Wondering what assignments are like for online TEFL courses? Well it's going to depend on the course and on the assignment. ESLinsider's advanced course includes 3 main assignments.
These assignments are based on the lesson planning that you will learn about in the course. You will learn several different ways of doing a lesson plan.
The first method that you will use is the PPP (Presentation, Practice and Production) method. The PPP method is good for teaching beginners and young children.
You will also learn the ESA method and a slightly simplified take on PPP.
So what kind of assignments will you do?
The assignments are mainly lesson planning assignments. There is also one introductory writing assignment.
What do you hope to get out of this course?
For this short assignment (250 words) you'll need to explain why you are taking the course and what you hope to get out of it. This is just a start. Then after learning about lesson planning and several other related topics you'll have to do some written assignments.
Here is a look at the 1st lesson planning assignment. This is a page from a student book. The materials used here are from mostly elementary school based textbooks. Material like this would commonly be used in 3rd-6th grade classes.
ESLinsider's courses focus more on teaching children in Asia. That's a large part of the job market there.
Lesson planning assignment 1
In this assignment you will formulate a lesson plan based on these vocabulary words and phrases.
Of course you probably don't know how to do that yet. No worries, you will learn how in the course. Let's look at another assignment.
Lesson planning assignment 2
Again you will create a lesson plan based on this content. This is from a student book that is common with elementary students. Being able to see the content that you will be teaching with is helpful.
Some courses like the one I took on Groupon just give you an assignment based on text.
Let's look at one more assignment.
Lesson planning assignment 3
In this lesson planning assignment students will formulate a lesson plan for a 50 minute class using this content.
How will you do the assignments?
You probably haven't learned anything about lesson planning yet, so don't worry as that is taught prior to doing the assignments. You have an unlimited amount of time to do each assignment.
Write a detailed and clear lesson plan describing what you will do and for how long you will do it for (based on a 50 minute lesson) in at least 250 words or more.
Here are some things to consider:
- Warm up. Choose an appropriate activity.
- Presentation. What will you present? How will you present it?
- Practice. How will they practice it? How can repetition be used in an enjoyable way? What kind of activity can you use? Do not send a link to a video saying this is what I will do. Write it out and be detailed.
- Production. How can the students use this material that they have learned? How can they relate it to their lives?
- Review. How can you review this material?
Simply said:
- Warm up your class
- Present to them the material
- Practice the material
- How can students apply this to their lives?
- Review it
Further questions to ask yourself:
- Can you understand your lesson plan?
- Is it clear?
- Is it ordered?
- How many minutes per part of the lesson?
- What materials will be needed?
- Could somebody else read this and carry out a lesson?
Some schools may want to see your lesson plans. That's how detailed it has to be. In the beginning your plan should be more detailed. As time passes you may find it enough to make just an outline.
It's also very important that it is clear and legible from a quick glance. Remember that you will be teaching and may need to refer to it at times. So keep it simple, clear, ordered and use indentations.
Good materials make lesson planning easier
Chances are you will have materials to work with and a book or two to follow. A good book will make your job easier. If you don't have materials your job will be much harder. See the advice on finding a good job.
Submit your lesson plans and receive feedback
After you submit your lesson plan you will receive feedback on it. The feedback will highlight things you did well, things that could be improved upon, and give you some suggestions and ideas on how to do it better.
Learn more about what online TEFL courses are like or start one now.