Reviews of Active Language

4.5 Rating •
5 reviews
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Description

Active Language is a language school and teacher training centre located in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain. We run TEFL teacher training courses after which the graduates can teach English anywhere in the world. The Trinity College London Certificate TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course has been running for the last 10 years and 200 trainees have successfully completed the course.

The Trinity CertTESOL course is one of the two internationally recognised qualifications in TEFL. It is a postgraduate certificate of education focused on teaching English as a foreign language. Full-time and intensive courses take place over 5 weeks during the summer months.

Teaching English in Spain: despite the current economic situation, Spanish people are moving forward by investing in their own education, especially learning English. Spanish universities require students to reach a B1 foreign language level before completing a degree. This is generating a higher demand for English teachers in Spain. So, we offer extensive employment connections throughout Spain and especially in Andalusia.

Courses

Course Types

On-site TEFL Courses
Online TEFL Courses

Course Lengths

Short Courses (40-100 hours)
Standard (120-140 hours)
Long Courses (150+ hours)

Certifications

Trinity CertTESOL
Trinity DipTESOL
Trinity TYLEC

Additional Features

Online Practicum
Part-Time Study

Specialist Courses

Grammar
Teaching Young Learners

Locations

Spain

Cadiz

Active Language has received 5 student reviews and has an overall rating of 4.49 out of 5 stars based on the following criteria.

Overall Rating
Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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Instructor Competency
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Facilities/Resources

5 reviews of Active Language

Review 5 of 5 Active Language

Written by Giuditta Lombardi on October 5, 2020 1:07 pm
85%
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The 4 week face to face course is intense, but very rewarding. They support you step by step throughout the course. Throughout the course I was taken over by insecurities and doubts, but our moderator was always there to put things in the right perspective! She got me through the course. I will take her teachings and strive to work on areas I need to work on. If I were to take the course over again I’d spend more time researching lesson planning and work on my weaknesses.

The facility is complete with a work room that has resources that are available to us to use throughout the course. You start the teaching practice right away. If deciding where to attend for your certificate I highly recommend Trinity CertTesol!!

Review 4 of 5 Active Language

Written by Jacqui on September 20, 2016 12:55 pm
100%
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A fantastic course. Well organised and run by a highly professional team of staff. The range of teaching experience gained in the teaching practice has been invaluable when finding a job in the industry. My present employer was very impressed that within a 5 week period I had experienced teaching an upper-intermediate and a pre-intermediate group. He was further impressed by the experience of 1:1 teaching gained whilst on the course. All this has given me confidence to offer flexibility regarding the level of students I teach and the delivery of group or individual lessons.

The course was intensive and hard work, but well worth while. The range of experience and the amount of knowledge I gained within the 5 weeks provided me with the confidence to create and deliver lessons at the required level for the group I have recently taught. I could not have managed this without the training I received on the course.

The tutors were all approachable and friendly. They provided clear advice an areas requiring improvement whilst ensuring each of the trainee teachers gained confidence through the praise and encouragement we all received. The timetable for assignments was well planned and organised and we were given plenty of support and input on the requirements for each of the assignments.

I would thoroughly recommend this course to anyone considering teaching English as a foreign language. The school is well equipped and Cadiz is beautiful.

Review 3 of 5 Active Language

Written by Ruth Hopkins on April 2, 2016 10:23 am
93%
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So I’d secured a year’s career break from my post-primary teaching job in the UK and decided that, 20 years since I’d first thought about it, I’d start my year out by doing a English Language teaching course. Googling this led to a bewildering variety of choices: weekend short courses or intensive 4 week ones? Home or abroad? TEFL or TESOL? CELTA or Trinity Cert?

I’m not quite sure what it was that led me to click on the Active Language web link under TESOL providers but I’m so glad I did. Their website interested me sufficiently to contact them about their 5- week course that summer. From my first email enquiry I knew that this was a great choice. No question went unanswered and my phone interview with Simon, confirmed that this was going to be a thorough and worthwhile TESOL course to undertake. If I’d been at all apprehensive about my new venture, my mind was completely put at rest in the weeks leading up to my departure.

And so I arrived in the wonderful city of Cádiz which is a fantastic location for 5 weeks of study. One of the oldest cities in Western Europe, it is a wealth of fascinating sights, yet is a small enough place in which to feel at home very quickly. Never once did I feel vulnerable walking in its maze of ancient streets. Nothing is more than 15 minutes away in the old town and the fabulous beaches of the new town are within walking distance too.

