The Low Down On TEFL Training: TEFL Course Diaries At ESL Base

1978_33931.jpgIf you’re looking for first-hand info about TEFL Training Courses from people involved in them this very moment, look no further than ESL Base TEFL Course Diaries.

There are currently two “completed” diaries – meaning the trainee bloggers finished their courses – and ten current ones. Anyone who will be doing a TEFL Course in 2007 is invited to join the competition and keep a TEFL Course Diary blog. The blog with the most subscribers wins a minimum of £400; the powers that be at ESL Base will be controlling for factors like course length when comparing the numbers.

Have a look at the different blogs to see which one floats your boat – and make sure to play along and subscribe! One blogger has posted a video of a well-built rhino in briefs dancing the faruca (even his ears wiggle!) and an amusing explanation of suggestopedia (these could be your students. Really!)

Locations range from London to Istanbul to Bogota.

In-person Course Blogs:

  • A grandmother of three is doing a CELTA 2 which includes 114 hours of classroom teaching. She shares some second thoughts but keeps going strong.
  • A TESOL intensive course trainnee in New Zealand finds that the intensive schedule does in fact keep you on your toes.
  • Visit the visually-pleasing blog of a trainee on a CELTA in Turkey and find out her golden rules for doing such a course.
  • Follow a trainee who did a four-week intensive course in her own country…and found that deciding what to do can be harder than planning and doing it!
  • And last but not least, read about a trainee who did a program in the midwest – Madison, Wisconsin, to be exact – which she investigated and found comparable to the CELTA.

Distance courses blogs:

  • Join one trainee who is doing a distance course and at the same time is learning the local language – see how she keeps up her motivation and sees her language learning experience as providing extra insight.
  • Read along with another who is doing a distance MA in Linguistics – wow! He will be working as a junior high school teacher.
  • One trainee in Riyad has completed two MA-level courses and is currently experiencing local bureaucracy.
  • Another distance trainee brings a wealth of cultural and presumably geographic experience to the field: he was born in Mauritius, become a UK citizen and lives in France with his wife and daughter.
  • And last but not least: follow the progress of a distance trainee who is a native speaker of German and English who is working towards a certificate to compliment her EFL experience.