath sounds are things that I now implement in my lesson when teaching correct pronunciation. Another thing I learned from the course is the importance of making detailed lesson plans with extra activities and content, in case one activity does not engage the students. I learned that I must gage my time between the ‘engage, study, activate' stages appropriately to create a balanced lesson. Before the course I knew the fundamental parts of a lesson but not the exact format. The engage, study, activate format is clear and concise and simple to use. I enjoyed watching the CD-Rom lesson. It helped me to see what not to do as well how to teach an effective lesson. Sometimes I watch my co-teachers teaching a lesson and wonder what the students think. When I teach a lesson, I sometimes think of the man in the CD-Rom lesson. I compare myself to him teaching the less-effective lesson, and try to think of ways to improve.