by Jack
August 8, 2011 in TEFL Training, Videos
Ever wondered what a practice class would be like in a TEFL course? Now you don’t have to wonder any longer. I found a video on Youtube that was quite interesting. It is the practice class video from a TEFL training course. It’s your chance to take a look and see what TEFL courses are all about and how it might feel the first time you get in front of a TEFL class.
by Jack
August 8, 2011 in TEFL Training
When first thinking about going abroad as an English teacher, one of the first thoughts for many teachers is how can they get a job. There are many TEFL course providers out there who bombard you with marketing offers touting one course over another, using tactics such as questioning the quality of competitor courses, giving shill advice, but one thing is ever present, the advice that you need a TEFL certificate. Whether it’s an online, a CELTA, a TESOL, a TEFL or whatever type of course, the point is drummed in that you need a TEFL certificate to teach English abroad.
I am here to tell you that you do NOT need a TEFL course. If you have a 4 year degree or higher, you can get a job teaching English in a foreign country. In fact, even lacking a 4 year degree, there are countries and schools that will accept you, TEFL certificate or not. I’m going to give advice here but understand that you do not NEED a TEFL certificate.
What does a Teaching English as a Foriegn Language Certificate give you? In a typical class, even online courses, you will learn grammar and you will learn teaching techniques. These techniques you can learn on your own with some grammar and teaching books. If you study them, you will learn.
Another thing a TEFL course gives you is confidence. You don’t get this confidence as much from online courses, but no matter the type of course, you will feel more comfortable in the modules you covered and will feel confident to teach students. Again, you can get this practice on your own if you put your mind to it. You can find friends who can act like students and get their feedback.
So, back to the topic of this post, how do you find a TEFL course? First thing you do is look at your finances. Quality of the course is USUALLY in direct relation to the cost of the program. Let your budget find three or four TEFL course options.
After finding your options, go to Google and search for the name of the course using extra keywords like bad, sucks, review, etc. You want to see if there is negative feedback out there on the net.
If it passes the the Google test, then go to forums like ESLCafe.com and Freelance TEFL Forums and ask teachers on those sites about the course in question. You might get a lot of marketing thrown at you and meet a forum shill or two, but search for the hidden information and see if the course fits your needs.
Any comments?
by Jack
August 1, 2011 in TEFL Training
If you look over on David’s ELT World, he is putting up some awesomely great resources and information for teachers. In fact, in one article, Methods of Teaching English has a link to a pdf file that examines many of the teaching methods available. He covers such topics as the grammar translation method, The direct method, The audio-lingual method, Communicative language teaching, Language immersion, Minimalist/methodist, Directed practice, Learning by teaching (LdL) and the Silent Way. Lots of good information in it and it’s definitely worth it to check it out.
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