Trainee Testimonials
Here you can read what some of our trainees have said about our Teacher Training courses.
Ruairi Rowan O'Connor
I have been interested in being English teacher for a number of years, both for the opportunity to work abroad and the chance to interact with people from different backgrounds. Having teachers in my family, I'd grown up understanding the importance of the profession and some of what it involved. BSC had been recommended to me as a great place to study by staff and students alike, I'm very glad I followed their advice!
The teacher-training course was a challenge. The workload was substantial but realistic; the instruction was extensive but not prescriptive. Being thrown in at the deep end was a shock to the system and forced us to immediately find our feet as trainee teachers. The most memorable parts were the breakthroughs and successful lessons I gave, as well as the useful tips that have stuck in my mind. Learning the unknown language was fantastic too, a great insight into learning from scratch. The career advice and candid portrayal of the realities of teaching were much appreciated.
Since my training I went back to my old job and spent my time wishing I could be back at BSC! Being able to work alongside some of the people who trained me is great, the welcome I have received has been fantastic. As a place to work, BSC is very professional, supportive and has the feeling of a well-run school. I still would like to work abroad at some point and gaining experience at BSC is a great foundation for that due to its diverse student body. Its good to be here!
Philip Marsh
I cannot recommend the CertTESOL at BSC Brighton highly enough. I chose to train as a TESOL teacher at BSC Brighton due to the school's excellent reputation and its fantastic position near the centre of one of the UK's most vibrant cities. The course was superbly run with a huge amount of support and constant constructive feedback from the trainers resulting in a great team atmosphere. The amount of language content; range of teaching skills and classroom experiences that were condensed into a 4 week period is truly staggering upon reflection; yet there was never a sense of over-burden or strain.
BSC Brighton is an ideal environment to begin a career in teaching because of the combination of high professional standards; up-to-date teaching and technology resources and, most importantly, a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere created by both the staff and students. The course provided an excellent grounding in the competencies and techniques of English language teaching as well as ingraining the skills necessary for ongoing self-evaluation to continue professional development after completing the course. Since qualifying I have taught both in the UK and Italy. The opportunity to live and work across the world at the entry level of a profession is a unique benefit of TESOL teaching and I have found it truly fantastic in terms of both work and, more generally, life experience. Having now returned to teach at BSC I am really pleased to be back in the place where my enthusiasm for the job was sparked.
Dean Southorn
Having worked in financial services for 12 years, I had decided on a career change. TEFL was an industry I had previously considered and when I checked the cost of the course at BSC I was pleasantly surprised.
I was prepared for a month of hard work and people had stressed the intensity of the four weeks of study. Although I did find it intensive, it was manageable. I think my years of experience of working to tight deadlines in business and having to manage my time efficiently, held me in good stead and I handled the workload relatively comfortably.
The course schedule was excellent and progressed logically. There were nerve-wracking moments in the first week as we took our first lessons, but the tutors were supportive and encouraging and the students, who knew we were trainees, understanding and patient.
The course is punctuated with challenging projects, but these are made fun through the necessary research and interactions with experienced teachers and students. Learning Norwegian from beginner was particularly enjoyable and our half-Norwegian teacher a whirlwind of fun and enthusiasm.
The comradery between delegates was also exceptional and it was a truly shared experience. I’m not just still in touch with them, but I consider them friends. We shared ideas and materials and helped each other plan and prepare lessons when we had time to spare. This is something we did naturally and I have since discovered, since taking a job at BSC, that it’s consistent throughout the school and the profession in general.
I have not looked back since choosing to change career and I would recommend anybody in a similar situation to me to take the plunge and enrol in a teacher training course at BSC. I guarantee you won't regret it.
Jade Pichaeli
I'd heard the TEFL course was intense and I wasn't disappointed! However, although it's fair to say the month of June was dedicated to TEFL study, I am so glad I did it; not only do I feel I've learnt an incredible amount in 4 speedy weeks, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy teaching English and corny as it may sound, how satisfying it is. This is a testimonial and we're meant to say these things, but it's a course well worth doing and I've since learnt that there are so many career avenues you can explore with it, as well as the back streets of the globe!
You may think that TEFL courses are full of young people wanting to travel and although some of us wanted to use the TEFL course for that reason, there was a good range of ages and of people doing the course for different ends. This only enriched the experience with different perspectives, approaches and ideas.
There is a lot of work, but we had two tutors who were our constants throughout the course and offered boundless support. This support, although always available, was subtlety reduced so that as the weeks passed we became less and less dependent on them and were able to plan and deliver engaging lessons on our own.
Our tutors' different teaching styles towards us as students offered us a diverse pool of expertise and approaches as well as ensuring we all felt related to. Open discussion and debate on topics related to teaching were encouraged, which only furthered our enthusiasm for the course and the job.
The teaching practice and feedback sessions thereafter were organized and conducted so that we could note our areas for improvement and really see our progression as the weeks passed. The teaching practices were also set up so we could watch and review our peers whilst they taught, which was a great way to pick up tips and learn from each other.
From our own practice of classroom activities to the assignments, everything was relevant and transferrable to the classroom. Actually doing classroom games and activities myself, rather than being told, has meant that the ones that I enjoyed and found most productive have stayed in my brain and I have since used them with success in the classroom.
A wonderful addition to the course was four Chinese language lessons. This was followed by an assignment, where we were asked to reflect on our feelings as students of an unknown language and how we felt the teacher's methods and approach worked to help or hinder our learning. This part of the course was extremely helpful in a completely different way to other more practical aspects; it gave us an insight into how students may feel and furthered our compassion and empathy with them for consequential behaviour.
What was so smart about this course was the timetable. Our days consisted of morning lessons where we were the students, learning about the phonemic chart, lesson activities, grammar, teaching techniques or using the computer in lessons. Our teaching practice in the afternoons were then organised so they were often in some way connected to the topic we had learnt that morning or the previous day. This encouraged our progression and helped us to put what we had learnt into practice straight away in order to cement it in our minds.
Doing this course has given me the opportunity to open so many doors; in terms of teaching, examining, travelling and learning a second language myself. Well worth the pennies spent!