GU’s Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate Program Continues to Make a Difference
GU’s Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate program has proven instrumental in helping its students develop core competencies in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Guided by professor Sherry Steeley, Ph.D., the program’s students translate experience from fields such as international finance, law, and public relations, into core teaching skills such as developing lesson plans informed by theories of multicultural education and communicative language learning, and managing classrooms effectively, in the TEFL program’s blended learning format.
As recent graduate Lydia Johnson states, “I just remember feeling like in the first online class, there’s just an amazing amount of information to help you grow, though not overwhelming because of Professor Steeley’s structured teaching approach.” Johnson also enjoyed the program because of its flexibility. During the online course, students are able to balance their busy schedules with completing course assignments.
Luz Marina Lopez, a program graduate beamed that, “I enjoyed the academic part of the TEFL [program] because it is extremely interesting and stimulating, beyond any academic credential I may have. It was demanding and exciting to learn the teaching methodology; but what I enjoyed the most was the practicum as I got more confidence in what I learned and then to have the necessary skills to teach at a later stage.”
Fellow graduate Aysenil Brittan also enjoyed the challenge of the certificate program’s teaching practicum course. According to Brittan, “I grew up learning languages in two ways, one of them was when I was a child, we moved to another country and I learned by immersion and then by rote memorization of vocabulary. But in this program, I learned that the more current way of teaching is student-centered communicative teaching. I feel very comfortable teaching now.”
If you are interested in joining the program, applications for the Spring 2022 semester will be accepted until Wednesday, December 1. If you have any questions regarding the Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate Program, reach our admissions staff at guelc@georgetown.edu or 202-687-5978.
Author Regan Carver is a Program Manager at the English Language Center.
