Why Every Teacher Should Complete a TEFL Course?
If you’re thinking about starting your EFL teaching career, the first thing you should do is taking a TEFL course. It helps you decide where to teach, as it contains information about differences between students from different countries and regions, i.g. Asia and Latin America, as well as information on how to work with students’ cultural backgrounds.
This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vladimir P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Reasons
If you have prior experience in teaching, though it’s useful to refresh your knowledge because it’s important basics you should know. Moreover, you can find some new information, i.g. how to motivate students, how to behave yourself properly as a teacher, and many more "how to..."
Course Structure
The first neat point stands for grammar. While completing a course, you pass through several grammar topics ordered from the most intuitive and easy rules to more complicated ones.
Also Read: What questions should I ask a TEFL employer?
Language Training
In the beginning, you meet with the parts of speech. It includes its grammatical role in a sentence and rules of usage of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and articles in a proper way. For instance, what type of prepositions should we use with different geographical names, and so on?
The next three grammar topics are about tenses. Here, you look at the structures and usages of the present, future, and past tenses, as well as ideas for activities, to use in the classroom. Then, you meet with the conditionals and reported speech. Here you learn how about teaching techniques related to the topic, e.g. how to explain differences between direct and reported speech.
The last grammar unit completes the coverage of English grammar by looking at a range of other so-called commonly taught grammar subjects such as modals, phrasal verbs, the passive voice, and relative clauses. We use modal verbs for different purposes, i.g. request, obligation, possibility, and more.
All grammar topics included in a TEFL course and mentioned above are a must for those who want to become an English teacher and give a decent boost to turn such an intention into reality. You can’t teach what you don’t understand properly yourself, so grammar block for a TEFL course is like a foundation for a skyscraper. Moreover, all units include tips on how to use these grammar rules in practice and how to teach them to the students with many examples.
Teaching Skills
The other fourteen units are all not about what do you need to learn about English, but how do you need to teach it.
It starts with teaching theories, methods, and techniques. Here, you meet with the lesson structure and the teacher’s role during the lesson. You take a look at plenty of various teaching tips and classroom activities to use during different stages of the lesson.
The next one covers class management. It includes the rules of giving individual attention, establishing rapport, giving instruction, and managing the talking time of you and your students. You learn how to use eye contact, gestures, and voice in managing classes. One more important thing is grouping for students because it differs in each particular case. So, you learn what it depends on including examples of proper classroom arrangement.
The next topics are not about teaching in general like the previous ones. Each of them covers a specific problem in teaching students, for instance, teaching receptive and productive skills, teaching new languages, pronunciation and phonology, and more.
The last block of topics I can underline is a help for a teacher in a professional area. It covers evaluation and testing techniques, provide you with lesson materials and links to course books, helps with troubleshooting. Here you also find the information on a variety of resources you can use. I mean class equipment for different teaching aids, recommendations on how to use them the most efficient way, and a list of online resources you can use to make your lessons better.
Also Read: How 10 Years of Teaching English Has Changed My Life
Job Research
Now, it’s clear that a TEFL course covers all the things you need to know before starting teaching, and a little more. Another decent benefit is post job guidance. It’s especially extremely useful when you’re just ready to become your TEFL-career. If you have a TEFL certificate, you’ll be guaranteed to get a job. Every employer would think twice before hiring a teacher with no certification, and in some places where the competition is high, no doubt, the employer will hire a teacher who has a proof of his qualification. A TEFL certificate is proof. Moreover, in countries like Vietnam and South Korea, you can’t teach without a TEFL certificate due to the law.
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
All in all, a TEFL course provides a good working knowledge of the English grammar and phonology systems as well as with awareness of the skills and techniques required for successful language teaching. So, it’s both important for beginners who are weak in grammar as well as for experienced teachers who want to improve their teaching qualification.
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