Meeting my Demanding Expectations

I was initially interested in doing a CELTA course, but I chose the Vantage TEFL program in the end as I have an interest in teaching kids and the former focuses its training exclusively on adults.

I also wanted a global recognition, and the American accreditation of Vantage was an important consideration. Vantage has external moderation of all its courses and, as I learned during my research phase, that this is an essential requirement of any educational accreditation.

The course itself was great. It was very intensive as it covered more material than I first thought.

The heart of the TEFL program was the practicum. The live teaching that we did in front of first and second-year university students was fantastic. We had good sized classes that ran right on schedule so we have to learn to be precise in creating lesson plans that would factor not just the class content, but the time constraints of the class as well.

I also had to observe other teachers – both experienced instructors and new trainees like myself. Detailed observations were required that I then had to discuss with the lead TEFL trainer.

The students were really fun to teach. I think I learned as much about Thai culture as they did English! This was a great course, excellent taught and very well organized.