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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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 Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:48 am Post subject: |
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That's true. I've heard universities give a short little 'how to teach at a university' kind of a program (it may be very short, it may be longer) for profs.
Above that, people can do a M.Ed in teaching at the tertiary level
http://www.mun.ca/educ/grad/postsec.php |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 6:05 am Post subject: |
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| PC Parrot wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| The question of how to transition from experienced EFL teacher to teacher trainer came up---whether training others in a teaching cert course or as a trainer for in-service teachers. Granted, there are specific courses one could take. However, for qualified, seasoned EFL teachers (i.e., those with a relevant MA, valid TEFL cert, and years of diverse and progressively-responsible teaching experience), I suggest the following: |
Well perhaps I have misunderstood this.
... But to me the implication is that a seasoned, qualified teacher doesn't need a qualification for teacher training because they know it all already.
They value the qualifications they have but devalue those they don't have. |
Your bolding fell a bit short; you overlooked the wording: "whether training others in a teaching cert course or as a trainer for in-service teachers." The specific courses I mentioned refer to those short, "How to be a Teacher Trainer" certificate courses, which quite differ from a 2-3 year academic degree program. Of course, if a teacher with years of experience, a valid TEFL cert, but an unrelated BA has aspirations of becoming a teacher trainer, a trip to university for a relevant MA (and/or enrollment into the Delta program) would make sense. But the focus here is about teachers who already have those levels of educational qualifications.
This discussion thread pertains to an EFL classroom teacher working at, say, Tongue Foo's School of English, who has an interest in bumping up to a teacher-trainer role whether at Tongue Foo's or elsewhere. Ditto for someone teaching in an ESL intensive English program at a university in the US or a foundation year program in a university in the Middle East or wherever. The teacher fits the profile of having years of diverse and progressively-responsible teaching experience as well as an MA in TESOL, Applied Ling., etc. We can add the Delta as well. |
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PC Parrot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station
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| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 9:32 am Post subject: |
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My bolding was as I intended thank you very much.
I believe that teachers taking some sort of cert course deserve to have a trainer who has some background in education other than a TEFL cert or MA TEFL - whether that background be a B.Ed, or an M.Ed.
At the very least trainers should have a DELTA, in addition to their MA TESOL, to make sure that someone has officially endorsed their ability in the classroom.
I work in a department with over 150 teachers, all of whom hold an MA TESOL as a bare min, but an MA TESOL doesn't necessarily make a person an educator. The people I have the most respect for are those who have a background in education. I don't have such a background, by the way. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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-- Volunteer to mentor novice teachers.
-- Facilitate new faculty orientation sessions for new teachers.
-- Volunteer to maintain the faculty handbook or parts of it; create a basic handbook, if your workplace doesn't have one.
-- Talk to your higher ups about becoming a lead teacher or coordinator (if you're not already in either role).
-- Assist in reviewing CVs/resumes of potential new teachers; participate in job interviews (or ask to at least sit in on a few).
-- Participate in peer observations and feedback; request others observe your class as well.
-- Request to be mentored by the teacher trainer in your current workplace.
-- Conduct in-house workshops on classroom management, lesson planning, error correction, classroom observations, reflective teaching, etc.
-- Join your local TESOL affiliate and regularly participate in special interest groups (SIGs); attend TESOL events/seminars for your own professional development and networking.
-- Present at TESOL conferences, which, like the previous suggestion, leads to exposure and networking opportunities.
-- Maintain a Linkedin account to stay in touch with teaching colleagues and new connections who might have leads on teacher-training job opportunities.
-- Stay abreast of the latest in technology for teaching/learning and teaching trends and research.
-- Start a TEFL blog; actively post on TEFL discussion sites like the Cafe's job discussion forum and others.
-- Ensure your professional references and recommendation letter writers from your current position mention your mentoring and training.
-- Update your CV/resume to reflect any of the above experience relevant to your present work situation.
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Another alternative, though not for the faint-of-heart or the underqualified, is to tackle the issue of teaching content in English in non-Anglophone countries. This is a fairly hot topic in European universities, and I guess likely in Asia and other big markets.
(http://blog.britishcouncil.org/2014/03/31/english-language-medium-of-instruction/)
There are rather large numbers (understatement intended) of non-native speakers of English who are teaching content in English in non-Anglophone countries these days. They very often welcome tactful input into teaching in their second language, during which, we can also often interject good teaching practices in general.
