What’s the online and in-class blended TEFL Toulouse course?
You do the TEFL course online at home over 11 weeks (so about 2 hours a day), and then do 20 hours of “practicum”. This is a mix of teaching practice and observation of lessons, and you have an extra 3 months to do it.
The online part of the course is provided by a partner TEFL training organisation.
You get 4 observed teaching practices with us in Toulouse, which of course include lesson planning help and feedback for each lesson. It’s whole afternoons at our training centre, when you like.
Ideally you can come and do some of the teaching practices with us during your 11 weeks rather than all of them afterwards.
If you can’t make it to Toulouse at all you can teach your lessons on Zoom (or equivalent) and we’ll observe those. But you really ought to try and get some classroom experience.
You are not obliged to do the teaching practices with us, and can opt for only the certification from the partner school. It’s up to you. But bear in mind the reputation of the TEFL Toulouse certificate within France. Some language schools in France will need to see “TEFL Toulouse” certificate.
A huge bonus of this blended option is that you can come to TEFL Toulouse when you like (during any in-class TEFL course that’s running) to observe and participate in the morning theory sessions, or the afternoon teaching practice sessions. Just pop in (but give us some notice!)
Do bear in mind that we may need to see more than the 4 teaching practices with us, to be awarded TEFL Toulouse certification. You can purchase more sessions at 80e in case you need or want them.
The Pole Emploi may be able to finance this course. Just contact us.
Start dates are every 2 weeks so you can get going very soon.
Who is this course for?
Many of you simply do not have the time available to attend our onsite TEFL course in Toulouse, from 9 am to 630pm Monday to Friday for 4 weeks, due to family or work commitments. If this is you, the online and in-class blended TEFL course is perfect. Obviously you still need an internet connection, a minimum of about 13 hours a week and some peace and quiet.
It may also suit you if you simply prefer an easier pace – the usual 4 week TEFL is intensive, after all. Or do you want to get a taste of teaching, but keep things low key?
How does the teaching practice part work for the blended TEFL Toulouse course?
You do a total of 20 hours of “practicum”. Out of these 20 hours, 6 must be teaching real classes. Ideally you teach in-class but online teaching is permitted too. The other 14 hours can be observation. Ideally you come to us in Toulouse for 4 of your teaching practices (ie 4 x 1 hour lessons, which are included in the course fee) and also for some of your observations. The observation of your lessons, with our highly qualified and experienced trainers is the key.
We can help you if you want to set up some teaching practices at a local language school near you.
If you prefer we will give you all of this online – eg online lesson planning help, observe you teaching 4 online lessons (eg on Zoom) and give you indepth feedback after each lesson online. But as mentioned above. we need to be satisfied with your 4 teaching practices to be awarded the TEFL Toulouse certificate.
Will I get a TEFL Toulouse certificate and a certificate from the partner school who provides the theory portion?
We need to be satisfied with your 4 teaching practices (included in your course fee) to be awarded the TEFL Toulouse certificate.
Y0u can opt to only receive the certificate from our partner school if you don’t want us to observe you teaching. However, if you want to teach in France, having the certificate from TEFL Toulouse reassures employers.
If we all feel that 4 hours isn’t enough, you can purchase more teaching practice afternoons with us in Toulouse or online, at 80 euros each.
How does the theory part work?
You will be following a 10 chapter online (and physical if you want) book, reading one chapter a week and doing tasks, quizzes, submitting essays, watching live or recorded lectures regularly, then submitting a final project at the end.
Can I really come to TEFL Toulouse at any time for my teaching practice?
Well, we need to have an in-class course running – which is most of the year. See course dates and fees here.
How is the TEFL Toulouse blended course better than other online courses?
- It’s an online blended course, not just an online course…
- …there are 4 hours’ real life classroom teaching practice included in the price – whole afternoons here. You can also come in when you like to observe theory sessions. You can pop in when you like and “jump in on” existing TEFL courses.
- We are experts in classroom teaching. Many online courses only deal with online teaching and don’t provide classroom management training, and so on.
- You can purchase more teaching practice hours with us until we are all happy with your ability
- You get our lifetime job guidance – we are experts on teaching English in France
- You can add professional development courses to strengthen your qualification.
What if I have to cancel a teaching practice that I’ve set up with you?
We will have set up the TP for you in terms of staffing and timetabling, so if you cancel within two weeks of your planned teaching practice. you will miss it and need to pay a 80e fee for us to set up another one.
I just want a basic online TEFL qualification
There is the possibility of just doing the online portion with our partner school. The fee for this is 1200euros, but you won’t get the TEFL Toulouse certificate. We will put you directly in touch with them.
I’m not very tech-savvy. Can I still do the online blended course?
You’ll be using Moodle. It takes a few hours to get used to if it’s new to you, but once you get going it’s great to have a sort of “cockpit” available all the time, with all the materials you need.
Should I do the TEFL Toulouse blended online in-class version, or the 4 week, in-class TEFL?
Given the choice between an online blended course or onsite TEFL course, we always recommend our onsite, in-class one, if you can possibly keep 4 weeks free to do it. Many people start off interested in the online course then realise they can find a way of doing the 4-week in class course, with a little help from neighbours and friends!
Do I need a degree to do the online blended TEFL course? What level of English do I need?
Our TEFL course (online and in-class) is pitched at degree level, so while you don’t need a degree, you need to be able to handle that level of study. Just apply – we take each application individually. You’ll need to have a C1 (advanced) level of English if you’re a non native speaker.
