I live in the United States and I am currently applying for the TEFL course Trinity Cert TESOL taught in Prague through Oxford Seminars.
I am confused about the essay question and what they specifically they require me to write.
Are they asking me about how I LEARNED a foreign language as a STUDENT? Or are they asking me how I TAUGHT a language to foreigners before as a TEACHER? I know that in some languages, LEARN and TEACH mean the same thing and are used interchangeably.Essay question
A language learning experience you've had*
Write 180 to 250 words about an experience you have had learning another language. You can talk about the teacher, the materials, the methods used and whether it worked for you and why.
If it is the former, do I need to describe how I learning a foreign language at school. I learned French as a second language when I was in high school. But that was almost 15 years ago, and I forgot most of it. I forgot the techniques that my high school French teachers used as well. I recall that my teacher used cassette tape recordings with spoken French in class. But I am sure that multimedia and interactivity in teaching had greatly changed since then. So, for my essay question, do I need to describe my personal experience of how I learned French when I took it in high school?
Or do I need to describe my prior experiences teaching English in a classroom setting? Unfortunately, I have not taught English yet, but I tutor Math and Physics. If they ask me about teaching a language (as opposed to learning as a student), can I talk about my experience teaching Math and Physics?
There are TEFL applicants whose only language is English and who never took another language in school. How would they write this essay if they never learned a language in a classroom setting?
Also, how much detail do I need to go into? How specific should I be? Do I need to give specific examples of situations in classroom? (Ex: my French teach told funny story, and that is how I learned several new French adjectives) Do I need to focus on techniques? (Ex: French teacher used illustrated flashcards to teach nouns, but used organized tables to teach verbs)
What are they asking for?
