How I use my TEFL training when my job is not TEFL
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Let’s call a spade a spade – I manage a TEFL certification, so the title of this article might be confusing. Managing a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification course is not the same as actually Teaching English as a Foreign Language. I’m not in front of a classroom every day, but I still using my training in my career. Here’s how.
Read between the lines
There are many different kinds of culture. The most common one people think about is the culture of the country you’re from. What about your city culture? Family culture? Personal culture? Every person on this planet has their own unique culture. That’s a lot of culture to be sensitive of. I work with a lot of different people every day from a lot of different cultures. My TEFL training taught me to be aware of this. It didn’t necessarily teach me how to deal with it – but being aware of it has allowed me to avoid what could have been difficult situations.
We all learn differently
In my current position, I manage people as well as the course. I have a very distinct learning style, I always have. My TEFL course taught me that people learn very differently. When I train my team (and when they train me), I am very aware of this. It’s been a huge help in communicating with the wonderful people I get to work with every day.
English is hard!
Working in a professional setting, I write to people and speak to people all day every day. My TEFL course has me constantly thinking if I am grammatically correct in my communication. Before my training, I didn’t really think twice about it! Now that I am certified, I am very conscious of how I write and speak in English. I’m learning more about this language that I’ve been using every day for almost 30 years – how cool!