Can I also attend theory sessions at TEFL Toulouse?
Sure! This is where the online course is real value for money if you are based within a few hours of Toulouse. Just let us know which you would like to come to in advance and come along – no extra cost! We can send you the timetable. It’s really great to meet the TEFL trainees on our in-class course and compare stories, tips and advice.
And you can join us all for the end of course champagne and dinner!
Can you help me with accommodation for when I come to Toulouse?
Of course. Just let us know. Some of our host families may have a room, or we can recommend well priced places. There’s always a way!
When are the start dates for the online blended course?
Every 2 weeks. On the application form (see the orange buttons on this page!) just apply for the next TEFL course date and then mention when you would like to start the online course, where asked towards the end of the form.
How do I apply?
Just press the orange button here on this page. Fill in the form fully and mention that you want to the online blended course towards the end of the form and a start date that you would like.
How much does it cost?
The course will cost you 1600 euros – all taxes and materials included as well as lifetime job guidance – and the 4 teaching practice afternoons from 2pm to 6.30pm at TEFL Toulouse, and the option to come to our training centre when you like to observe the theory sessions and some demo lessons. We’ll throw in champagne and dinner if ending your course happens to coincide our in-class TEFL end of course celebrations.
I’m unemployed in France. Will the Pole Emploi fund the course?
We hope so!
But not if you opt for just the online portion only with our partner school. You have to do the full blended course with us to be eligible for external funding.
Can you give me the exact course content? What will I learn?
Here goes:
Chapter 1: Role of the Teacher Reading and tasks on the history of English language; expectations for teachers on their first day of class; creating your teaching persona; recognizing traits of an effective teacher; ways to build community in your classroom; examples of how to be a good role model; strategies for maintaining professional relationships; terminology and abbreviations used in the TEFL profession; introduction to language levels, and effective and ineffective teaching practices.
Chapter 2: Creating a Student-Centered Classroom. Reading and tasks on the student-centered approach and teacher’s roles; autonomous learning, the roles of collaboration and cooperative learning; creating scaffolded activities, experiential learning with examples of useful EFL activities; differences between learners.
Chapter 3: Cultural Sensitivity. Reading and tasks on culture and cultural sensitivity, surface and deep culture; the five barriers to cross-cultural communication; four main cultural dimensions and their implications for the EFL classroom; and culture shock and its stages.
Chapter 4: Methods and Approaches Reading and tasks on the differences between approach, method, and technique; contemporary and traditional teaching methods; Communicative Language Teaching (CLT); characteristics of the Community Language Learning approach; general procedures used in a Silent Way classroom; the pillars of Suggestopedia; using Total Physical Response and Storytelling in a classroom; principles of Content-Based Instruction, and ways to implement Cooperative Learning, Task-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, and differentiation.
Chapter 5: Lesson Planning Reading and tasks on the importance of lesson planning and how it relates to instruction; understanding language level distinctions, creating learning objectives for lessons, characteristics of an effective lesson plan; lesson planning for young learners, the foundation behind effective assessment methods.
Chapter 6: Grammar and Lexis Reading and tasks on defining word root, prefix and suffix; common phrasal verbs and collocations; phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic understanding; selecting vocabulary words to teach in the ESL/EFL classroom; effective methods of vocabulary instruction; challenges and approaches to teaching idiomatic expressions; effective methods of grammar instruction with example grammar activities.
Chapter 7: Listening and Reading Reading and tasks on how the brain processes listening output; types of listening input; types of listening materials and how to choose them for the classroom; how to tailor listening activities to student level and mental method of processing; ways to set up activities within a listening lesson and sequence of lessons; specific techniques for teaching listening skills; how the schema theory impacts ESL/EFL reading activities; common reading strategies that can be taught to ESL/EFL learners; selecting reading materials; intensive and extensive reading skills; types of pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities; and ways to assess reading both formally and informally.
Chapter 8: Speaking and Writing Reading and tasks on the foundation needed for ESL/EFL students to improve their oral and written language production; commonly used classroom speaking activities; the sounds and most common pronunciation rules for English pronunciation and when to incorporate effective pronunciation techniques into ESL/EFL lessons; structuring ESL/EFL writing activities and lessons; and recommended outside resources to improve and expand teacher knowledge, methods, and materials of ESL/EFL speaking and writing.
Chapter 9: Visual Aids and Technology Reading and tasks on the several benefits of using low-tech visual aids with English language learners; general criteria to follow when choosing a visual aid; low-tech visual aids and how they can be applied to the ESL/EFL classroom; ways to use the internet effectively with ESL/EFL students; precautions to consider when assigning internet-related activities; how blogs and wikis might be used to enhance students’ communication skills; recommendations for effectively integrating video into the ESL/EFL classroom; ways to use video as a teaching and learning tool, and pros and cons to learning language online.
Chapter 10: Course Design Reading and tasks on the basic concepts in course design: creating and delivery of needs analyses and diagnostic assessments; use of data collected via analyses; evaluating and selecting textbooks; producing a general course syllabus; creating a class contract to establish classroom standards of behavior.
*Readings are usually set on a Monday, with tasks having to be submitted by Friday or Sunday
What else should I know?
There are live lectures to watch, or recorded ones, to suit your timetable. You know what happens and when via an online calendar which shows when work has to be submitted. You also have times when you can have a Zoom session with your personal tutor.
I’ve still got questions…
We are here to help!