Our Happy Students

I attended the Arizona Language Center in March of 2014 to earn my TEFL certificate. The program was both enjoyable and very challenging. I spent a year researching TEFL programs, the job market for teachers abroad, and requirements. I ultimately decided to go with the Arizona Language Center because I felt learning in an in-class environment and having the opportunity to teach real classes with ESL students is the only way to practice my craft as a new teacher. Most TEFL programs I found in my research were online-only programs that didn't offer any real in-class student teaching experience. At the Arizona Language Center I accrued 12 hours of actual teaching observed by an experience ESL teacher as part of my 120 hour TEFL program. The feedback you get from the observing teacher is absolutely vital in learning how to compose an effective lesson plan. If I could do it all again or offer any advice, I would highly encourage you to DO ALL OF THE TEXTBOOK READING & CHAPTER SUMMARIES EARLY SO YOU CAN FOCUS ON YOUR LESSON PLANS! Pick up your textbooks & the syllabus when you pay the tuition and get all the book work done before your class even begins. Because like I said, the program is very challenging and the learning curve for lesson planning would have been smoother had I followed this advice. I found my first experience teaching abroad to be incredibly rewarding and the lessons I'm learning as a new teacher are ones that I can apply to many areas of my life. I'm glad I completed this program and I encourage so many other people who are interested to do the same, just know exactly why you want to teach because if you're not passionate about it, you won't do well. If all you want to do is to travel the world, that's great buy a plane ticket and just go. But if you want to enrich your life with the experience of teaching, and learning whilst immersing yourself in a new culture then teaching abroad just might be for you. Good luck :) "Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you- it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you... Hopefully, you leave something good behind." Anthony Bourdain