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Personally, this course has been an enlightening experience to say the least. As a teacher, it has provided me with the tools and resources to feel more confident about my understanding of my own language and how its complexities should be introduced. I found it particularly helpful to see that almost each unit came with teaching ideas on how to approach certain subjects and what types of activities were the most effective. I think that it's incredibly important that educators communicate with each other what methods they have used and what they have found through experience works or doesn't work for certain materials. The teaching suggestions at the end of each subject felt very personal, particularly with the examples of sentences that students tended to create, and I felt very privileged to be able to read them and look forward to trying out new teaching ideas in the future. This course has also taught me the importance in managing a balance between structure and adaptability in the classroom. The introduction of the lesson plan, with its highly specified time limits and phases seemed like a daunting and somewhat tiring task, whose effectiveness I somewhat doubted. To be honest, I feared that having such a heavily detailed outline would hinder my ability to be spontaneous and adapt to changing moods in the classroom. After filling out the first template, I must honestly admit that I was pleasantly surprised. I found that it was much easier to manage time and stay on task. Furthermore, I noted how much easier it was to be creative and adapt when I had my ideas and goals written out in an organized fashion. It was pleasing to see that writing down my aims for the class, along with anticipated problems and solutions, actually made it much easier to create change when I noted a need for one. The important thing that I learned with this lesson is to look to the template as a reference and not see it as a restriction, in the same way we look to other resources such as textbooks as helps and not hindrances. This course has also reinforced many of my beliefs concerning the role of a teacher as not just an educator, but a mentor. Each unit emphasized the importance of the bond between student in teacher in how it creates a more solid, fulfilling learning process and teaching experience for both parties. I was glad to learn different methods of relating to students and creating a more relaxed, effective learning environment. This course was such a joy and a great learning process. I found that I learned much more than I could have ever imagined, and I feel as though I have a clearer and much deeper understanding of what it means to be a TEFL teacher.
