Outline

What can you expect from this unit?

The units for the Advanced Certificate in TESOL are somewhat different to the ones that you have completed so far. In the basic certificate course, you were being coached towards learning about the problems faced by ‘Speakers of Other Languages’ when confronted by English. You were not being taught the content of a book, rather you were being sensitized and then expected to apply this knowledge to situations that you may face ‘in the field’. In the earlier work you had various scenarios played out in front of you for comment and discussion.

Generally those persons taking up the Advanced Certificate in TESOL coursework, [ and more so with the Diploma and Advanced Diploma in TESOL] will have already worked with learners, as a TESOL teacher, or they already have teaching or other degree qualifications. For these reasons the work in these units is much more of an academic nature, in that it discusses rather than enacts. That does not mean that it is not of a practical nature or lacks relevance to a TESOL environment. Quite the contrary. You are about to be challenged by us you to search inwards and self examine. Where you feel there are personal knowledge gaps you are expected to have the maturity to acknowledge these and search independently. Your coordinator will of course be there help, but rest assured they should not be your first port of call! Their expectation would be for you to be bringing evidence to them and asking for assistance to solve dilemmas, rather than seeing them as being a primary resource. Yes just like taking a higher, five year degree at University.

By now your personal library will have, at the very least, TESOL teaching texts from Introductory to Advanced, a comprehensive English dictionary, a thesaurus and a dictionary of English Idioms would also be included, alongside an advanced book on grammar and structure. You can see from these expectations that you are no longer seen as a beginning teacher. Having a laptop computer is always useful, some would say essential, but you can get by if you have a compact storage device, that you can link up to your school’s machines.

The Advanced Certificate in TESOL does not specialise, for it is aimed at moving you forwards a stage in your career and expects you to currently be able to teach any level of English communication. Later in Advanced Diploma studies you will be guided towards preparing students for IELTS exams. Actually, the teachers at the beginning of a students learning of English, will have an enormous influence on them, especially on their pronunciation. What is learned badly early, is very hard to undo later! It is absolutely essential and this cannot be stressed enough, to model correct speech and refrain from slang. Speak slowly, clearly and distinctly and model. Yes you will also need to tactfully correct, do it by modeling and asking for feed back. Not at the expense of any one student, but don’t let bad speech habits and poor pronunciation become established, for you will have (or your colleagues, who will resent your lack of effort) enormous difficulties changing established patterns and it’s grossly unfair on your students, who have learned to trust you!

Outcomes

It’s a given that the students of the Advanced TESOL Certificate course work, will themselves be trained and experienced TESOL teachers. The stated business aim of English Explorer is to develop the inherent skills of native English speakers and equip them with classroom delivery confidence. This training and development will enable them to teach conversational English to small groups or to individuals, in a non English speaking environment.

Many of the major language schools that have franchised outlets around the world conduct their own assimilation courses, since all schools in the group use the same texts and methods. However there are very many cases where this does not happen and trainers need to be confident to be able to conduct sessions and record progress without an established protocol being in place.

This discussion and the accompanying notes centre on you as a Senior Trainer.

Modules:

• The Graduate of the Advanced TESOL Certificate.
• F.I.S.H.
• Face to Face Teaching.
• Monitoring and Assessing Objectively.
• Cultural Differences.

Outline

“One of the most important aspects of learner [customer] service is establishing what your learner[customer]s’ needs are. You need to know what your learner [customer] requires, so you can help them in the most efficient and effective way possible. We establish learner [customer] needs through active listening, questioning, responding, empathising and establishing a relationship with the learner [customer]”. The foregoing statement comes from a retail training courser with bracketed alterations. These then identify that, listening attentively is a skill that bridges many avenues of life.

Outcomes

The student will be encouraged to look beyond the words being vocalised and think about cause and effect. Is the student actually expressing their own personal views, in a given situation, or could they be offering what they believe that circumstances require. When one comes from an Anglo/Western society we have a much more direct, challenging and singular approach than many other nationalities. In many eastern and Asian cultures Group Work is a much preferred activity as it slots easily into the local cultural style of decision gained by consensus. We have to learn that in many cultures the preservation of “Face” as well as harmonious relationships may mean that what we are hearing is not necessarily totally factual.

Learning to be able to avoid these conflicts is an important part of a professional teacher’s ability. The unit, as were many of the previous, is devised to sensitise rather than proscribe, as they are so many possible permutations of any given situation. Being alert and aware of situations and group climate, as well as flexible and forwards thinking are all desirable skills which will often be called for.