As I write this, I am just completing my first week of teaching, BUT I still need to update on that whole certification process that got me here...
Soo, on May 24th myself along with twelve others, started the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification program. It was a lot like being back in school and when I say school I mean 2nd grade, when you stayed in one classroom with the same small group of people day in and day out.
Lucky for me, the people I was with day in and day out were wonderful. (We'll get to them in the next post...)
The program itself consisted of a review of English grammar (Lord knows we needed it), lesson-planning and of course how to teach English. Classes weren't as thrilling as say, Biology of Human Sexuality, but they were useful and fun. Our teacher was Sherry, who has a clear passion for the whole TEFL program. Her energy was great and helped the class time to fly by.
It's amazing how quickly we all progressed in teaching. We started with some really awkward 5 minute lessons and worked our way up to 20 minute mini-lessons and in the final week, we taught one hour-long class each day and were observed. That week was called Practical Teaching Week and it was hectic and stressful, but I, without a doubt, learned the most that week. (I think that's the idea.)
On June 19th, we were done and Maximo Nivel (our school) hosted a “graduaton” party for us, where we got free food AND drinks and received our certificates. A bunch of the students we taught during practical teaching week showed up and it was a hoot, a real laugh riot!
Sooo, I'm a teacher now. Scary, huh?
Next update topic: My Shiny New Friends
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