Job Discussion Forums

[rafomania]

Hi, In gearing up for my teacher training course, I have bought two books. One by J.Harmer and th other by M.Parrott. I don't want to go onto a course totally green.
How did you guys prepare for any courses before you did them? By th way, I have a BA, no teaching experience

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I also had a BA and no real teaching experience when I did my programme.

I read through a couple of grammar books, spent hours at the local Chapters (a big-box bookstore, like Barnes and Noble in the US- I'm from Canada) reading about teaching overseas, culture schock etc.

I interviewed at two schools (one college and one university) for their programmes and went to the bookstore on campus and skimmed through the textbooks left over from the previous year. This helped me decide whether to go with a programme through a univerisity, or a college course (they are two different things in my province in Canada). Both were a year in duration. This is what is required to teach adults in the non-credit system in my province. That said, my goal was (and eventually is) to teach ESL in Canada.

I also read a lot of what people had to say about it on this web site.

[tedkarma]

Sharpening your grammar is a good way to start - as once the program gets underway, you'll be way too busy to do much background study. You'll be totally focused on what you are doing in class at that moment.

One other area to learn about is where (what country region etc) you might start teaching - and what kinds of jobs you might find there - and how your teaching method might need to be adapted to serve those students best.

These are good things to know as your teacher trainer may be able to focus your assignments and work in that area. And, you may (quite often) meet people who have taught in the countries or situations in which you are most interested - or most likely to end up working. And, if you haven't made a final decision about your training yet - these are good questions to ask the school about - before you decide. Don't forget the schools are (almost always) for-profit businesses - and how they can best meet your needs - should be a deciding factor.