Spending a weekend immersed in the world of TEFL will give you a clear insight into what TEFL is all about. You will focus on some of the key issues surrounding teaching English: being in a classroom with a group of non-native speaker students, motivating them, encouraging them, and planning lessons for them. You will also have the opportunity to present short teaching slots to your peers on a couple of occasions.

In order to get the most out of your course and to become a more rounded teacher it is advisable to back up your face-to-face weekend course with an online, pre-TEFL grammar course. Whilst weekend TEFL courses are a great way to learn the basics of TEFL teaching, and to prepare you for your first classroom experience, their concise nature does mean that there is not always much time to delve into the grammatical aspect of English teaching.

Although as fluent English speakers, we know when and how to use certain structures and apply certain rules, we are not generally taught why. This is generally not problematic in every day life, but when it comes to teaching the ins and outs of grammar, it’s essential that teachers are able to explain these aspects accurately and comprehensively.

You want to be ready to tackle the grammar and you don't want to be held back by your lack of knowledge. Of course, a teacher can research grammar by wading through grammar reference books, but it's hard to know where to start. With our English Language Awareness course, the course is selective - items are carefully chosen for new teachers and presented at pre-TEFL course level - so you learn everything that is really useful and you don't waste time on what isn't.

The course will save you valuable time in your preparation as a teacher, leaving you much freer to work on your classroom teaching skills and get to know your students.