Online learning is great – you get to do everything at your own pace, whenever and wherever you want… but there’s just one downside: when you get stuck! It’s not like in the classroom when you can just ask your tutor. But all is not lost; there are a few steps you can take to get you back on track to that TEFL certificate.
1) Don’t panic!
No one expects you to be an instant TEFL expert, so don’t panic if you’re not clear on something. In addition you get three attempts on any checkpoint, so there’s no harm in having a go then seeing what feedback your tutor comes back with. Fewer than 1% of i-to-i tutees eventually fail their courses – if you’re willing to listen to your tutors’ feedback and improve your answers accordingly, you’ll be fine!
Calm down dear... it's only an online TEFL course! Photo:(Barkbud)
2) Go backwards to get forwards
Each learning module is designed to contain all the information you need to complete its checkpoint. So if you’re confused, go back a couple of steps, re-read the information and it all may just become clear.
3) Have a go
As you get three tries at every module, there’s no harm in just having a go – your tutor will give you detailed feedback on your answers and clarify any areas where you’re not totally clear. And, you never know, you might even pass!
4) Check Chalkboard
There’s a great group on Chalkboard called ‘Help I’m Stuck on My TEFL Course!’ where people post questions about their course to be answered by other members. Make sure you take a look at past questions and answers – often people get stuck on the same questions, so you should be able to find some advice which applies to you. Alternatively, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, just post a new discussion post and someone will get right back to you: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/groups/19-Help-I-m-Stuck-on-my-TEFL-Course-
5) Get some help from the Helpdesk
If you’re still totally adrift with your course, you can get in touch with a tutor directly via the TEFL Helpdesk. Just email helpdesk@tefl-training.com and they’ll be more than happy to help. Be aware though that the Helpdesk isn’t instant – they can take up to 48 working hours to respond to queries, so you’ll need to be patient!
What do you guys think? What did you do when you got stuck on your TEFL course?
Loading recent content...
What do you think?
Add Your Comment!
Log in to leave a comment or Create an account
Awesome post! I find If I'm stuck I like to take a breath and read back over the notes. It's so important to have the basic foundations studied otherwise you've got nothing to build on and that's often where I go wrong - Oops!!
I'm interested in talk and discuss what is the difference between ESL and TEFL
» Comments RSS