Settling into my comfortable flat with 3 other TESOL Cert students, we wondered what the next 5 weeks had in store for us. As a teacher for almost 20 years it would have been easy for me to think I knew it all. Furthermore, I had become somewhat jaded with teaching in the UK and the stresses the job was increasingly facing, and was becoming cynical about many aspects of education. Nevertheless, I decided to embark on this course with an open mind. The result? Everything we did was fresh and innovative and I cannot rate the quality of instruction from Active Language’s qualified and experienced staff highly enough.

The Trinity Cert TESOL course at Active Language in Cádiz is an excellent one, not simply in what you learn but in how it is all conveyed. I have spent many years attending professional development seminars and workshops, and can honestly say that nothing has been as useful, nor as clearly and engagingly delivered as this course. Feedback on teaching practice was insightful, positive and encouraging; seminars, where we undertook student activities, were fun and engaging with a very strong element of participation. Assignments are varied: firstly the Unknown Language Journal which is invaluable in putting you in the shoes of an English language learner; a Learner Profile in which you analyse the language skills of one student in your teaching practice group and devise a series of lessons for them; and a Materials Assignment where you develop, use and evaluate classroom teaching materials.

Paramount is the level of support received, not just with your teaching practice and written work but in every aspect of your time there. If you choose, you are placed with fellow students in clean and centrally located accommodation. This not only enhances the social aspect of the course but is great camaraderie on the work front!

The Trinity Cert TESOL course at Active Language is hard work but then I think that’s what you should expect from an internationally recognised and accredited course. The sense of achievement when you receive your teaching certificate is immense as is the feeling of confidence as you embark on your new career, ably equipped to teach anywhere in the world. On top of that you’ve spent five weeks in one of finest places in Spain. I should know: I stayed there for the rest of my career break, returning home very reluctantly!

Review 2 of 5 Active Language

Written by Claire Thomson on March 3, 2015 8:36 am
80%
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I cannot recommend Active Language highly enough.

Aside from the fact that my training took place in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain, I felt that the course itself gave me an excellent grounding for ‘real life’ teaching.

We were always encouraged and supported but also left to our own devices; enabling us to build a strong foundation for our own abilities and teaching styles. In being exposed to a variety of tutors and their own particular style of teaching, we were able to see what our own possibilities were and we were never made to feel that we should mould ourselves into being a certain type of teacher. I don’t think that this can be emphasised strongly enough. The qualification provides one with an excellent starting block to approach the teaching world with, while still allowing you to develop on your own, using the skills that you have been introduced to.

I am now working full time in a language academy and still find myself muttering ‘Oh that’s what they meant…’ showing that although much of what you are taught at any given time may mean very little at that point, as soon as it is put in to practice it all makes perfect sense!

As a part time student I found that there were both advantages and disadvantages to this approach. Overall, I would say that doing the course part-time definitely allowed for more time to complete the assignments to a higher level and also gave more time for personal reflection. This is however, a personal point of view and does not reflect on the standard of the intensive course in any way.

For those concerned with finding the time to complete the course, all I can say is that I commuted for 4 hours every Friday, completed my assignments, ran a house, catered to two teenagers’ every whim and still managed to attain a good grade – it can be done! I won’t say it’s not challenging – be prepared for some hard work and tears – but it’s worth it.

Friendly and approachable yet fully professional tutors are on hand to help you every step of the way. There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere and the facilities are more than adequate for the course. I only gave the practice teaching 3 stars, as at times there were very few students to practice on…this is through no fault of the academy however as I am only now discovering just how unpredictable adult students are!

I fully intend to return to do my Diploma as soon as possible.

Review 1 of 5 Active Language

Written by Mª del Rocío Muñoz on September 4, 2014 4:25 pm
94%
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Overall, this course has been a very good experience; it has been full of challenges and rewards at the same time.

The tutors and the teachers were very professional, knowledgeable and approachable at all times. The premises were suitable for the number of students and had all the tools and IT equipment needed for teaching practice.

I really liked the approach the teachers had throughout the course letting us be part of the learning process, encouraging us to interact with them and our peers, giving us the right balance of guidance and freedom to execute and accomplish our tasks. This course has made me more aware of my abilities, even those I thought I didn’t have, Excellent!

Because this was a part time course we had a week between one day lesson and the next, which was both positive and not so positive. On the one hand, it was good to have a week to study/ review the input sessions as well as to have enough time to prepare the TPs. On the other hand, having the tutor’s feedback so close to the following TP made it a bit difficult to bear in mind and put it into practice on the following TP. I can see the logic on how the timetables were set but I guess this is more positive for the full time course. It was good though, as we were pushed and we could “use” it in other TPs. I also liked the online feedback from our peers and the further comments from our tutor.

I would have loved to have more observation sessions on experienced teachers in action and analyse them in more detail, but I guess this wasn’t possible due to the length of the course.

I am very pleased with what I have learned doing this course and I would highly recommend it.

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