Testimonials
Comment from past attendees
I’d been teaching English as a second language for over 6 years and I could see that there was still a lot of room for improvement and development. Joining this training enhanced my capabilities, skills and confidence in the ESL teaching profession. It gave me more opportunities to improve myself from the preparation of the lesson to the practice teaching with the constructive criticism from the tutors. It allowed me to understand and digest more the phonology to help me build a more appropriate, comprehensible and better pronunciation in the learning-teaching process. It gave me additional ideas in methodology and resources e.g. music, videos, and ICT to make the teaching-learning process more enjoyable, fun and exciting.The course also made me aware how to teach and prepare with different levels and needs of the learners like the EAP, BE, ESP and Young Learners. Observing seasoned teachers teach was very educational and interesting. I learned a lot from them during the sessions in the morning, consultations and the different classes we observed. Moreover, it helped me to analyze an individual learner through the Learner Profile assignment, which helped me prepare his lesson based on his needs and interests. The profile also made me study his L1, which in turn will helped me to anticipate any problems that may come up in future lessons. Furthermore, the training enhanced whatever I learned before and checked the bad practices and habits I’d been making before attending this training.The month-long training was very challenging, mind-boggling, grueling and stressful. But it was also one of the most rewarding, reflective, educational and fruitful experiences I’ve had. It contributed to my professional and personal growth greatly. I believe I’m now a more competent, qualified, creative and dynamic teacher. I didn’t just get awesome training but I also got to meet awesome friends and tutors, which I’m thankful and blessed to have.
The IALF CertTESOL course was as demanding as it was rewarding. Over four intensive weeks of training I was given a thorough introduction to all the many aspects of TEFL, from phonology to needs analysis and anticipating problems. The instruction, supervision and feedback of the course tutors were invaluable, as were the experiences of teaching real students, observing real teachers and being a real learner of a foreign language. Studying at the IALF afforded me the opportunity of seeing a range of different age groups and levels being taught, from intermediate young learners to elementary adults, and to give, receive and discuss feedback with teachers whose experiences and methodology were very different from my own.The tasks and projects of the course highlighted a great many aspects of TEFL teaching that I’d had very little exposure to, especially with regard to technology. The high standard of the IALF’s resources and materials were instrumental in helping me to realize the potential of technology-based learning. The course also helped me to unlearn the bad habits I’d picked up throughout my early teaching career, such as echoing correct answers and padding out my teacher talking time. The feedback I received after teaching practice, from both my peers and the course coordinators, was thorough, insightful and constructive. The IALF Trinity CertTESOL course is great for both beginners and experienced teachers seeking professional development and I recommend it to anyone who is up for the challenge!
I did my Trinity CertTESOL course at the IALF Bali in 2013. I wouldn’t say it was the most enjoyable thing I have ever done in my life, but it was certainly worth it and would eventually be beneficial to my future teaching career. The input sessions, which played an important role in developing my teaching skills, were brilliantly delivered by the tutors, David and Komang, and they also offered constructive and detailed feedback after each teaching practice. There were only 5 participants at that time, which was actually good because the tutors had more time to help each participant deal with problems related to their teaching practice. Apart from the course, the school itself provided a variety of facilities for learning and the staff was nothing but friendly and helpful.The course has opened up many opportunities for me. Right after finishing the course, I applied for a job as a teacher at the IALF Bali and was hired immediately. Since then, I have started my journey in the TEFL world, teaching various levels and ages, traveling and meeting students from all over the country and having some extended training in teaching English. I wouldn’t be who I am today had I not been on this course.
The IALF TESOL course was an extremely valuable experience for me. The course was very rigorous, well taught and completely engaging and the support from the tutors and other IALF staff was nothing short of superb. My class (November 2012) was a wonderfully diverse group of 10 students, ranging in age from mid 20s to late 60s and the opportunities afforded from peer review in team teaching were very useful in developing skills and confidence. Feedback from tutors on our teaching practice was extremely thorough and effective in building skills over the four week period. It did seem much longer!It was a baptism by fire and certainly not for the faint hearted, but a training experience that I would recommend to anyone wanting to complete a TESOL course that can only be characterised as excellent.
Looking back, my TESOL training was an insane period in my life. I left England and came to Bali alone, got off the plane and spent the first night thinking 'What am I doing here?'. Three days later I started the course and that question vanished (partly because all of a sudden I had literally 1 million other things to think about, such as how I would cope teaching for the first time the very next day). The next four weeks were an intense blur and I feel like I went from knowing nothing to knowing everything (though I know Josie and co would disagree with me on that last part). The teacher trainers were exceptionally helpful and the critique was only ever constructive. You are made to jump in at the deep end but they make sure you end up swimming. Everyone else on the course felt the same strains and I know everyone felt the course was well worth it (not to mention the friends that we made, now spanning all corners of the globe).The course itself covered a wide range of teaching techniques, all designed to prepare you in the best possible way for the unique world of TEFL. After finishing I had the confidence to approach the English schools around Bali and before long I found myself a great job. I currently teach in Bali, and intend to do so for a while. I have a great life here and it's thanks to the TESOL course at I/A/L/F. Cheers guys!
The Cert TESOL course is the toughest, but most rewarding training I have ever done (and I have a brown belt in kickboxing so they don't come tougher than me!). I had no teaching experience and was terrified when on the first day they announced, 'tomorrow you'll be teaching'. Of course the tutors give you lots of support and advice, but nothing can quite prepare you for that first moment when you stand in front of a class of students and are expected to function intelligently. The great thing about the intensive course is that you really have no time to worry about how you are feeling as you are straight into planning the next lesson and after that first class you know nothing will ever be as bad as that. It was a steep learning curve, but the tutors are excellent, knowing when to help and when to back off and let you fend for yourself. The course involves lots of input sessions from experienced teachers and they are always modeling the techniques you need to survive and succeed as a teacher. The facilities at IALF Bali are also excellent and by the end of the month you feel that the resource centre staff are part of your family (you spend so much time there). The most important thing you take away from the course is how to reflect on your teaching and how to improve things next time. I am teaching in Indonesia now and really enjoy it, but sometimes find myself thinking if Josie or Joe were watching me what would they say to help me improve.
