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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
The value of observed teaching practiceTeaching practice is a time when a person who is training to be a teacher goes to practice the profession before being certified as a teacher. The teacher-in-training is expected to demonstrate all that he/she has learnt in the course of study to know how practicable they are. This is expected to be done with the supervision of an experienced professional teacher, most probably one of the teachers.
The observed teaching practice is the teaching practice done under observation of some interest groups. The interest groups are those who have a stake in the educational system of the group of learners. These include the government, parents, school managers, supervising teachers, etc. The observers are to assess the work of this teacher giving their observations and suggestions for improvement.
Teaching practice is supposed to help the teacher-in-training to come to the reality of what is obtainable in classroom situations and how to achieve the lesson objectives. It helps to learn to cope with individual differences in the class and to balance learning for both high and low learners. It also helps to make the teacher ready to develop his knowledge of the subject matter at the level of his/her students.
Teaching practice is easy to cope with for those who have had experience training people, addressing people and those who are not shy or easily embarrassed. It is a necessary drive for the teacher-in-training to ?brace up? for the job. It helps the teacher learn to focus on the learners in class rather than personal matters.
TEFL( Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses are to help train teachers of English Language. The course is taken and certificate given without any teaching practice (except it is requested for by the trainee). This does not help those who have never gone through any other teacher training program and cannot afford to pay for the specially requested-for teaching practise. Even though lesson plans are being prepared during the course, the actualization of such plans cannot be guaranteed. lesson plans can be copied from the internet and may not be workable in the class. TEFL trainees have no opportunity of a teaching practice as they are only trained and left to find their way with the reality of teaching.
I must admit that the TEFL training is quite intense and challenging for a ready teacher who went through the course with the desire to make a profession of it. The teaching ideas in the course are really good to follow for maximum performance on the job. But, if the situation addressed in the course is not what the trainee experiences later in the class, he/she may be destabilized.
The value of observed teaching practice cannot be quantified as teaching has to do with formation of human lives. The observation helps to ensure the development of the skill in the teacher and makes way for further suggestions for improvement which the teacher may not be aware of. It helps to make the teacher a professional in his/her field of study. It places high value on teaching preparedness.
Hence, it will be good for teaching practice to be incorporated into the tefl course. With the aid of a guiding format, the trainee can be assessed by the employer in cooperation with TEFL institute. This will improve the productivity of TEFL trained teachers.
