Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified in Minnesota? Are you interested in teaching English in East Pointe, Minnesota? Check out our opportunities in East Pointe, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English in your community or abroad! Teflonline.net offers a wide variety of Online TESOL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Here Below you can check out the feedback (for one of our units) of one of the 16.000 students that last year took an online course with ITTT!
In this unit we were introduced to several categories of information: some characteristics of good teachers and of good students, the nine roles of the teacher in the classroom, the four different age groups of learners and the factors that may affect their learning styles, and a breakdown of the levels of English language ability. The unit wrapped up with some common motivating factors for attending an English course, and with a final comment on the importance of making each lesson interesting, enjoyable, varied, and useful, so that students will maintain or (hopefully) build upon their initial motivation.
The most important aspect of this section - for me personally - was being able to put a name to the nine roles of the teacher in the classroom and therefore having a clearer idea of the actions involved in these roles. Knowing that in some cases a focus on the teacher (in the role of Manager or Model) is necessary but is most effective when balanced with more interactive roles such as Participant or Facilitator, will be very useful in the creation of an effective learning environment. Related to this, the breakdown of learners into the four age groups (from very young learners to adults), together with their different motivating factors, language experience, and general behaviour was invaluable. For example, knowing that very young learners respond best to play situations, that the actions of older teenagers are often affected by peer pressure, and that adults often come with fixed expectations, can help teachers effectively plan lessons and activities that will help each type of learner progress effectively and stay motivated and interested.
In conclusion, this unit was useful as it provided details of several different factors that are important to keep in mind when teaching English. Doing this when planning lessons and when interacting with students will ensure an effective and enjoyable language learning experience.
