Posts

Five reasons why you should do an Online TEFL Course

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Cactus TEFL’s online English Language Awareness course is a great option for anyone about to embark on a TEFL course. The ideal CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL preparation course, it will give you solid, all-round knowledge of English grammar and save a lot of time when it comes to planning lessons.

If you don’t have time to take the course before you do your TEFL training, there are still plenty of reasons why it’s beneficial to complete it before you start your first teaching job:

1. Knowledge

There are certain countries where much of the English language teaching is based around conversation lessons, but the vast majority of TEFL jobs will involve as much emphasis on grammar as on conversation. Having a good working knowledge of the ins and outs of English grammar will help enormously when it comes to lesson planning – having to revise your grammar before you plan your lesson will add hours to your preparation!

2. Confidence

Making sure your English grammar is up to scratch before you step into the classroom will give you the confidence to deal with tricky grammar questions that students (particularly in high level classes) might have for you. You can avoid those embarrassing silences and any unnecessary stress when eager students quiz you on the differences between the past simple and the present perfect!

3. Reputation

Our ELA course was produced in conjunction with respected ELT teacher, teacher trainer and course book author, John Hughes. John is a highly influential figure within the TEFL industry, running ELT writing courses for Oxford University, consultation for language schools as well as his own popular ELT blogs and columns for The Guardian. The ELA course was also nominated for the British Council Innovation Award after it was launched, a wonderful and well-deserved accolade!

4. Employability

Doing the ELA course as a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL preparation course, or prior to any other TEFL course, will look impressive on your CV and show that you are both keen and knowledgeable.

5. Value for Money

At just £95, ELA is great value for money. However, if you book your TEFL course through Cactus you will receive a discounted English Language Awareness course, at £50 reduced from £95 – plus a FREE English Language Methodology course.

Find out more about the English Language Awareness course and search TEFL courses worldwide with Cactus TEFL.

 

FREE methodology course worth £220 with Cactus TEFL

/0 Comments/in , , /by

As experts in the English Language Teaching industry, Cactus has designed its very own online English Language Methodology (ELM) course and is offering it FREE to teacher trainees who book through Cactus TEFL

A companion course to the popular English Language Awareness (ELA) course, the ELM course is ideal if you:

  • have completed the ELA course and would now like to look at the methodology of teaching the language
  • are thinking about a career in EFL and want to see if it’s right for you
  • are already teaching EFL and want to learn more about TEFL methodology
  • want to prepare yourself as best you can for your EFL course
  • would like an introduction to EFL in advance of a gap year or volunteer project

How does the ELM course work?

  • Your subscription is valid for 90 days from the date you pay/enrol
  • The course is divided into 5 sections of 6 lessons each (30 lessons in total), each lesson focusing on a different area of TEFL
  • At the end of each section you submit an assignment which will receive feedback from a tutor
  • The course should take between 60-90 hours, depending on your experience and knowledge
  • You can pay a supplement to renew your subscription for a period of 45 days

How to claim your free ELM

If you book your TEFL course through Cactus you are entitled to a free English Language Methodology course. Once you have applied and been accepted onto your chosen course, you should provide Cactus with your proof of payment from the school. We will then send you your ELM course joining details.*

Good luck!

Cactus TEFL enables you to research and compare CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL and online TEFL courses in over 90 locations worldwide. Please visit www.cactustefl.com or call us on 00 44 (0) 1273 830 960 for friendly, impartial advice.

*Should you subsequently cancel and request a refund for your TEFL course, Cactus reserves the right to withdraw your access to the ELM online course.

English Language Awareness: why TEFL teachers still need help with grammar

/0 Comments/in , , /by

John Hughes, author of Cactus TEFL’s online courses, looks back at three years of raising English Language awareness and explains why prospective TEFL teachers still request help with their grammar.

About twenty years ago I was being interviewed for an intensive four-week course in teaching English as a Foreign Language. It felt like a real make or break situation. I’d given up my day job and saved enough money to live on for a month. Then I was going to head to the first country with a language school that would take me. The Training Course Director asked what most worried me about taking the course? I had no doubts about the answer: “Teaching grammar”.

Years later, having taught EFL in many different countries, I also found myself interviewing and training would-be teachers for intensive TEFL courses. And, in most cases, people’s concerns still echoed my own: their lack of knowledge and confidence with grammar. Like me, they’d never had much formal education at school into how the English language works, so wondered how they would be able to teach it.

Three years ago, Cactus TEFL set about changing this situation by offering a grammar course either to help people before taking a TEFL course or for existing teachers who wanted to brush up their skills. Perhaps one reason why no one had really offered this kind of quality language awareness training before was because there had never been the opportunities suddenly provided by the internet and online training. In terms of course content, the online format allowed us to present aspects of language in conjunction with video extracts of how a teacher might present the language to students. We were also determined that – unlike many other online courses at the time – our course would have a ‘real’ tutor who could help participants with questions and queries as well as facilitate and moderate discussion in the forums.

Now, Cactus TEFL’s first ever online course is three years old. The course has evolved and grown over time which is what we’d hoped for. As a writer of courses both in book-form and online, the key advantage for me of online courses is that they are much more organic than a book-based course. Course participants can post feedback and suggest improvements which help with the process of writing and developing the course. Over time the Cactus course has expanded from being an introduction to the English language into also covering areas of methodology and classroom skills.

Having said all that, what surprises me most is that the basic format of the course remains more or less the same as it was three years ago. There are thirty lessons in each course and we use a combination of readings, video and audio to present language items. Then there are exercises which follow to help consolidate what has been learned.  The tutor support has always been a key feature of the course and it’s the area which receives more regular praise.

The best part about being involved with these Cactus courses is that you know so many of the people taking them will go on to take TEFL courses (such as CELTA or the Cert TESOL) and then go off to teach in every corner of the world. Raising your language awareness and then teaching English as a Foreign Language really will change your life. Take me, for example. When I completed my first TEFL course I expected to travel and teach for a few years and then do something else. Now, I find myself still heavily involved in TEFL – and as for my concerns about grammar? Well, my third grammar textbook for language learners comes out later this year, so at least I’ve finally laid that fear to rest!

Cactus TEFL is the only international admissions and jobs service for TEFL. It works with over 125 TEFL course providers in 35 different countries. Its English Language Awareness course has been nominated for a British Council Innovation Award.