TESOL a. (Morning)

The morning section of the TESOL course has a practical focus grounded in fundamental principles of second language acquisition. There is a step-by-step approach to teaching language interactively that helps the novice teacher to become confident in directing interactive, student-centred, cooperative classrooms.

There is also some special emphasis on the integration of the four skills (listening / speaking / reading / writing). The textbook is a resource for language pedagogy and students put the theory into practice in various oral lesson presentations.

Students also are given some advanced vocabulary input on phrasal verbs, essential English words. There are ESL class observations and five video classes throughout the course.

TESOL b (Afternoon)

The afternoon section of the TESOL course is an eight-week intensive program in which students immediately begin developing their teaching skills. The course offers students practice teaching, instead of having them memorize pedagogical theory. This prepares them to become teachers. However, the Four Skills : Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) do provide the pedagogical foundation for the course.

What makes a great teacher? There are three essential components: personality, creativity and intelligence. The first half of the afternoon class is devoted to helping students develop a creative teaching personality. First, students observe the instructor modeling a series of communicative-based activities. Then, students create lesson plans for their own activities and teach their activities to the class.

The second half of the afternoon is devoted purely to knowledge acquisition. The purpose for this is twofold: to maximize students intelligence and to inspire in them a lifelong appetite for knowledge. An ignorant teacher is a sad and terrible thing.

The afternoon TESOL course is neither traditional nor conventional. We will not use a textbook. It is the opinion of the instructor that textbooks turn students imagination into machines, their minds into boxes. A textbook impresses the student with pretty-looking theories and easy methodologies. Unfortunately, these predictable theories and methodologies have no application to the unpredictable nature of the classroom. Great teaching comes form a brave and original mind. Textbooks destroy bravery and originality.