Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zhaoxiang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Shanghai Shi? 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.
Why Complete a TEFL courseWhy complete a TEFL course? There are a number of reasons why a native english-speaker might undertake a TEFL course. Firstly, it can provide the skills to allow a person to live and work in another country, where it might otherwise be difficult to find employment. By living abroad, one has the opportunity to experience a foreign culture on a level that would not otherwise be possible if simply visiting on holiday. Completing a recognized TEFL course has many travel, employment, personal growth and development opportunities. Gaining this certification creates a beginning into the focus of teaching non- english speakers and can provide many rewarding and potentially life-changing experiences. While travelling and teaching not only is there an expectation to help others learn but the probability of learning about new cultures. The potential growth in knowledge of english grammar and learning how to teach others is challenging and rewarding. Learning more about the english language the TEFL course helps you increase language awareness in the rules of grammar and phonology from parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives and verbs to learning how to correctly form sentences. Reflecting on our past knowledge of learning english and being able to understand how our own language is used is rewarding and challenging. Learning methods of teaching and learning the various roles of a teacher such as being a manager, organizer assessor, prompter, participant, tutor, facilitator, model and observer is vital to understand in order to be successful in the class room. It is also important to know when to combine these roles depending on the class activities or student requirements. While there are various aspects involved in teaching students how to communicate in english, there is the opportunity to teach about english speaking cultures. A TEFL course not only offers an opportunity for a deeper understanding of english grammar, but also offers the needed tools to create the best conditions for learning, taking into consideration various methodologies as well as different student populations. The added structured lesson plans included in the units provides teachers or even beginner teachers who are starting out with a solid knowledge to conduct good lessons. Another, perhaps overlooked skill refined through a TEFL course is knowledge of phonetics. This branch of study is less than transparent, and native speakers may have never had to call on the phonetic alphabet for assistance yet the students of english will benefit from the incorporation of not only the alphabet but also other phonetic exercises dealing with pronunciation.TEFL courses can also provide lifelong support and advice to their successful students, concerning job applications, information on various countries or cultures as well as offering the opportunity to gain further qualifications such as Business english, english for Younger Learners or other more advanced certificates. Subsequently, it adheres to the adage of learning being a lifelong process. To reiterate, why do a TEFL? It encompasses so much other than having the opportunity to teach and travel. Being exposed to different countries and cultures and getting to work with kids. Personally, I believe there is no other way to gain the skills required in the classroom, except with a significant amount of teaching practice. This is where I feel that most TEFL courses succeed because they are teaching-driven, rather than being academically driven. A number of organizations run on- line TEFL courses, which involve a limited amount of teacher-student contact time and no classroom experience. They tend to focus on the academic aspects of teaching rather than the reality of it. The danger is that the students who take these inferior courses are selling themselves short. Once they arrive in the classroom, they have little idea of how to teach or what to expect, other than some very basic techniques. Honestly, I believe that any teacher wanting to experience, enhance and embark on a successful teaching career must complete a TEFL course. It will equip them with the necessary knowledge and techniques to be successful.
