CHAPTER 1: Studying Online with CoLearning Club

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” -Chinese proverb-

1 WELCOME & ORIENTATION 

1.1 Welcome from the Academic Director 

Welcome to CoLearning Club’s 120-Hour TEFL Certificate Course. This internationally accredited and accepted teacher training course will provide you with the necessary theoretical information and  practical know-how to enable you to begin your teaching career with confidence. If you already have  some experience teaching, the course will help you to improve your teaching technique and to  expand your classroom repertoire.

This course provides teachers with the principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and how to apply it in practice. It covers simple ways to create more dynamic and interactive lessons by  making students active participants in the classroom. Additionally, throughout the course you will  find a range of practical ideas and adaptable activities you can use with your students.  

This introductory module explains the layout of the course, how to interact with your trainer, how to  pass the course… and answers many other questions you might have – so please read through this  carefully before getting started.

We hope you will enjoy the course, learn a lot about teaching and above all, gain the confidence you  will need to start your new career as an English teacher. Remember, online studying is similar to most  other things in life: the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it!

I know you are anxious to begin, so it only remains for me to wish you – on behalf of the CoLearning Club team – Happy Studying!

Jeffrey Harper
Academic Director
CoLearning Club

1.2 What you need to study online  

• This course is conducted through an online virtual campus. Basically, what you will need is an internet connection, as the entire course is online. You do not need any specialized software to complete this course. You WILL need continuous access to the internet in order to complete the online exams and module quizzes and, of course, to participate in the forums.
• You will work at your own pace through the modules, including self-study tasks, forums, online quizzes, assignments and exams. The beauty of studying online is that your virtual campus is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so feel free to log in at any time of day that is most convenient for you. 
• You need to have sufficient technical know-how to be able to:
• Send emails with attachments.
• Use Word format documents.
• Scan documents and/or cut and paste images or other text into a Word document for the final lesson planning assignment.
• Print from or save online PDF files (optional) – you may wish to print out or download articles to  read at your leisure, but this is not necessary.

1.3 Getting started

1. The first thing you need to do is to go to your profile settings and add a picture of yourself. Please also make sure your complete name is listed on your profile. This is necessary for participation in the forums and is a way for a future employer to confirm that your certificate is authentic. If you have any problems uploading your picture, please email the photo to info@colearningclub.com and continue with your course. We will upload your photo for you.
2. At the risk of stating the obvious, start with Module 1. The order of the modules has been thought out carefully, so it makes sense to follow them sequentially. However, feel free to browse through any of the modules at any time.
3. Start working through the course on your own. When you are ready to send an assignment, or if at any moment you feel you need trainer support, please send an email to tefltrainer@colearningclub.com to request that a trainer be assigned to you. (See below 1.4 COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR TRAINER)
4. For any other problems or questions, such as technical difficulty or problems with forums, please send an email to info@colearningclub.com. We aim to respond to emails within 24 hours, excluding weekends.

1.4 Communicating with your trainer

If you have any academic questions or need to turn in your assignment, please send an email to your trainer. He/she will respond within two working days (Mon-Fri) on academic questions and will provide you with feedback on your assignment within three working days. Trainers are not available on the weekends, so please do not count Saturday and Sunday when you send your assignments. You will find detailed instructions explaining how to complete the assignment and what you need to send to your trainer. Please read the assignment instructions carefully!

1.5 How long can I take to finish the course?

The course will be available to you for twelve months from when you first login, but you can finish it in less time, if you wish – it is completely up to you! 

If you do not manage to finish it in that time, do not worry! You can purchase additional months for a nominal fee, as outlined below:

• 7 day extension = $250.00 MXN
• 1 month extension = $800.00 MXN
• 2 month extension = $1300.00 MXN
• 3 month extension = $2000.00 MXN

2 WORKING THROUGH THE MODULES

2.1. Overview of the module layout

At the beginning of each module you will find a Table of Contents with links to each topic. Each sub topic (article) will open when you click on the link. Read through each article sequentially.

Self-study sections

Modules are divided into Chapters which each represent a main topic. At the end of each chapter, you will find a Self-study section, with tasks/quests for you to work through. The tasks are designed both to check your understanding of what you have read, and to help you to remember the text.

2.2 Final module chapter

The final chapter in each module is entitled MORE RESOURCES & ACTIVITIES. This chapter follows the same layout in every module. You will find the following headings:

Resources  

Here you will find extra resources to improve your understanding of the topic covered. These include:

• Bibliography (where relevant). Follow the links to research more on the topic, or save these for further study at a later date.
• Further reading: print & online resources. You may want to copy and paste these resources into a document as we believe these links will be of use to you throughout your teaching career.
• Videos. These have been specially selected to enhance your understanding of the topic(s) covered in the module. As you watch the videos, make sure to carry out the tasks supplied.
• Sample lesson plans (where relevant). You will find sample lesson plans that have normally already been referred to in the module.

Participate (forums)

You will find forums to participate in throughout the course. The forums will provide you with an opportunity to discuss aspects of the course you are currently studying. Some of the forums are open discussions, while others take the form of tasks. The “task” forums aim to build up a bank of relevant  teaching ideas which are available to all trainees for consultation.

Participating in the forums is a great way to revise and check your understanding of the topics covered and provides an opportunity for you to express your own opinion about what you have learned. Furthermore, you get to meet other Global Language trainees, and who knows? – You may even end up teaching together!

While participating in the forums is optional, your participation may contribute to your getting a  better pass grade (see below 2. HOW IS MY FINAL GRADE WORKED OUT?).

