The SIT TESOL Certificate for English Language Teachers Course will prepare you to teach ESOL effectively. You will develop skills in planning lessons and teaching speaking, listening, reading, writing, and grammar. You will learn through hands-on experience: you will plan lessons and teach classes to real ESOL students. Your trainers and fellow participants will observe your teaching and give you helpful feedback after each session. The small class size-a maximum of twelve participants-allows for lots of personalized attention from the trainers.
The SIT TESOL Certificate is well-known and widely accepted in language institutions around the world.
The SIT TESOL differs from other courses in its approach to teaching and learning. Beginning with an inquiry into the learning process, the course expects participants' own experience as learners to inform their practice as teachers. This reflective process continues throughout the course, through the practice teaching, feedback sessions, and written reflection papers. Participants are not spoon-fed information, and there is no presumption of "right" answers. Instead, students in the SIT TESOL are expected to be active participants engaged in their own development.
SIT TESOL Certificate Courses are offered in a variety of locations (please see the Course Schedule), and follow the same curriculum at all sites. Each course is taught by trainers who have been trained by SIT. In addition, each course is assessed by an SIT evaluator. Evaluators observe the three parts of the program: the workshop sessions, the lesson planning sessions and the practice teaching sessions, and look at participants' written work as well. The evaluator provides quality assurance and works with the trainers to help participants meet the certificate requirements and receive their certificates at the end.
The SIT TESOL Certificate Course is taught by two SIT-certified trainers working in tandem.* The trainers' responsibilities include teaching the course content, processing discussions, coaching participants in developing lesson plans, coaching participants on how to plan and teach lessons from the learners' perspectives, facilitating peer teaching and learning, analyzing participants' teaching through observable learner behaviors, and providing feedback to participants based on measurable outcomes. All trainers have many years of TESOL experience.
*For smaller courses of six or fewer people, there will be only one trainer.
Participants encompass a broad range of ages and experience, but many are recent college graduates who are interested in traveling and working overseas. There are also working professionals preparing to enter alternative careers or retirement, as well as those who have been teaching in ESOL for many years without formal practical training. Non-native English speakers with strong English skills also take the course so they can teach English when they return to their own countries or elsewhere.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is an umbrella term that includes Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). TESL refers to teaching English to people who are living in an English-speaking country and are learning English as a second language. TEFL refers to teaching English to people who are living in a non-English-speaking country and are learning English as a foreign language. The SIT TESOL Certificate Course encompasses both TESL and TEFL (thus "TESOL").
TESOL is an acronym that is used more by US-based programs and TEFL is used more by British programs. Most job postings will include one of these terms. When searching for jobs, you should also include EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and ESL (English as a Second Language) in your search.
The certificate is a pre-service credential which is recognized internationally. This certificate will help you find an entry-level position in a language institute, in an adult education program, or a literacy center domestically or overseas. Most college and university teaching positions, however, require you to have a Master of Arts in TESOL. Almost every teaching opportunity overseas now requires a certificate that provides over 100 hours of instruction including a practicum. The SIT TESOL Certificate more than fulfills this requirement.
For more information about jobs, please go to our Job Search section.
No. To teach in the public schools, you need public school certification or licensure, a process that involves an undergraduate degree (B.A.) followed by at least 13 weeks of full-time student teaching under a veteran teacher in the public school setting. However, the SIT TESOL Certificate may qualify you for an aide position in a public school ESOL program.
The School for International Training does not offer undergraduate or graduate credit for the course, but participants can petition a college or university to recognize the hours spent in the program and issue academic credit. If you are interested in pursuing this option, you should check with the registrar's office at the college or university you are attending or plan to attend.
Yes, SIT course participants have the option of receiving 12 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Individual participants will have a choice as to whether or not they want CEUs, but will have to decide at the beginning of a course, as the option will not be available at the end. Regulations state that CEU recipients must be recorded within 10 days of the beginning of a course, and once that time limit has passed, there is no reconsideration on the part of the registrar's office. Participants who wish to receive the CEUs will have to pay an additional $300 fee. If you intend to take advantage of this, please let us know as soon as possible.
