Teach English in LiujiAge Zhen - Xiaogan Shi

A TEFL course is undertaken by individuals that would like to teach English as a foreign language. Completing a TEFL course is important as the course teaches aspiring teachers the key skills they would need to teach the English language in the best manner possible. Students or rather learners come from various backgrounds and have varied life experiences. There are several factors that need to be kept in consideration while dealing with students such as age, prior learning experience, motivation to learn, ability to take feedback and awareness of the language. A teacher would need to consider all of these factors when deciding the role they would like to play in their individual classroom. Based on the level the students of a class are at, the teacher tends to take on the role required to be able to engage and train the students. The manner in which a teacher uses his or her voice, maintains eye contact and uses gestures plays a great role in classroom management as well as building the student - teacher relationship. The TEFL course explains how each of these elements play a part in building a good teacher and an even greater learning experience for the students. Several possible scenarios have been highlighted such as the situations in which using or learning student names can be helpful while organizing activities and managing a classroom. Factors such as grouping strategies and classroom arrangement also tend to become a great aid. However, gestures and tone of voice alone are not enough in creating an engaging and stimulating classroom environment. Different types of equipment and teaching aids are available in order to help learners of different levels to reach their full potential and smoothen the learning process. Projectors, videos, cue cards, worksheets and online sources are just some of the many resources that are often available to teachers of ESL. These aids help break the monotony of regular classroom lectures and foster learning. In addition to learning about the various methods that can be used to build the teacher – student relationship, the TEFL course plays an important role in highlighting some of the important aspects of Grammar that need to be taught to learners of the English language. On completing the TEFL course, the teacher would have a deeper understanding of the different variations that are present in past, present and future tenses. These tenses form the foundation of the English language and help in creating proper sentence structure and clarity of meaning. The TEFL course highlights the intricacies such as the form and usage methods of the different tenses. It also presents the teacher with ideas on how grammar can be instilled in the minds of learners of English as a Foreign Language. Another aspect of grammar that was stressed upon during the TEFL course was Modal & Phrasal Verbs and Passive Voices. By learning about Modal verbs the teacher can teach the students about introducing different extents of formality while conversing. In addition to grammar and building the teacher – learner rapport, the course plays an important role in providing ideas and counter – techniques to various situations that may occur in the teaching – learning process. When it comes to teaching a new language, having a well thought – out lesson plan plays a great role in ensuring that portion is completed in time. However, time management is not the only benefit obtained from learning how to create a lesson plan. A lesson plan helps create a framework to guide feedback collection in the future as well as helps maintain a list of different activities and aids that can used to explain specific concepts in a more engaging manner. This builds the confidence of the teacher and in turn increases the confidence of the learner. While lesson plans provide flexibility for the teacher, they need to be created while keep in mind the characteristics of the different types of student groups that would be present in class. For example, a one - style fits all approach would not be suitable for teaching children and adult learners. The activities and teaching style needs to be modified based on the learning capabilities of each group. However, despite having a well thought – out lesson plan, teachers may be faced with certain challenges during the course of their class. Some common problems that arise are large class sizes, fewer classroom resources and non – motivated students. This course provides frameworks and strategies to tackle these problems in the most effective manner. In conclusion, a TEFL course is very important for an individual that would like to teach English as a foreign language as it provides them with a clearer understanding of what to expect while teaching, including the challenges and possible solutions to certain problems. The course helps bridge the gap of inexperience with knowledge and ideas.