Self Study Suggested Answers 

In this section you will find:  

• Self-study suggested answers. Follow the link to open this document. As explained above, this will  provide you with possible answers to the self-study tasks you will complete as you work through the  module.
• Online quiz. Follow the link to go to the online quiz. At the end of each module you can test your understanding and retention of what you have read by taking the quiz online. The quiz is for self-study purposes only and while you will receive a score, this will not be integrated into your final grade for the course. If you get any of the questions wrong, we recommend revising specific parts of the module, and re-doing the quiz. Your aim should be to achieve 100%.

Tasks and assignments

Here you will find two subheadings:

• Assignment. There is one graded assignment (in Module 2) you are required to send to your trainer; there is also one non-graded (self-study) assignment. You will find instructions for both types of assignment in this section of the chapter. If the module does not contain an assignment, it will simply say that there is no assignment for the module.
• Module checklist. This is the last section you will find at the end of every module. It provides a checklist to ensure that you have completed every part of the module, be it self-study, forum participation or a graded assignment to send to your trainer.

CHAPTER 2: How do I pass the course?

1 ASSIGNMENTS AND TASKS

1.1 Module quizzes & forum tasks

Each module provides you with an online (self-study) quiz to help you to revise and remember what  you have studied. These quizzes are optional, ie, you do not HAVE to do them in order to pass the  course. However, you will find that the module quizzes will help you to prepare for the final exam.

Similarly, some of the forums provide you with “Tasks”. Again, participation in the forums is not  obligatory, but we urge you to complete the forum tasks as they will give you some practical experience in certain teaching aspects.

Please follow forum protocol for your posts, ie, keep your language clean, do not comment negatively  on anyone else’s posts, and do not use any of the forums for compliments, complaints, technical  support, personal matters or to promote anything.

1.2 Non-graded & graded assignments 

Non-graded assignments are for self-study purposes. DO NOT send these to your trainer. These  assignments give you experience that will help you to complete the final lesson planning assignment  and help you to think in more detail about the module topics covered. They do not contribute to your  final grade.  

The Graded assignment must be completed and sent to your trainer for assessment. The assignment  instructions explain clearly the criteria for assessment. If you do not pass on your first attempt, you  will receive feedback from your trainer on how to improve your assignment. You are allowed up to 3 attempts to pass your graded assignment.  

WARNING: Please note that your assignment MUST be your own work . Copy/pasting from the internet, and/or changing a few words here and there is not acceptable. If your trainer feels that the work is not your own, he/she will return your assignment to you and ask you to repeat it, but you will not receive any feedback on how to improve the assignment and this will count as one attempt.

It is important to take on board the feedback your trainer provides you. This may include asking you to re-read certain parts of the course before sending your next attempt.

Your graded assignment contributes towards your final grade and is assigned a percentage score, depending on the number of attempts it takes you to pass:

• 1st attempt pass = 95%. (Please do not be disappointed if you do not pass your assignment on your first attempt. Unless you have prior teaching experience and/or are an exceptional candidate, you are more than likely to need feedback from your trainer in order to improve your assignment.)
• 2nd attempt pass = 90%
• 3rd attempt pass = 85%
• Fail after 3 attempts = Your trainer may give you another chance if you are close to reaching your objective.

1.3 Exams

There are TWO online exams which contribute to your final grade: the Grammar Exam and the Final Exam, both of which are multiple choice and will return a percentage score. You are entitled to a maximum of 3 attempts for your Grammar Exam and 2 attempts for your Final Exam score. Your highest will be taken towards your final grade.

When you have completed each exam to your satisfaction, please send your trainer an email stating that you have taken the exam. Your trainer will be able to see the scores you achieved and will take  into consideration your highest score when calculating your final grade.

2 HOW IS MY FINAL GRADE WORKED OUT?

2.1 Average score

The graded assignment and the two graded exams will give you a percentage score. The average of  these percentages will give you your final score.

2.2 What are the different pass grades?

A “normal” Pass In order to pass the course, you must get an overall average score of at least 60%.

A “B” Pass – Merit To obtain a “B” pass, you must get an overall average score of at least 80%.

An “A” Pass – Distinction To obtain an “A” pass, you must get an overall average score of at least 90%.

For all the above pass grades, you will receive a Certificate of Completion, stating the Pass grade you achieved. A “normal” pass will simply state that you passed the 120-hour Advanced Course.

2.4 What happens if I fail the course?

If your overall percentage score is less than 60%, this means you have failed the course. You will not  receive a Certificate. If you wish to persevere and try again, you will need to pay for the course again and re-submit your assignment and exams. You will be assigned a diīerent trainer.

3 HOW DO I GET MY CERTIFICATE?

After complete the final exam in module 6, your trainer will verigy how you wish your name to appear on your certificate. You will receive your certificate in PDF format witŚin 14 days of completing the final exam.

CHAPTER 3: More resources and activities

1 RESOURCES

1.1 Article – What makes a good online student?

If you are interested in knowing more about how to get the most out of studying online, please read the article “What makes a good online student” which can be found after the “Course Introduction

1.2 Quick reference – contact information 

Technical & other queries: info@colearningclub.com

Request a trainer: tefltrainer@colearningclub.com

2 PARTICIPATE

Participating in the forums is a great way to revise and check your understanding of the topics covered and provides an opportunity for you to express your own opinion about what you have learned. Don’t forget, while participation is optional, it may contribute to you getting a better pass grade.

Why not start with the first forum “Tell us why you are interested in becoming a teacher” which can be found after the article “What makes a good online student

END OF INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE