Combined TESOL Language

I personally started the course having spent 3 months in China teaching high school with prior experience or training. I became acutely aware of the limits of my abilities very quickly, and with hindsight wish I had completed some form of training before I went. While the course has obviously covered a range of topic, there are a few I have found especially useful. I found the units on the different tenses very useful because as a native speaker I had never really put any thought into this system, and have developed a newfound appreciation for how difficult it must be for new students to reach even a moderate level of understanding. I also found the structure of the ESA lesson plan, the theory behind it and the different ways to implement it very interesting, as previously I had a very hit and miss approach that was largely covered up through repeated trial and error. Having a basic understanding of a proven structure around which to organise lessons has given me confidence in my ability to plan effective lessons in the future, and I plan to put this to use very soon. Many of the numerous ideas for different Engage/Study/Activate stage activities I plan to put into practice, as i would sometimes the real educational value of a lesson I had just given, despite putting a lot of time into planning and preparation. I found the classroom management techniques of interest, as my classes were of 80 students each, occasionally unruly (if mainly boys) and always tired. This was the area I was perhaps most concerned about, especially after having talking to friends teaching at comprehensive schools back in england, an having some basic principles to fall back on will certainly help. Lastly, the proper use of pair and group work is something i will now be putting to good use, as I feel it is an effective was of organising activities and having students support each other. Overall, I feel the main lesson I will take away from the course is that TEFL is not something that can be learned entirely from reading, or within a short space of time, but is a complex and imprecise science that requires experience, hard work, a willingness to experiment and a passion for developing students to truly master.