TEFL/TESOL Course Details >

TEFL / TESOL Course Details

For those who have never taught before, the idea of managing a language class (especially if you don’t understand your students’ language) probably appears like a daunting task. In reality…it can be! The internationally recognized TEFL certificate course offered by The Language House has been specifically designed to ease this process.

In one month the course turns apprehensive applicants into confident, professional teachers. However, this in turn equals a lot of hard work, and our TEFL course is more demanding, more hands on and more intense than the industry standard.

Main components of the course are as follows:

• Actual teaching practice with real students
• Teaching practice of a single student
• Acquisition of teaching methodology
• Language awareness
• Observation of experienced teachers
• Non TEFL related material
• Specific Categories of Learning

1. Actual teaching practice with real language students observed by trainers

Teaching length begins at 15-20 minutes and ends with an optional 90-minute practice session. Following every teaching practice, each student has a feedback session with the teacher-trainer where they receive oral and written comments and suggestions. Classes have between 4 to 10 practice students. In total each student will teach 13 individual lessons during the course. All of these lessons are observed and critiqued by actual trainers. Actually having observed teaching with real students is the only way to improve in the classroom. For this reason we have doubled the industry standard of 6 hours of teaching practice to 12-14 hours.

2. Teaching practice of a single student

Since one-on-one teaching is very common in the EFL field, trainees will have to complete at least two 60-minute one to one lessons. We actually put you in contact with students in the city and have you conduct private lessons with them.

3. Acquisition of teaching methodology

Roughly 65% of the classroom workshops involve teaching from the most essential EFL basics to advanced classroom techniques. Interestingly enough, the procedures used to teach the trainees are the procedures that will be used when they teach in the classroom. This makes all the workshops highly dynamic, interactive classrooms, where the trainee doesn’t just read or hear about methodology, but actually has it demonstrated to them. Teaching methodology is demonstrated by video, audio, guest speakers and weekly assignments.

4. Language awareness

Can you tell me three differences between the present perfect continuous and its simple form? Probably not, right? Most intermediate to upper-intermediate English students probably would be able to without a great deal of difficulty. What is surprising, though, is that even many TEFL graduates upon passing other TEFL courses still cannot answer this basic grammatical question. How do we know? We ask it when we interviewed new teachers for our school. Do you know how many inexperienced TEFL graduates have answered the question correctly…..0. All native speakers instinctively know and use grammar properly, while awareness and understanding of English is virtually nonexistent. Many TEFL courses opt to brush over grammar basics or, at times, leave it out completely with the idea that the graduate will pick it up later as they have more experience. This results in teachers who either fail a job interview or who have students with greater grammar knowledge than they have.

Language awareness covers about 1/5 of classroom workshops, which is followed by a comprehensive grammar test. All trainees must score 80% or higher to successfully pass the course. In the event of a fail, each trainee is allowed two chances on equivalent exams, which they can take after the course if necessary.

5. Observation of experienced teachers

Trainees observe a trainer in action at least twice during the course. This serves to show trainees how a productive classroom is supposed to look and sound. The teacher’s lesson plan is synchronized with the methodology that has been taught in the previous workshops. This enables students not only to learn about specific teaching techniques, but also to see them practiced in a real setting. Trainees are given observation worksheets and then give feedback to the trainer on what they saw and what worked. If any trainee wants to observe more teachers teach, that’s not a problem at all. Since we conduct our training in a real language school, there are always other teachers outside of the course that they can watch and learn from.

6. Non TEFL related material

Learning how to teach is only part of the training you receive. The Language House actively prepares you for landing jobs, being interviewed, getting visas, learning Czech, finding a place to live after the course, networking, and everything else needed to survive in a foreign city.