How to get the most out of your TEFL course

As a TEFL trainee, you need to be organised and disciplined. Come along ready to work hard and have great fun. Keep your files up to date, know where all your papers are and be able to access them easily. Mislaying vital papers is terribly stressful and wastes an awful lot of time.

Make friends on your TEFL course. A lot of students make new friends for life and this is a great opportunity to meet like minded people like you who are looking for life’s next adventure. Who knows … you may find your first TESOL job together!

Be supportive to the others on the TEFL course but realise that you cannot support someone through it. The course will take all your energy and you will not have too much to spare for anybody else. Equally you must be independent and realise that you cannot lean too much on your colleagues.

Talk to your tutor. If you have a problem or are worried about anything, you will find your tutor will always have a listening ear. Remember the old saying, ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’. Your tutor may not be able to do your assignment for you, but there are lots of instances where they can help out.

Listen to the tutor carefully. They will have been in TESOL training for many years. If they tell you to do something, do it that evening. If you leave it until a few days later, you may find yourself with another task to do as well by then.

Get to know the foreign students. The more you get to know them, the more friendly faces you will see in front of you when you come to teach. Also you will learn more about their culture and customs and so appreciate their difficulties too, a vital quality as a TESOL teacher.

Learn from your colleagues’ lessons. Make sure you watch as many EFL lessons as you can as reflecting on other peoples teaching techniques will help you. Remember you can learn as much, if not more, from a bad lesson as from a good one, so it is never wasted time.

Don’t be defensive. Be prepared to take constructive criticism of your lessons. Tutors want to support you fully and help you to improve and succeed in your new TEFL career. Mistakes are to learn from and we can all benefit from reflecting and developing from feedback.

Meet all deadlines. They are there to help you complete the TEFL course and are spaced out to give you adequate time for each one. However if you do have a problem, please talk to the tutor well in advance to find a strategy to help you. We all want you to pass your TEFL certificate.

Be punctual. This is a professional qualification and we need to see that you are able to become a TEFL teacher and recommend you for your first job in TESOL. Your behaviour is important if we are to give you a glowing reference at the end of the course.

Consider your appearance. There is no dress code on the TEFL course and you can be casually dressed. But please remember that you are to be a teacher and your dress should be respectful to our foreign students.

Get enough sleep, food and fresh air. Your health is paramount on the course. Skipping meals or going to bed in the small hours will not help you in the long run. Make sure you eat well, go to bed at a reasonable time and yes, go for that walk!

And the final day … your TEFL certificate is in sight! People usually say it was a very hard four weeks but that they enjoyed it immensely. It is challenging but so very rewarding. And at the end, if you succeed, you are a qualified EFL teacher – the world is your oyster!

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If you wish to proceed with an application please go to TEFL enrolment