Review by Niran, September 20, 2009

I did the full-time five week CertTesol course at Golders Green. It was immensely difficult, stressful and life-consuming, however it has also been one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had.

The full-time course is five weeks long (175 hours) which is unusual in the sense that most CELTA/TESOL courses are only four weeks. The main difference with this course was that you didn’t have to teach until your second week whereas on other courses (4 weeks) you’d be teaching from the second day!! I found this beneficial as you had time to understand some basic teaching methods, techniques, and grammar before you had to teach. Moreover, this course gave more additional time for input sessions on phonology, grammar, methodology and administration than I would imagine other courses could do in only 4 weeks.

The six hours of practical teaching (or TP) were really beneficial. It built up from 20 minute sessions to 40 minute sessions to full one hour sessions. As a class of 18, we were split up into groups of 4 or 5 and assigned a personal trainer to guide us, observe us and grade us. I found the TP sessions stressful, but great learning experiences. Being observed and observing you peers were mutually beneficial and allowed retrospection and introspection into successful and less-successful stages of lessons. I also enjoyed the feedback sessions; I was very lucky that the group I had been assigned to were vocal and willing to give constructive feedback. I heard from other groups that people just didn’t bother to participate fully or just tried to be nice all the time. One piece of advice I would give you, if you are planning to do a TESOL, is to participate honestly and openly in your feedback sessions. Remember it isn’t personal, and that feedback (good and especially negative) will help you improve the next time you teach.

The trainers were great. We had six in total, who shared the range of input sessions. They each brought with them, their personal ideas and experiences, different teaching styles, and motivation. I felt this was a great way to learn, as your not stuck with just one person for the whole class.

My only negatives about the course were the following; Conditions, the heat of the classroom was horrible as we did the course during the summer. Lack of support, it would of been nice if we had the opportunity to speak with the tutors on a more one-to-one basis. Number of students on the course, in my opinion eighteen was too great a number for the size of the room and for the amount we were paying each.

Overall, I would recommend people to do their TESOL/TEFL here at Golders Green. I learned so much from my five weeks here and it really prepares you efficiently for teaching in the real-world. However, you have to dedicate your life to this course for five weeks; YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE DURING THIS COURSE as there is so much work to do in the evenings and on the weekends. Also, you must be motivated to study hard, if you’re not there is a chance that you will drop-out due to the difficulty of the course. Finally, you should prepare yourself for a few months before the course starts; read up on basic grammar, understand basic teaching methods, learn the phonemic chart. You can do this preparation at a leisurely pace if you give yourself a few months (a couple of evenings a week) and if you buy some of the recommended ESL books.

Review by K, April 30, 2010

Overall Rating
Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
Lesson Plan Guidance
Instructor Competency
Job Placement
Facilities/Resources

The course was great. Easy to get to location opposite the tube. Full on 5 week course with great tutors/trainers. Very tough, and a few people dropped out on my course, but you are warned of the workload before you start, and it’s manageable if you keep up with it. The course covers a lot in the space of 5 weeks, and I’m glad that I chose this course compared to others which only offer 4 week courses. The teaching practice was tough, scary and stressful, and the tutors push you to get up to scratch quickly, but it was a great way of preparing you for real teaching. The trainers were really knowleagable and motivational, but I have one issue with the course at Golders Green and that was with the course director….. a very aloof, cold and unapproachable person who has a tendency to look down his nose at you. But nevertheless, a great course if you want to go into teaching