We work with some amazing people, don’t we? That’s why we employed them, right? Of course, all the teachers working with us have real strengths and they also have their weaknesses too.

We typically recruit with a wish-list; qualified, experienced teachers with appropriate legal status and, also, naturally, knowledge of exam preparation, strong classroom management skills and, most importantly, a passion for teaching across all ages and levels. Does that sound familiar? We don’t ask for much, do we? It’s very unusual to find the ideal candidate and sometimes all the boxes are ticked except for the qualification. Our teachers might have had some initial training, there’s plenty to choose from, but we know when it’s not one of the ones we want and so do the teachers.

“Managing in TEFL” is a fortnightly companion for language school leaders written by Simon Pearlman and brought to you by Active Language Teacher Training, providers of Trinity DipTESOL and CertTESOL and Teaching Younger Learners courses. This edition focuses on our 24-week online CertTESOL course and how it can benefit your team.

“The important thing is that they have a certificate, is it important which one?”

Are all TEFL courses basically the same? Are courses from TEFL.org or the TEFL Academy the same as the Trinity CertTESOL or the Cambridge equivalent, CELTA? No, they are not the same, crucially the Trinity and Cambridge courses both contain real teaching practice with real students, teaching practice that forms the backbone of the qualification which is guided and assessed by professional tutors, and that is just the start of it. Ask the teachers you work with about their experiences on their courses and you will tell the difference straight away.

Are the CertTESOL and CELTA courses perfect? Of course not, there’s plenty to improve and much depends on the specific centre and the people working on that course. It is however the minimum qualification teachers who are serious about the job should have, most do, some don’t.

“How would it benefit the school and the business?”

We want serious, engaged, professional teachers in our classes working with our students and being CertTESOL qualified means you're getting teachers who have worked hard for their qualification and who have a strong basic teaching knowledge, you’re getting committed professionals. If the teachers are good, the students will be happy and happy students mean a successful language school. We want to have the best teachers working for the good of our students and for the good of the business.

“They should do the course but they just don’t have time”

Teachers are busy people; they work with us, they often work online too and then there’s the other stuff of life too. Even during the summer they are often working summer camps or intensive courses. Many TEFLers are time poor and don’t have a spare 4 or 6 weeks to take an intensive course. There isn’t time during the academic year or during the “holidays”, how can working teachers get enough time available to take the course?

There are very few courses that cater for the working teacher, the 24-week course does. It is designed with working teachers in mind, they need a course that can fit around existing commitments whether they be family, work or other things.

The commitment on the 24-week Trinity CertTESOL is about 9 hours a week, usually one 3-hour session live online and other hours are delivered through the platform and can be accessed whenever works for each person. It’s this level of flexibility that means that most working teachers can find the time, they can work it into their existing timetable.

The 24-week course is sustainable even for busy teachers.

“Surely an in-class is better than a course online?”

The course content and the course requirements are exactly the same no matter how the course is delivered so Trinity College London only awards one type of certificate. It’s the same for all successful graduates from the courses.

Teachers know about teaching in-class but might have less experience teaching groups online, on an online course, teachers can learn new skills which they can take into the physical environment too. Also, teaching principles are the same irrespective of where they are taught and whether the course is delivered online or in-class we spend time talking about both modes of teaching. It could also benefit your business as teachers learn new skills.

“Things change during the year, can the course be flexible?”

Someone wise said that one of the few certainties is that everything changes and the lives of the teachers who work with us are no exception. We build flexibility into the course and expect changes as we move through. We work hard to adapt to different people’s circumstances and expect the unexpected; this is part of Active Language being an inclusive course provider.

“They’re already good teachers, how much will they learn?”

All teachers who come through the course will learn and develop enormously. Some people on the course have no direct TEFL experience, others have several years under their belt already. The minimum expectation is that graduates can plan, prepare, deliver and reflect adequately on their lessons but there is no limit to where it can go, the tutors will take each individual to their teaching ceiling, to see how far they can go.

Everyone improves their teaching on our CertTESOL course.

“What about the cost, 1500€ is a lot of money for teachers?”

Very few working TEFLers have that sort of money sitting in their bank accounts to spend on training. Again, as an inclusive course provider, we want to make the course accessible on a financial level too. There are a number of things we can do and there are some others that you might be able to help with.

We offer one full 50% scholarship on each Trinity CertTESOL course we run, it’s aimed at teachers who wouldn’t be able to afford the course otherwise. We can also work out individual payment plans so teachers can spread the cost over time at no extra cost.

There are other things you can do to help. Teachers massively appreciate support in funding courses of this type. You can agree to pay for the course and then deduct an amount agreed with them each month until the fees are paid. Schools often ask teachers to stay until the end of the academic year when it’s all paid for. This works for the teacher, they are often extremely grateful for the support. It also works for the school as they are essentially guaranteed that the teacher will stay for another year or so.

If cost feels like an excluding factor, talk to us to see if we can help.

"What about beyond the course?"

Active Language offers unrivalled post-course career-long support. We actively keep in contact with graduates to continue to provide them with the help and advice they might need.

This can extend to language schools too. Please contact us to discuss any bespoke training needs you might have for your school beyond the Trinity CertTESOL.

 

Help your teaching team and imrove your language school at the same time with the 24-week, 100% online Trinity CertTESOL course with us at Active Language Teacher Training

For more information, please visit www.activelanguage.net or contact us at training@activelanguage.net