[creativechalk]

I wanted to ask what ESL certificate courses people have taken and what you'd recommend?

There's a bunch of options out there: celta, delta, tesol, tefl, et cetera, and it can be difficult to know how to choose.

I'll try and start it off.

I took SIT (School for International Training)'s TESOL certificate course back in the summer of 2004 and can definitely recommend that to anyone looking for ESL certification.

The course was a good blend of theory and practice and really helped me understand and put into practice the teaching and learning principals of which I had only a hazy grasp through my limited teaching experience. The teaching strategies I took away from the course have proved invaluable in my teaching since.

A few of the key themes and ideas from the course:

• Student centered teaching
• The importance of using learning goals when designing activities/lessons. A learning goal is one that completes this sentence: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to...
• Reflection: the teacher's stethoscope
• Teaching frameworks: one for productive skills (speaking & writing) and one for receptive skills (listening and reading)

What courses have you taken and would you recommend them?