Getting a Teaching Certificate

I have started my TEFL/TESOL online course. I am required to obtain this certificate before I can teach in South Korea. Basically it's a course that teaches you how to teach foreign students English as a foreign language. The course itself is really easy compared to some classes I have taken from Iowa State and the material is actually quite interesting. They talk a lot about the best ways to teach foreign students and to think outside of the box. It makes sense that there are different teaching styles when teaching foreign kids but I never thought much of it. Personally, I think it will be interesting to teach English from my perspective. I have had English taught to me as a foreign student. I had no previous English knowledge until I went to elementary school where I was part of the English Second Language (ESL) classes. In my ESL classes, I learned English from a technical, grammatical and structural point of view. While my friends knew how to form English sentences and spoke English as natives, I did not. I think for the first couple of years, I used “broken English” and a lot go hand gestures to get my point across and communicate with my family, friends and elementary teachers. It took a few years of ESL classes for me to finally began to understand English and from there I picked it up pretty quickly and became proficient.

The thought that I will be teaching English to foreign students and I could be their first exposure to English is a bit daunting. I still think there are grammatical and technical sides of English that I do not know but I'm hoping since the main goal of Fulbright ETA is to teach conversational English, I will be okay. I believe as a non-native English learner, I will be able to provide unique experiences and methods when teaching English to foreign students. I can relate to my students when they learn English and hope this gives them a sense of ease so that they are not afraid to learn English. Overall, it will be a unique challenge to teach English as a non-native English learner.