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Nov 2 - Douglas offers TESL courses for winter 2012 at Coquitlam campus
Aspiring ESL teachers will be able to take winter-semester training courses at Douglas College's Coquitlam campus for the first time in January.
Normally taught in the summers at the New Westminster campus, Douglas's Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program is being offered from January to April next year at the Coquitlam campus.
"It can be tough to get into this program," says Julia Robinson, TESL program coordinator. "Last summer we had a waitlist of people who didn't get in, so the fact that we're able to offer this extra section this winter presents quite an opportunity."
The intensive 15-credit, one-semester TESL program provides students with the knowledge and experience to teach English as a Second or Foreign Language to adults. Students receive 30 hours of practicum, 10 of which are spent tutoring at Douglas and 20 of which are spent observing and teaching in ESL classrooms at private language schools and government-funded programs around the Lower Mainland.
"Students like the practical focus of the program," says Robinson. "We're very much into attaching theory to what it means in terms of practice. We help people practise doing things, not just learn about them."
Douglas College's TESL program is recognized by TESL Canada, the national body that provides professional certification for graduates. To qualify for certification, one must also have a bachelor's degree. This can be earned before or after one takes the TESL program at Douglas.
Robinson says the TESL program appeals to people with a variety of goals.
"Some want to go overseas and teach ESL. Like so many students, when they finish their degree, they go abroad to earn money to pay off their student loan and see the world. It's also taken by people who want to develop a career in ESL, and others who want to work in the volunteer sector or who want to tutor."
While it is possible to go overseas and get a job teaching ESL without TESL certification, Robinson says the better jobs require it.
"It's a step up the ladder. But it's also about being able to go into those classrooms and know what you're doing. With some training and experience behind you, it makes quite a difference."
There are still spaces available for January - apply now! Visit douglascollege.ca/teachenglish or email TESLinfo@douglascollege.ca for details.
