Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Tiancunlu Jiedao? Are you interested in teaching English in Beijing? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
Before deciding to take the TEFL course from ittt, I had been a teacher in korea for almost two years. I had thought I knew all there was to know, having taught classes ranging from 5 year olds to adult aged students. I had also taught every skill level and every class type, from grammar to conversation. This TEFL course has completely changed both my attitude towards teaching english and the way in which I conduct my classes. Many of the lessons here really hit home, such as the video units that showed the bad lesson with the good. I am humble enough to admit that the first video definitely reminded me of my earlier attempts at teaching students (and sadly, some of my most recent). The units dealing with making a lesson plan have helped me tremendously in regards to planning and executing lessons. Before beginning this course I admit I had no plan whatsoever (besides what the teacher?s edition told me) on what I was going to teach. I was definitely a fly by the seat of my pants kind of teacher. Now that I have begun to plan my lessons in the various ways taught here (straight arrow, patchwork, etc.) my lessons go much more smoothly and the children and adults seem to enjoy them more. I have learned the importance of preparation and the fact that a prepared teacher not only appears more professional in the students? eyes, but it also instills confidence in them. The units dealing with teaching the receptive and productive skills were loaded with information and activities when teaching reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. These units not only gave me great activity ideas but also gave me helpful tips on dealing with students who are having trouble learning these important skills. The grammar lessons were very helpful, and while I have a background in english literature and grammar, some of the activities suggested for teaching these parts of speech will (and have!) come in handy in future lessons. I think the most important thing that I have learned whilst participating in this TEFL course is that it is not extremely important for an EFL teacher to use course books and word searches exclusively in their lessons. By using fun, home-made activities and teaching aides a teacher can produce a much more interesting and stimulating lesson than by relying on the busy work that most course books provide. This will not only allow the teacher to use their creative skills in a real world environment, but will let the children relax and enjoy the process of learning english. Finally, after taking this course I have realized that while most english teacher recruiting companies (and most native school administrators) love to espouse the fact that ?anyone who speaks english? can teach it to native students, the truth is quite the opposite. A person is not a ?good? english teacher because they have the ability to speak it. An effective english teacher is one who is motivated, trained, and professional in all aspects of the job. They are individuals who take great pride in their work and only wish to see their students succeed on their journey to learn the world language.
