Teacher Training Cert TESOL

Course details

This course is designed for the trainee with little or no experience of teaching English in the contemporary ESOL classroom, but with a high level of competence in spoken and written English. It will equip you with the most basic skills and knowledge needed to take up a post as a TESOL teacher and give you a firm foundation for self-evaluation and further professional development.

The Certificate is a minimum requirement for many jobs, and is recognised and regarded highly internationally. Our programme meets the requirements of The British Council Validation Advisory Committee under the English in Britain Accreditation Scheme and our Certificate is validated by Trinity College. We are the only school in Ireland approved by Trinity College London to offer this prestigious qualification course. Atlantic SEAL is also recognised by the the Irish Dept of Education & the CertTESOL also meets their requirements for candidates who wish to work in a recognised English school in Ireland.

This is an initial qualification, although experienced teachers with no recognised qualifications may also find it a useful stepping stone in their careers and professional development.

Course Structure

The course is a short intensive course of four weeks duration, preceded by pre-course tasks, including an introduction to phonemic script, syntactic and lexical tasks and a short introduction to methodology. (This is available either as an attachment on the Internet or as hard copy. In either case it is a requirement to complete it before the beginning of the course. You can return the completed worksheets by Internet or by post or bring them in person at the start of the course. You will be sent this work as soon as we receive your deposit). The course itself includes 130 hours tuition; input, tutorial time and teaching preparation, 6 hours teaching practice and a minimum of six hours of guided observation. The tuition takes the form of lectures, seminars, guided self-study, workshops and observation of experienced teachers. There is also some video and peer-observation.

Course Assessment

Course members are assessed throughout the course for development during teaching practice and professional growth in terms of relationship with learners and colleagues, as well as awareness of their own progress. The Certificate also requires that a certain number of tasks be completed, all with a pedagogical objective in mind. A journal is kept during a five-hour course in Japanese, to provide evidence of a developing awareness of language learning and a communicative methodology.

A profile of a non-native speaker learner is written to provide evidence of an awareness of what is required to analyse learners' needs and how to address them. A compilation of materials is made during teaching practice, to provide a springboard for a discussion with an external moderator and to enable that person to judge how much of TESOL methodology has been acquired. There are also tests in language awareness of English phonology, syntax and vocabulary.

The emphasis is on assessing progress made and not on grading, since six hours behind the wheel is considered too early to make a final judgement on potential teaching ability. Course members are given a lot of support during throughout the course by very experienced staff, particularly during the early teaching practice sessions and during the completion of the required tasks. However, it must be emphasised that this is a very intensive course and cannot be carried out at the same time as other commitments or during times of personal difficulties.