Why You Should Consider a Blended Teacher Training Course

Blended teacher training courses, also known as hybrid TEFL courses, combine online theory with in-classroom practical training. Such courses are gaining popularity and CELTA, as well as many other TEFL courses, are available in this variant. So, why might you wish to consider taking a blended teacher training course?

Finding the right school to take the course at is as important as deciding which type of teacher training course will suit you. To help you with this decision, read our blog post on how to choose the right ESL school for you.

Flexibility

A significant part of a blended course takes place online, which offers a lot of flexibility to choose where and when in your day you will fit studying for a TEFL course. So, whether you love studying from the comfort of your home or whether your busy schedule keeps you from a full-time course, a blended course might be just the thing for you. On such a course you could study at home, on a train, in a café, at work during your breaks or wherever you can take your laptop and have access to the internet.

As for the practical, in-person element of the course, there’s also a lot of variety and flexibility here. Blended teacher training courses are structured differently depending on the provider. Some schools choose to intertwine online learning with regular practical sessions, while others ask students to pass the online theoretical element first, before proceeding to the practical training. Choose a school that follows a pattern which will suit you.

Pace of a Blended Teacher Training Course

Blended teaching courses generally take a few months to complete and have a slower pace than full-time, face-to-face courses. Depending on the school a blended version of the CELTA course, called CELTA Online, can take anything between 10 weeks and one year.

The slower pace allows more time to process information and learn new things. You will be able to revisit the online content as many times as you want.

The less-intense pace also means that it is possible to maintain personal and professional commitments and at the same time learn how to become a language teacher.

Practical Experience

The practical element of the blended course is particularly vital for new teachers, but it also greatly benefits experienced teachers who are going through the course for a formal qualification. Hands-on classroom experience allows you to put the theoretical knowledge you learn into practice and gives you a great chance to try new teaching ideas in a supportive environment. You also get feedback from other trainees and experienced teachers to help you make your lessons better.

The really great thing is that a blended teacher training course will offer you as much classroom experience and observation time as a face-to-face course. This is important as employers are always keen to have someone who already has classroom experience.

A blended teacher training course will give you the best of both worlds – the flexibility of an online course and the invaluable practical experience in the classroom.

Share your thoughts on blended teacher training courses with us on Twitter and our Facebook page.

About the Author

Aleks Kaye completed a blended CELTA course while working full-time in Student Support at a university in the UK. She is currently spending a ski season at Silver Star in Canada with her husband David and blogging about it at daleksabroad.travel.blog