Thread: Tefl?

Originally Posted by Warhammer820

do the TEFL courses really offer enough tips

No no no.

A good TEFL course is all about practice, not just giving you tips. The best TEFL courses are actually taught in the style they would have you teach: student-centered, participatory, experiential learning. A good TEFL course is a proper 'life experience' I tell you. Don't know what else to say, but I know others will tell you the same.

thank you everyone

I would only like to make one broad set of comments.

Statement: I am NOT against anyone getting a TEFL cert and I AM in favor of proper and ongoing professional development within the profession (EFL/ESL and teaching in general).

Having said that, I am NOT a blanket endorser of TEFL certs (of any flavor or brand).

If you are a certified teacher in your home country with an education degreeand planning to head for a young learner environment the average TEFL course (focused on adult learners) is about 1 step above useless.

Get a few books and bone up on the theory then look at trying to locate some TEFL-YL material. Your time will be better spent.

All that in, IF you are looking to work with adults, then a TEFL cert is certainly a good option - even for a certified teacher.

To those nay-sayers who argue in favor of a TEFL cert for everyone rather than a real teaching certification (licensed teacher) ... How many real teachers do you have in your employ (as the employer or hiring committee) or are you still busting your butts in some language school OR have you given up teaching and gone on to other things?

I know who we employ and I am the one who makes the decision.

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You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to ttompatz again.

Funny, I don't remember giving any to ttompatz before.

Very good points. From what I have heard I don't think most TEFL courses prepare that much for teaching children in a typical Thai school. However, I wouldn't want to teach adults in small groups without a TEFL.

Originally Posted by Matthew

The best TEFL courses are actually taught in the style they would have you teach: student-centered, participatory, experiential learning.

With 30-50 students in a classroom much of what works for small groups is of very limited value.

I'm someone who generally promotes the value of a decent TEFL qualification, however ttompatz does make good points and I'd like to add to them. The CELTA course that is globally recognised and often recommended is focussed entirely on teaching adults, although apparently there is a variation that covers teaching kids, you would have to look into it further.
The other big one - that I have - is the Trinity Cert TESOL and this one also touches on teaching the kids. My course was actually an eight week version and even then we barely skimmed the subject, so imagine how much training for teaching kids you'll get on a standard four week course...

You'll probably at least learn something (along with making potential contacts etc.) by doing a decent TEFL course but whether it would actually be truly worthwhile is a different matter if you already have a PGCE, BEd or the like. For newbies without the education degree though the likelihood is in most circumstances it would be a good investment.

Originally Posted by latm

With 30-50 students in a classroom much of what works for small groups is of very limited value.

That's true. Thailand TEFL courses should be oriented towards the reality of TEFLing in Thailand; a robust YL module ought to come standard, as well as approaches to teaching large groups.

Check out the book 'teaching large multi-level classes' for a decent over-all framework when it comes to that.

---Update---

Teaching Large Multilevel Classes | Learning English Together

Ok, so you guys kind of switched opinions on me. Being certified, you all think I should buy books instead of the TEFL course?

I don't think so. I think you should do a course.

Did you say you had an idea about where/who/how long you're gonna teach in Thailand?

Where- Would prefer Bangkok, Sisaket, or Ubon Ratchthani.
Who- I would like elementary or middle school.
How long- Undetermined amount of time. Could be a few years, or it could be much longer.

Originally Posted by latm

Very good points. From what I have heard I don't think most TEFL courses prepare that much for teaching children in a typical Thai school. However, I wouldn't want to teach adults in small groups without a TEFL.

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post
The best TEFL courses are actually taught in the style they would have you teach: student-centered, participatory, experiential learning.
With 30-50 students in a classroom much of what works for small groups is of very limited value.

In my course at SEE, I taught 5 classes K2 through P5 and two one on one sessions with an adult. The smallest class was the K2 with about 15 or so students. The P level classes were all over 30 students. This monitored teaching experience with very good feedback was invaluable to me.