The TEFL Course Details

4 week, 130 hour course - get TEFL certified, get a job, get ready for an experience of a lifetime.

The TEFL Course

The international TEFL course offered at The Language House will give you the training as well as the qualifications you need to enter into the world of English language teaching. The TEFL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) has become a necessary qualification for all teachers who wish to teach English as a foreign language. Whether you are a first-time teacher or an experienced teacher in other subjects, the TEFL certificate will provide you with the necessary skills to manage a productive classroom. The course will teach you the most current knowledge on EFL teaching, give you many hours of teaching practice, and assist you in finding a job in Prague or the rest of the world. For those wishing to pursue a long-term career in the EFL field, the course serves as an excellent foundation for a Master's degree in TESOL and applied linguistics, as well as careers in teacher training and school management.

Our Advantage

Even if you are not interested in staying in Prague, The Language House TEFL program has many advantages that other programs do not or cannot offer. First, because Prague is considerably cheaper than any US or UK city, the course and the cost of living is extremely affordable. Taking an equivalent course in the US, UK, or Canada will approximately equal the same cost as your entire stay in Prague including airfare, accommodations, tuition fees, and spending money. Secondly, Prague's central location in Europe makes it a great jumping point for other European countries.

If you have already decided to stay in Prague, the main advantage with the program is that we are an actual school in Prague with a long history of success. Many programs are only designed to administer TEFL. That means small facilities, little contact with anyone else except other course members, a few teachers, and a little teaching practice (which will involve you traveling to other schools and using their classrooms, if available). The Language House currently employs 20 teachers and has around 400 students. On a daily basis you will be in contact with many teachers and students with whom you can connect and ask advice. Here are some of the benefits which The Language House TEFL course offers:

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 and in one month turns apprehensive applicants into confident, professional teachers. However, this in turn equals a lot of hard work, and our TEFL course is more demanding than most of the other schools in the city.

Main components of the course are as follows:

1. Actual observed teaching practice by our trainers of students at three different language abilities. Teaching length begins at 20 minutes and ends with an optional 90-minute practice sessions. Following this, each student has a one-on-one feedback session with the teacher-trainer where they receive oral and written comments and suggestions. Classes have about 4 to 10 practice students.

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 take you to bank managers and employees in the city and have you conduct private lessons with them.

3. Acquisition of teaching methodology. Roughly 65% of the classroom workshops involve teaching 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 a classroom. This makes all workshops highly dynamic, interactive classrooms, where the trainee just doesn't read or hear about methodology, but actually has it demonstrated on them. Teaching methodology is demonstrated by video, audio, guest speakers, weekly assignments, and field trips.

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 interview new teachers for our school. Do you know how many non-experienced 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 1/3 of classroom workshops, which is followed by a comprehensive grammar test. All trainees must score 80% or higher to successfully pass the course. On the event of a fail, each trainee is allowed two chances on equivalent exams, which they can take after the course.

5. Observation of experienced teachers. Trainees observe a trainer in action on a weekly basis. This serves to show trainees how a productive classroom is supposed to look and sound. The teacher's lesson plan is synchronized with what methodology had been taught in the previous workshops. This enables students to not only to learn about specific teaching techniques, but also 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!

Specific categories that are learned are as follows:

Teacher Mentor Program (TMP). This program is unique to The Language House and was created specifically by teachers to ease the transition from being a trainee to a full-time English teacher. The most stressful, demanding, and important time in your teaching career is during the first two to four weeks of real teaching. Most teachers make the majority of their mistakes during this time period. New teachers are simply not used to teaching different classes at different times and at different places. A second problem is simply a matter of experience. Everything learned in the course will take time before it sinks in and becomes instinctual. This is true for all methodology and grammar. The problem is that you will have the same students for a period of five months to a few years. With practice students, they almost expect you to make mistakes and are not upset when they happen. Real students who have paid a considerable amount of money for private lessons may not be as forgiving.

Trainees who request the teacher mentor program will be given an experienced teacher who will act as their consultant. This includes, but is not limited to, help with grammar, lesson planning, directions to client offices, trouble areas, teaching techniques, as well as finding and exploiting resources. The Teacher Mentor Program begins when you actually start working and lasts for four weeks. No matter what school the teacher decides to work for, all teachers remain applicable as long as they are teaching in Prague.

The cost of the teacher mentor program is an additional 350 USD. The TMP is completely optional. All costs go directly to the teacher mentor who each new teacher is paired with. Furthermore, if a trainee signs up for the TMP, they can at any time change their mind during the TEFL course or afterward and receive 100% of their money back.

Requirements. The course requires the applicants to have University-level reading and writing skills. We also require that applicants have University level schooling and have a (BA/BFA) diploma. However, if the applicant has extensive business experience or teaching experience, exceptions can always be made. The majority of TEFL students range from age 20 to 30, however there is no age limit and it is not uncommon for people beyond their 50's who are looking to try something new to take the course.

If you are not a native speaker, you must have fluent ability in English. It is required that all applicants submit the application form on this site(it can be emailed) and, if you are not a native speaker, have an interview with our director of studies in Prague or one of our other recruiters. If you are located in Prague, you can opt to have the interview in person. For other candidates, the interview will be over the phone.

Grades. Grades for the class are evaluated based on teaching performance, completion of exercises, attendance, professional attitude, growth, participation, teacher-trainer observations, student evaluations, and the grammar exam. The criteria for the grades are listed below:

Teaching performance. The level and effectiveness of how you teach. Emphasis on using TEFL methodology as well as creativity. Marks are also based on lesson planning.

Completion of exercises. Involves completing all homework/workshop assignments correctly and on time.

Professionalism. Trainees are required to dress and act in a professional manner. While practice teaching trainees are required to wear nice clothes (collared shirts, no tennis shoes). Trainees are also graded on their general attitude with the program. Of course, if a student has a problem or a complaint about the course, this will not effect their grade.

Growth. Students are also graded on their personal teaching growth. This includes confidence, understanding of teaching concepts, and overcoming initial problems with teaching.

Participation. Students are required to participate and be active during course discussions and workshops.

Teacher-trainer observations. You are required to attend at least one observation a week along with thoughtfully completing an observation sheet.

Student evaluations. Trainees are graded on how well their practice students thought they did and whether they would take a course with this teacher.

Grammar test. All trainees must score at least an 80% on a grammar test that is given during the last week of the course. If a student fails the test, they will have two more chances to get a successful pass. Assistance will be given to any student who is worried about the test or needs extra help.

Attendance. The Language House is very sympathetic with the stress, fatigue, and unexpected problems that can arise while living in a foreign country and how these factors affect attendance. However, the course is very demanding and student teachers will inevitably fall behind if workshops or other activities are missed. Student teachers are required to attend all classes. Student teachers who miss over 80% of the course without the consent of the head teacher trainer, course manager, or the director of the school, will receive an immediate fail for the course. The rule being that a student teacher who cannot attend his or her own teacher training course will probably not be able to attend his or her own work. All missed class activities must be made up by the trainee before any certificates are given.