Is a certification worth it? 8 reasons to get trained up before you teach
In this Episode…
Common acronym confusion: the difference between TEFL, TESOL and CELTA
How the CELTA course compares to a “TEFL certificate”
Exactly how training helps you rock interviews and demo lessons
Shannon’s first TEFL job interview (and how it could have gone horribly)
Why using industry jargon matters- it’s so much more than street cred
Why you don’t need to start from scratch- how methodology gives you structure
Why so many prospective teachers don’t even realize how much they don’t know
The essential resources you get when you invest in training
Learning through example as opposed to explanation
Teaching beyond the course book
Why having a “development mentality” matters
Why the best aspect of training is also the least comfortable
Observing other lessons and understanding what you’re seeing
How the benefits of training translate even outside the classroom
The giant, unexpected presentation Lauren had to give, and how her training saved her
“You don’t have to make it up! There is no ‘from zero.’ There are ways to teach lessons and you can learn those ways, so you don’t have to make it up as you go. Getting a certification gives you structure. And it gives you knowledge to go into that first year of teaching.”
Show notes
You speak English fluently. That’s enough of a qualification to teach ESL, isn’t it? What more do you need? Is a course like CELTA really worth the investment?
While being proficient in English is definitely the place to start, there’s a lot more to being a good ESL teacher. In this episode, we discuss eight different reasons you’ll want to get some quality training before you step into the classroom.
“There is something so powerful and so helpful about making mistakes.
(. . .) There is nothing as memorable as a room full of people staring at you with blank looks on their faces and knowing ‘ok, that did not work’ and then being able to talk about it with your peers on the course and your trainer afterwards and why it didn’t work and what you can do next time to make it work better.
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