I've found it interesting to see how experienced teachers are possibly somewhat more willing to update their approaches and methods when professional development is linked to the issue of teaching in a second language. Anyway, a huge market segment, and very cool work if one can get it  . |
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uh huh
Joined: 14 Oct 2011
Posts: 110
Location: United States
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 11:49 am Post subject: Transitioning from EFL teacher to teacher trainer |
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| Thank you for starting this thread and for the excellent ideas. Networking is always a good option as well. A friend told me that the person in charge of training international TAs at my university is looking to replace himself, and I have a good shot. I'm very excited! |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 12:00 pm Post subject: Re: Transitioning from EFL teacher to teacher trainer |
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| uh huh wrote: |
| Thank you for starting this thread and for the excellent ideas. Networking is always a good option as well. A friend told me that the person in charge of training international TAs at my university is looking to replace himself, and I have a good shot. I'm very excited! |
Congratulations! Sometimes it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I was able to coordinate the new faculty mentoring program at my college for a semester until the program was defunded  , in part, because I inquired about the position when I heard through the grapevine that the previous coordinator had been promoted to another position. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
| Another alternative, though not for the faint-of-heart or the underqualified, is to tackle the issue of teaching content in English in non-Anglophone countries. This is a fairly hot topic in European universities, and I guess likely in Asia and other big markets. |
English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is common in the Gulf as well and was the situation at the university campus I taught at in Saudi Arabia. My 18-20 year-old EFL students were on the science track and in addition to their intensive English class with me, their academic science and math classes were conducted in English by both Saudi and expat instructors. It helped that the students were already familiar with these subjects in Arabic. Plus, they'd had graduated from high school at the top of their class, so they were quite serious learners.
The closest most of us English language teachers get to EMI is teaching ESP. I've taught both Business English and English for Legal Purposes; however, that was in the context of language learning within a specific domain versus instruction leading to an academic qualification/credential.
I see your point as teachers being versatile. We can add proactive as well. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:03 am Post subject: |
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| *Bump* |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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There is a standalone TKT module that some people may find useful - Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). It's fairly basic, and it's mostly aimed at people content teaching in L2 English to L2 learners. But it's also useful for people who have taught either content or ESOL, but are looking at moving into teaching content overseas.
A native speaker who has reasonable experience of English teaching and content teaching probably wouldn't get much out of it. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| There is a standalone TKT module that some people may find useful - Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).. |
This seems to be relevant for those who want to become teachers as opposed to seasoned EFL teachers seeking to transition to a teacher-trainer role. |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:30 pm Post subject: Re: Transitioning from EFL teacher to teacher trainer |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
I suggest the following:
-- Volunteer to mentor novice teachers.
-- Facilitate new faculty orientation sessions for new teachers.
-- Volunteer to maintain the faculty handbook or parts of it; create a basic handbook, if your workplace doesn't have one.
-- Talk to your higher ups about becoming a lead teacher or coordinator (if you're not already in either role).
-- Assist in reviewing CVs/resumes of potential new teachers; participate in job interviews (or ask to at least sit in on a few).
-- Participate in peer observations and feedback; request others observe your class as well.
-- Request to be mentored by the teacher trainer in your current workplace.
-- Conduct in-house workshops on classroom management, lesson planning, error correction, classroom observations, reflective teaching, etc.
-- Join your local TESOL affiliate and regularly participate in special interest groups (SIGs); attend TESOL events/seminars for your own professional development and networking.
-- Present at TESOL conferences, which, like the previous suggestion, leads to exposure and networking opportunities.
-- Maintain a Linkedin account to stay in touch with teaching colleagues and new connections who might have leads on teacher-training job opportunities.
-- Stay abreast of the latest in technology for teaching/learning and teaching trends and research.
-- Start a TEFL blog; actively post on TEFL discussion sites like the Cafe's job discussion forum and others.
-- Ensure your professional references and recommendation letter writers from your current position mention your mentoring and training.
-- Update your CV/resume to reflect any of the above experience relevant to your present work situation.
Having real hands-on experience and strong qualifications trumps taking a static "how-to" course. Plus, as a teacher trainer, you'll very likely draw and reflect on your own experience as both a teacher and a learner. |
I'm not sure how useful a static "how-to" course would be. The best courses, which of course are most effective when done in conjunction with the many other practical ideas on this list, are those that help you to reflect upon and draw on your own experience as a teacher. I've completed three of the training-of-trainer modules with TrainingforChange.org, primarily as part of my side-work as a peace activist, but found that the general training principles they use (which are rooted in experiential education theory as articulated by Paulo Freire, Jane Vella, Ira Shore, et al.) have actually worked quite well in designing and delivering TESL related trainings and, for that matter, even more generic trainings in classroom management and such that I've done for faculty beyond the ESL department at the college where I currently work. For those who, like me, completed grad programs focusing mostly on linguistic content and teaching theory (as opposed to practical application of the theory), I would highly encourage including a good, reputable training-of-trainers workshop (and there are many others out there apart from the one I mentioned above) in your future professional development plans if you aspire to do teacher training work. |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| There is a standalone TKT module that some people may find useful - Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).. |
This seems to be relevant for those who want to become teachers as opposed to seasoned EFL teachers seeking to transition to a teacher-trainer role. |
Sorry, I thought it was obvious from the context of the thread that I was suggesting it as a course an experienced teacher could offer to other teachers, but apparently not.  |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| There is a standalone TKT module that some people may find useful - Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).. |
This seems to be relevant for those who want to become teachers as opposed to seasoned EFL teachers seeking to transition to a teacher-trainer role. |
Sorry, I thought it was obvious from the context of the thread that I was suggesting it as a course an experienced teacher could offer to other teachers, but apparently not. |
I didn't understand your context since TKT is a specific Cambridge qualification. But for those highly knowledgeable about TKT and CLIL, then it would seem to fall under conducting workshops and professional development to in-house teachers. |
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twowheel
Joined: 03 Jul 2015
Posts: 753
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:27 am Post subject: |
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| *Bump* |
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