4 Week Program

In only 4 weeks you can become certified and begin teaching English as a foreign language directly after completion of your program. Our TEFL program with job guarantee allows teachers to obtain full-time employment in China without the stress of going on countless interviews.

For a certificate to be internationally recognized, the training course must be a minimum of 4 weeks in duration, have 100 hours of classroom tuition and 6 lessons of teaching practice. Whether your plans are to stay in China, travel around Asia, or travel around the world, this course will provide you with highly practical classroom skills and assist you in getting your first EFL teaching job.

Observed Teaching Practice

As part of your teacher training you will have Observed Teaching Practices where you will watch co-trainees teaching classes and will teach while being observed by your co-trainees; the feedback you give and receive during these sessions will be invaluable for your training! You will have several opportunities to teach different groups of students while your fellow trainees and some trainers observe. After the class, everyone will discuss the classes and highlight things that go well (or not so well) and provide suggestions for improvement. The atmosphere in the feedback sessions is always kept as supportive as possible.

Course Content

The theory sessions, which are very informative and interactive, cover the following topics:

I. FOREIGN LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE

• The trainee will complete a daily learning journal during the foreign language experience, culminating in a 500-word conclusion. The focus is critical reflection on the learning experience and useful insights for teaching.

II. LANGUAGE AWARENESS

• Grammar (10 hours) Inputs cover word classes, simple sentence elements, complex sentences and clauses, verb time and tense, aspect and conditionals and modals, phrasal and voice.
• Phonology (10 hours) Covering phonemics, rhythm, stresses, intonation, place & manner of articulation, and connected speech.

III. STUDENT PROFILE (14 hours)

• Trainees work with individual students on building rapport, error analysis and correction, and addressing individual student needs. Three meetings with the student are required including transcription and error analysis of audio and written samples, culminating in a 60-minute session observed by a trainer.

IV. TEACHING TECHNIQUES (30 hours)

Teaching techniques normally cover:

• approaches to language learning
• warmers and modeling
• controlled practice
• interactive blackboards
• lesson planning models with peer teaching
• appropriate language and comprehensible input
• language in context with peer teaching
• vocabulary: content and context
• communicative activities
• theater techniques
• textbook review and evaluation
• classroom management
• listening activities
• pronunciation activities
• songs and chants
• reading activities
• writing activities
• teaching young learners
• using video and CALL
• feedback and testing

V. TEACHING PRACTICE AND OBSERVATION

All teachers complete:

• 3 hours of observing experienced teachers
• 1 hour of observing a professionally developed video
• 20 hours of peer observation
• 6 hours of individual teaching practice

VI. MATERIALS PROJECT (10 hours)

All trainees must develop two sets of materials for teaching practice. Each set must be durable, usable for multiple lesson contexts and easily portable. The materials may include visuals, realia, audio or videotape, cue cards or class handouts, but may not be photocopied from published sources. The summation of this project is a presentation to the trainers on how the materials were used, how they could be improved and how they might be used in another context.

Accreditation and College Credit

Materials and curriculum used at the TEFL certificate are accredited by Fort Hays State University (FHSU) and ACCREDITAT. Founded in 1902, FHSU itself is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Higher Learning Commission. FHSU completes regular quality assurance reports on our certificates and authority to do so is granted by the Kansas Board of Regents. Graduates will have an option (for an additional $100 USD fee) to gain three college credits and a transcript from FHSU.

Post-course Assistance

Once you have completed your TEFL course, you will not simply be given a fond farewell and then promptly be forgotten about. The team does an excellent job of keeping in touch and offering help when needed. As alumni, you also are offered the opportunity to help out with the current trainees by attending their observed teaching practice to give feedback. This is a great way to meet current and other past trainees and to exchange ideas and experiences.