Practical Placement

The Certificate IV in TESOL Course involves both the theoretical component and a practical component.

The practical component requires you to participate in a teaching placement in an approved instructional setting for a minimum of 20 hours. The 20 hours will involve 14 hours observing others teaching, and a minimum of 6 hours of practice teaching in a class setting (minimum is 3 students). Your teaching will be observed by a qualified assessor who will be able to provide you with feedback on the areas yo did well in and the areas yo may need to improve in.

During your practical placement you will:

• Observe teaching strategies and techniques
• Get lots of ideas for your own lessons
• Begin to get to know your ESL students, their current proficiency level/s and their needs (in your prac-teaching location)
• Be able to gather information towards the assessment about culture, language and learning
• Be able to put into practice the theory you have learnt

At the end of the course,we want you to enter an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom and feel confident in your ability to teach a class.

If you complete the TESOL course via traditional class delivery, practical placement will be pre-arranged for you. Alternatively, you may like to find your own placement organisation that LTi will agree to. When the course is completed via distance education, it is ultimately a student's responsiblity to find a placement organisation, however LTi or your course facilitator may be able to assist you to find a suitable Practice Teaching situation by way of suggesting institutions to approach etc. In some cases you may need to be willing to do things such as:

• Travel some distance each week to the prac teaching situation
• Take some time off work each week, or a block of time in a year, in order to be available
• Fund travel and accommodation if suitable situations are only located at some distance from home