Saxoncourt Blog
Teacher Training 2011
Posted by SteveIt’s been a good year for us hear and Saxoncourt Teacher Training and as Chrismas approaches and we look forward to 2012, I would like to share with you some throughts and views from Rick Ansell, one of our longest-serving trainers:-
TEFL Courses in London Day 12 - 14
Posted by Steven - SaxoncourtThe days begin to blur into each other now. Some would also say the nights are blurring into the days....People are having to juggle assignments with lesson preparation and sometimes sleep gets squeezed. At least today, Wednesday, we started late to give everyone a moment to breathe or sleep an extra 30 minutes or even to put the finishing touches to an assignment...
TEFL Courses in London Day 11
Posted by Steve - SaxoncourtMonday Week Three.....The smiles and cheeriness were a little forced for some members this morning. Another Assignment was to be handed in today and the Language Tasks is returned. When we mark this we are very picky. In our defence I would say that if you don’t analyse language correctly you will be misleading students and if you can’t ask correct concept questions you will not be ensuring your students really understand the piece of language you are teaching; you will be failing in your duty towards your students. It is very demoralising to have your Assignment returned for resubmission but this is something you really just can’t get wrong in the classroom. Usually resubmissions are straight forward. The guidance from the tutors makes it clear what is required and gradually the art of concept questions becomes less opaque....it’s just that there’s a whole lot of other things to be doing as well as doing resubmissions...!
TEFL Courses in London Day 7 8 9 10
Posted by RickToday for the first time the onslaught of new ideas and approaches is put on hold and we give trainees time to start to put some of what they have learnt into practice; a welcome relief and much needed opportunity for reflection and consolidation.
TEFL Courses in London Day 6
Posted by RickThere were a few slightly haggard faces this morning. Most people confessed they had had better weekends but hopefully most people have broken the back of the first assignment: the Focus on the Learner and have got their first lesson plan pretty much sketched out.
TEFL Courses in London Day 3, 4, 5
Posted by Rick - SaxoncourtThis morning the trainees do the first of their three observation mornings. They are required to complete six hours of observation of experienced teachers. They watch our teachers and as the school is quiet at the moment, with mostly just the core staff working they all get to see Diploma qualified teachers and other Trainers. We don’t exactly get an easy morning of it, though, there are interviews for new CELTA applicants this morning and a certain amount of e-paperwork to complete for Cambridge and also work to prepare for the visit of the Assessor later in the Course.
TEFL Courses in London Day 2
Posted by Rick - SaxoncourtSo, today is the first day of “proper” input and, for the trainees, the eagerly anticipated first lesson. In input I did some a session on Receptive skills, that’s reading and listening. It’s a good first session as the structure that emerges is fairly clear and simple, easy to grasp and implement. It avoids the scary stuff: grammar neatly.
TEFL Courses in London
Posted by Rick - SaxoncourtWell, it’s the weekend before the Course starts and I have to sit down and look through the application forms and prepare the profiles. These will be sent to the Assessor along with a whole lot of other paperwork. They also give me a flavour of the trainees. I always wonder how they are spending the weekend...
Voyage to Job Land
Posted by Alexander ElliottSocialising has always been a hobby of mine. It opens up all sorts of avenues, even ones that you didn’t expect to uncover. On the last day of CELTA, we attended a talk about which countries to teach in, with the pro’s and con’s of each. In the Middle East you will earn the most money (up to £3,000 a month, tax free!) and the money varies quite wildly from country to country
Slowly and Clearly
Having just collected my freshly printed degree from the university chancellor’s sweaty palms, I decided it was time to look for a job. I wanted something fun and sociable, far, far away from the dark confines of a desk job involving a crummy computer and people who are motivated solely by the dark side: money. I wanted to be as far away from a computer as possible,