TEFL Review from Rodney
This TEFL review is from Rodney. He is originally from Jamaica but currently living and working in Japan. He recently completed our 120-hour TEFL/TESOL course online and had a great experience. He realized the importance of an internationally recognized TEFL/TESOL certification and decided to go for it. After completing the course, he received a range of new opportunities, especially in teaching English online. He cannot recommend this course enough to anyone who is interested in teaching English.
Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next.
Unit 19
Teaching Special Groups
1. Beginners
2. Individuals
3. Young Learners (Children)
4. English For Specialized Purposes (Business English)
5. Monolingual / Multilingual Types Of Classes Of Any Age ? Sub Category
1. Teaching Beginners
2. The Absolute Of Beginners
3. The False Beginners
4. The Adult Beginner
5. The Beginner With Out Roman Alphabet Tips - Keep it simple - Visual rather than verbal - A lot of talk time - Pair work - Praise, support - Respond to individuals - Be patent - Play many games - No over correcting - Individuals Tips - Needs analysis - What they already know; want to know - What their interest is - Add variety & change approach - Cover all skills Young Learners Tips - Praise - Drill; Repeat - Keep it slow and simple - Prepare a lot of activities - Keep it fun - Reference individuals A Summary Of Teaching The Above Classes Absolute beginners in English can be distinguished from false beginner.
Absolute beginners are learners which have had no or very little English instructio.
False beginners are English learners who have studied English in school - often for a number of years - but never acquired any real grasp of the languag.
False beginners will often pick up speed as they remember past lesson.
Absolute beginners, on the other hand, will progress slowly and acquire each point methodicall.
If teachers jump ahead in the order, or begin to include language that absolute learners are not familiar with, things can become confusing quickl.
Teaching absolute beginners requires the teacher to pay special attention to the order in which new language is introduce.
The teacher lesson plan plays an essential role in making sure that new grammar is introduced slowly and successfully to take students from speaking no English at all, to being able to fulfill basic communication needs including; giving personal information, and describing their daily routines and the world around the.
Adult Learners may: ? Represent a wide range of educational background.
They may have from little to no formal education in their native language, to completion of university and advanced degrees in their native language.
In addition, they may or may not have some previous education in English and/or in the United State.
? Be goal-oriented and highly motivate.
They have come to you for a specific reaso.
Their goal(s) may be long or short ter.
They should be involved in sharing and setting their learning goal.
? Bring different skills, interests, backgrounds, and life experiences to the learning situatio.
They have rich life experiences, and the instructor should capitalize on this diversity in the learning environmen.
? Want or need immediate applicatio.
Adult learners need to apply what they are learnin.
The learning tasks must be practical, have a clear purpose, and directly relate to their everyday live.
? Have different learning style.
Adult learners often relate to their previous educational experience.
Some may learn by doing, others by listening, speaking, reading, or writin.
Many students learn better when there are visuals (pictures) or realia (real things, such as articles of clothing) to us.
? Be very bus.
They may work more than one job in addition to going to school and taking care of their familie.
They may be tired during class and have difficulty staying on task for long periods of tim.
? Have different levels of proficienc.
Student levels may differ in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in both their first and second language.
? Have a poor self-concep.
Many people do not see themselves as learner.
Some do not think they can learn or that they know how to lear.
Advantages and Challenges of Teaching Multi-Classes When faced with the challenge of a multi-level classroom many teachers do not know where to star.
They fear that the preparation will take much longer, and that the students will be more demandin.
Schools that have multi-level classes often have limited budgets, and teachers may fear that they will not be paid for what they are wort.
However, it is only by looking at the advantages of the multi-level classroom and employing strategies to overcome the challenges, that teachers can achieve succes.
Advantages of Multi-level classrooms ? Students are able to learn at their own pace ? Students learn to work well in a group ? Students become independent learners ? Students develop strong relationships with their peers ? Students become partners in learning Challenges of Multi-level classrooms ? Finding appropriate teaching resources and material ? Organizing appropriate groupings within the class ? Building an effective self-access centre in the classroom ? Determining the individual needs of each student ? Ensuring that all students are challenged and interested ? Enforcing English only policies when teacher is occupied and students are working in small groups or pairs Determining the Needs of Your Students One of the first things you should do when assigned to a multi-classrooms is determine the needs of the individual member.
If possible, this should be done before the first clas.
There are a variety of ways to conduct needs assessment, depending on the size of the class, and your access to an office and a compute.
Many schools use a standardized test for new student.
While this may help teachers determine the language level of the students in the multi-level class, standardized tests cannot determine the personal needs of the individual student.
For small classes it is useful to invite students into the office for a quick chat to determine what your students' objectives are (e.
improving writing skills, learning conversational English, understanding of rules and grammar.
Students may not know the answer to this, so it is a good idea to create a list that they can pick fro.
