TEFL - Qualified!

We have completed our course and are now qualified efl teachers! We had a great time and met some very interesting people, who I hope we will keep in touch with. The last two days got a bit intense, learning about grammar and different tenses (past/present/participle/continuous, etc...), which was an eye-opener! It’s funny how you take your native language for granted, not ever really needing to break down the structure and principles of that language. The sad thing is, many of us never learnt in detail, how to actually structure the language! It never seemed to be an essential part of the curriculum when I was at school, which I find ridiculous. Just because it comes natural to us, doesn’t mean we know exactly how it works.

We were also given the opportunity to practice our own teaching techniques, by having free rein to conduct our own lessons. Efl teaching is so very practical compared to traditional teaching techniques, I find this extremely refreshing. Efl teaching also suits my approach of being creative in the classroom, and incorporating games into lesson plans. I excelled more in practical subjects at school, such as design and technology, and drama. My perception of teaching and learning was very different before I began the TEFL course. It was always that the teacher would be dictating to the class, and the students recording the teacher’s words in their workbooks. I now realise why I lost interest in learning at school, which makes it extremely frustrating.

Now I have learnt that the best way to teach is to constantly stimulate and interact with your students, incorporating games, songs, and movement, into your lesson plans. You learn from experiences, by doing things, rather than listening to how things are done. The TEFL course has provided me with a lot more confidence, and I can’t wait to use it in a classroom, full of children.