I OISE's TEFL Course after doing a lot of research online. As a teacher, I personally acknowledged that I needed to enroll in a course to improve my teaching.
Alumni Spotlight: Jinnie Tan
Program:
OISE University of Toronto TEFLPhotos
Jinnie is an Early Years teacher from Malaysia. She graduated from the UK in 2016 with a Bachelor of Early Years and Childhood Education. Since a young age, she has had great enthusiasm and has always been excited for big adventures.
Why did you choose this program?
What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
OISE has a great website and learning management system. The website provides clear guidance and lists clear course content to help manage your expectations of the course. You can always monitor your own progress and personal achievements.
When I was facing any technical problems online, they were quick in response and addressed any doubts I had during the course. Also, you get a personal tutor's advice and comments every time you accomplish a reflection journal.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Never underestimate your capabilities when studying online. It might be a brand new experience for you but always have discipline in yourself to understand or study the course better as it might be another eye-opener in your teaching career.
Doing both work and study might be a difficult task to accomplish, but always have faith in yourself to work toward your dreams.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
As an online learner, working in a school during the day is a great option. You could be able to experience as much teaching as you can in the day while learning online during nights or weekends.
This helped me to understand the course better and always have fresh new ideas to present to daily classes. Bear in mind that you might be busy with your teaching job, so always have time set aside during the weekends to study online as you might get too tired after working for the whole day.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
When it was near to my departure, I was really excited about the different culture that I could experience during my stay in the UK. However, I was worried about surviving independently in a completely new country without having anyone to rely on.
I overcame this fear quickly as I made several friends that had also left their home country to pursue their dreams. Also, I was really lucky to have an Aunt that was staying in the UK -- she helped answer my questions and calm me down. I am really thankful for the friends that I met when I arrived as we have become very close.
My experience has really lead me to change my perspective of the world and to understand that we should only take one step at a time. While you are abroad, always have an open mind, never have any fear of different challenges that come to you, and accept and blend into the culture as soon as you can.