Teach English in SongjiAng Zhen - Hengyang Shi

In a world where globalization is leading the rules of the job market, it is often difficult to find the ideal job you are looking for. Not to find, but to pursue it. Everything is in constant evolution, everybody is overqualified and, despite of being a top-notch candidate, in line with the job you desire, sometimes you are not the best fit. In a world where you have to reinvent yourself and look for your personal opportunity, taking a TEFL/TESOL course it is probably the best idea you can have. As a matter of fact, a TEFL/TESOL course is the first step to a career as teacher of English as a second language, abroad. The course could be taken both online and face to face. In both cases, it covers a lot of topics: not only English grammar and pronunciation techniques, but also lesson planning and classroom management. This course could be a very turning point in the teaching/learning process, especially for those teachers who have learned English through a grammar-translation methodology. This is based on a comparison between the native L1 language and the target language L2, therefore it does not really develop the speaking, but only the memorization of new terms in the target language, which is not a natural process. However, this course provides with one of the best tools to teach (and learn) a new language: the ESA methodology (ENGAGE, STUDY, ACTIVATE), promoted by the author and teacher Jeremy Harmer. Once chosen the topic of the lesson, through a first phase of Engagement, the students are encouraged to think and try to speak in the language taught. It is the teacher who has to foster their creativity and arouse their interest. Then, during the Study stage, the students will be focused on the construction of the language, so they will really learn it: they will be given worksheets or other activities in order to prove their knowledge. The best part of this methodology, however, is the last part, the Activate phase, during which the students will create and use their own language through different ways (role-plays, surveys, etc). By doing so, the students are encouraged to use all the language they know. This course has provided me with the necessary skills and a universal method to teach not only English, but also other languages. During my first practices as ESL teacher, it turned out to be very successful: the students react very well to it, because they are the main characters of the learning process. The best satisfaction for a teacher is to see them practicing the language step by step, without being stuck in the grammar. In addition, this method gives the teacher a lot of flexibility in the classroom. The teacher will take the students to the point where they can use the language, starting from a learning objective which will be the focus of the whole lesson. This course has taught me that theory is important, but the learning process is also about how personally you come across students. The teacher can have many roles, but being empathetic and open-minded is the best a student can ever get. The teacher can be a perfect “executor” of method and contents. However, the best teacher should always stay human, be flexible and interactive. He/She should be able to establish rapport with the students, find out about them, their needs, aspirations, apart from their English level. Also, the teacher should be aware of the students customs and cultural differences and help build confidence. Being enthusiastic and passionate about the subject is fundamental, but also being encouraging and sensitive with the students. A teacher should care about students but above all their learning, so keeping them motivated is the key. The grammar is definitely important and useful to speak and write correctly, but before doing that, the students, supported by the teacher, have to pass through a learning process, which is made of discoveries, imagination, attempts, fun, personal achievement and team work at the same time. This is the best that I have definitely learned from this course.