My Experience Taking the 50-hour Teaching English to Young Learners TEFL Course from ITTT
To begin with, I had completed my TEFL onsite course with International TEFL and TESOL Training in Paris, France before starting my CTEYL online course. After practicing teaching both to adults and young learners, I decided that I am more interested in teaching English to young learners. That’s why I chose the 50-hour specialized course Teaching English to Young Learners.
After successfully completing all the units of this course, I can say that my experience of this course has been of great benefit to me in many ways. It helped me to expand both my theoretical and practical knowledge concerning the teaching of the English language to young learners.
This post was written by our ITTT graduate Chrysoula D.
What is a “Young Learner”?
To start with, the most important is that I learned what is a ‘’young learner’’ and which ages constitute a ‘’young learner’’. To continue, this course provided me with various teaching approaches and methodologies in order to be able to plan and teach an engaging lesson for young learners. Furthermore, it explained thoroughly how to create a successful lesson plan as it offered several samples of lesson plans.
It also indicated the importance of having a lesson plan before the start of the actual lesson in the actual classroom because a lesson plan can be both a working and a historical document. I understood the significance of having an outline of the procedure of the lesson and how helpful it can be for the teacher’s self and course evaluation. This particular course introduced and explained the Engage – Study – Activate method (ESA) by analyzing each stage. I found this method very stimulating as it can also be modified according to the student’s age and level.
The role of the Teacher
Moreover, I learned about the different roles of the teacher and the changes that can be made in the classroom depending on the learning activity. This course also discussed the importance of the learning environment and the classroom atmosphere. It suggested that many changes can be made depending on the students’ needs. The teacher should notice and understand the needs of the students by examining their level and try to adapt each time the lesson plan to the students’ needs. I learned about the level testing and the needs analysis, the differences between them and how to use them.
In my opinion, all of the above mentioned are of paramount importance and contributed to broadening my knowledge about teaching approaches.
I have also been taught different theories about learning and development. The course also explored various ways to develop a course for young learners and suggested different activities, materials and teaching themes. In addition to this, it showed how to create a syllabus.
Student Assessment & Course Materials
Moreover, this course indicated the importance of the students’ assessment and the course evaluation as the teacher should measure the efficacy of the course and the progress of the students. The students should also be allowed to feedback on the course and the teacher should make each time the appropriate modifications and improvements of the course.
This course has also explored different types of materials and explained the differences between authentic and non-authentic materials. It also indicated several ways of choosing and using them. As far as I am concerned, I found all of the information very useful for my future lessons. I have also learned how to choose between course books and how to use them. The teacher should approach critically the course books and adapt them to the needs of the students.
What is more, this course taught me efficient ways of using the Internet in order to find teaching materials and valuable information concerning my future lessons. Additionally, the course explored different teaching themes and strategies and explained how they can be used for a variety of learning experiences at all ages and levels of English language teaching. I found valuable new information about teaching themes.
Professional teacher development
In the end, this course provided crucial information concerning the professional development of an English teacher by exploring ways of seeking and applying for employment. It also gave useful advice on how to create a CV/resume and a cover letter.
To conclude, I had a positive experience of the CTEYL course and I believe that I acquired new knowledge which will contribute both to my personal and professional development. In my opinion, the course offered me critical, theoretical and practical knowledge about Teaching English to Young Learners.
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