How we teach TESOL

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 TO BE THE BEST TEACHER THAT YOU CAN YOU MUST

• understand the theory of teaching
• practise teaching in a safe and supportive environment
• watch and analyse other people teaching.  

UNDERSTAND THE THEORY

Successful learning takes place when participants are actively engaged in class. 

The format of our theory sessions involves our course participants so they are working in groups and pairs actively discovering the techniques involved in teaching English. By experiencing demonstrations our trainees get a real sense of what constitutes best practice in the language classroom. We show you "how" by teaching you in the way that we want you to work with your students.  Together we examine cultural and linguistic backgrounds of learners; how to plan and deliver quality lessons; how to manage groups of students effectively; and how to evaluate and adapt teaching materials. This can’t be achieved on-line or just by reading a book.  Even lectures often create passive listeners so their effectiveness can be compromised.

PRACTISE TEACHING

Teaching is a practical skill which is best learnt by doing. 

Teaching practice is central to our training programmes. We provide help in planning your lessons and choosing suitable teaching materials/aids, we observe you teach and, provide detailed and supportive feedback when you have finished each lesson.  You will gain a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.  Your trainer will highlight what you are doing well and they will discuss what has not been effective in the classroom and provide you with strategies on how you can improve in those areas.  

We also encourage you to analyse and evaluate your own teaching so that when your training is finished you can continue to develop on your own.

OBSERVE

Learn from others.

In any learning environment observation of others is key. Sometimes it is difficult to understand how a description or explanation of an activity will look in practice, or when you are teaching to be really aware of what you’re doing and saying.  Watching and analysing other teachers helps you understand approaches, techniques and skills from theory sessions and see why things work (and why they don’t) before you try them in your own lessons.  You will be observing experienced teachers at a leading English language school in Sydney; your own trainers; videos of ELT professionals; and your own peers on the course. This, together with a range of focussed observation tasks, will help you with your lesson planning and teaching practice, as well as the theory you are studying.