You may give the option of picking a primary and a secondary reaso.
Here are some examples that could be placed in a list for students to choose from: ? To improve my speaking skills ? To get into college ? To use for travelling ? To become a future teacher ? To learn the rules of grammar ? To please my parents
1. Beginners
2. Individuals
3. Young Learners (Children)
4. English For Specialized Purposes (Business English)
5. Monolingual / Multilingual Types Of Classes Of Any Age ? Sub Category
1. Teaching Beginners
2. The Absolute Of Beginners
3. The False Beginners
4. The Adult Beginner
5. The Beginner With Out Roman Alphabet Tips - Keep it simple - Visual rather than verbal - A lot of talk time - Pair work - Praise, support - Respond to individuals - Be patent - Play many games - No over correcting - Individuals Tips - Needs analysis - What they already know; want to know - What their interest is - Add variety & change approach - Cover all skills Young Learners Tips - Praise - Drill; Repeat - Keep it slow and simple - Prepare a lot of activities - Keep it fun - Reference individuals A Summary Of Teaching The Above Classes Absolute beginners in English can be distinguished from false beginner.
Absolute beginners are learners which have had no or very little English instructio.
False beginners are English learners who have studied English in school - often for a number of years - but never acquired any real grasp of the languag.
False beginners will often pick up speed as they remember past lesson.
Absolute beginners, on the other hand, will progress slowly and acquire each point methodicall.
If teachers jump ahead in the order, or begin to include language that absolute learners are not familiar with, things can become confusing quickl.
Teaching absolute beginners requires the teacher to pay special attention to the order in which new language is introduce.
The teacher lesson plan plays an essential role in making sure that new grammar is introduced slowly and successfully to take students from speaking no English at all, to being able to fulfill basic communication needs including; giving personal information, and describing their daily routines and the world around the.
Adult Learners may: ? Represent a wide range of educational background.
They may have from little to no formal education in their native language, to completion of university and advanced degrees in their native language.
In addition, they may or may not have some previous education in English and/or in the United State.
? Be goal-oriented and highly motivate.
They have come to you for a specific reaso.
Their goal(s) may be long or short ter.
They should be involved in sharing and setting their learning goal.
? Bring different skills, interests, backgrounds, and life experiences to the learning situatio.
They have rich life experiences, and the instructor should capitalize on this diversity in the learning environmen.
? Want or need immediate applicatio.
Adult learners need to apply what they are learnin.
The learning tasks must be practical, have a clear purpose, and directly relate to their everyday live.
? Have different learning style.
Adult learners often relate to their previous educational experience.
Some may learn by doing, others by listening, speaking, reading, or writin.
Many students learn better when there are visuals (pictures) or realia (real things, such as articles of clothing) to us.
? Be very bus.
They may work more than one job in addition to going to school and taking care of their familie.
They may be tired during class and have difficulty staying on task for long periods of tim.
? Have different levels of proficienc.
Student levels may differ in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in both their first and second language.
? Have a poor self-concep.
Many people do not see themselves as learner.
Some do not think they can learn or that they know how to lear.
Advantages and Challenges of Teaching Multi-Classes When faced with the challenge of a multi-level classroom many teachers do not know where to star.
They fear that the preparation will take much longer, and that the students will be more demandin.
Schools that have multi-level classes often have limited budgets, and teachers may fear that they will not be paid for what they are wort.
However, it is only by looking at the advantages of the multi-level classroom and employing strategies to overcome the challenges, that teachers can achieve succes.
Advantages of Multi-level classrooms ? Students are able to learn at their own pace ? Students learn to work well in a group ? Students become independent learners ? Students develop strong relationships with their peers ? Students become partners in learning Challenges of Multi-level classrooms ? Finding appropriate teaching resources and material ? Organizing appropriate groupings within the class ? Building an effective self-access centre in the classroom ? Determining the individual needs of each student ? Ensuring that all students are challenged and interested ? Enforcing English only policies when teacher is occupied and students are working in small groups or pairs Determining the Needs of Your Students One of the first things you should do when assigned to a multi-classrooms is determine the needs of the individual member.
If possible, this should be done before the first clas.
There are a variety of ways to conduct needs assessment, depending on the size of the class, and your access to an office and a compute.
Many schools use a standardized test for new student.
While this may help teachers determine the language level of the students in the multi-level class, standardized tests cannot determine the personal needs of the individual student.
For small classes it is useful to invite students into the office for a quick chat to determine what your students' objectives are (e.
improving writing skills, learning conversational English, understanding of rules and grammar.
Students may not know the answer to this, so it is a good idea to create a list that they can pick fro.
You may give the option of picking a primary and a secondary reaso.
Here are some examples that could be placed in a list for students to choose from: ? To improve my speaking skills ? To get into college ? To use for travelling ? To become a future teacher ? To learn the rules of grammar ? To please my parents
