Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL)

By the end of the course, you will be able to demonstrate

• Knowledge of the main phonological, lexical and grammatical features of English.
• Awareness of the needs and motivation of learners in a variety of cultures and environments.
• Ability to establish rapport and maintain engagement in a classroom.
• Ability to draw up a range of lesson plans with clear and achievable aims using appropriate methods, tasks and activities.
• Ability to manage and stimulate active participation among a class of learners and provide a relevant learning context.
• Ability to evaluate, adapt and create teaching material, including the use of a diverse range of both printed and digital resources.
• Broad understanding of the main advantages and disadvantages of various language teaching approaches and staging models.
• Ability to evaluate your own effectiveness as a teacher and to work collaboratively as a member of a teaching team or group.
• An awareness of how to develop professionally as an ESOL teacher including options for further training, self-study and professional networking.
• Strategies for identifying, searching for and obtaining a TESOL teaching post after training and key things to consider when applying for jobs in this field.

Upon payment of your deposit, you will be able to make a start right away with access to our online Starter Course. 

This consists of background information and preparation materials, covering approximately 20 hours of instruction in methodology, grammar and phonology. It will also give you an insight into what to expect from the CertTESOL course. 

Completion of the Starter Course is compulsory and ensures that every member arrives at the start of the course with an adequate foundation to begin the CertTESOL. 

Insider tip! 

If you're not 100% sure that the Trinity CertTESOL is the right study option for you, consider testing it out with our online Starter Course. This will give you a good insight in to the knowledge and ability required on the CertTESOL. If you like what you see and go on to take your CertTESOL with us, you'll receive the full value of your Starter Course discounted from your Trinity CertTESOL course fee.

You will learn

• How to deliver engaging lessons that meet aims and objectives appropriate to your learners’ needs.
• Lesson planning strategies that ensure that tasks and activities meet the lesson aims and objectives.
• How to teach lessons that focus on key skills and language, such as reading, listening, writing, speaking, vocabulary and grammar.
• Key techniques and methods for teaching in both the physical and online classroom, incorporating new technologies and methodologies. 

You will be assessed through

• Six hours of real classroom teaching practice evaluated by course tutors.
• A teaching practice portfolio including your own lesson plans, self-reflections and written tutor feedback.
• A journal comprising of your reflective comments following four one-hour lesson observations of classes taught by experienced teacher trainers.

You will learn

• How to identify different parts of speech, such as verbs, adjectives, nouns, determiners, and prepositions.
• Grammatical theory related to tenses, passive voice, types of phrases, auxiliaries, and modals.
• How to apply the knowledge of grammar to your teaching.
• Word formation and lexical relationships including collocations, synonymy and hyponomy.
• Features of discourse analysis, such as cohesion, coherence, punctuation, and paragraphing.
• Language variations including varieties of English and English as a Lingua Franca.
• The structure of the IPA chart and how to identify phonemic symbols including monophthongs, diphthongs, and consonants.
• How to identify basic word stress patterns and features of connected speech in phrases.
• Basic patterns and functions of intonation.
• How to evaluate learners’ phonological difficulties while taking into consideration interlingual interference.

You will be assessed through 

• An open-book examination testing your knowledge of grammar, lexical relationships, and phonology.
• Ongoing feedback on your language awareness throughout the course.

You will learn

• How to conduct a diagnostic test for your learners to assess their ability in speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
• How to analyse your learners’ language ability in terms of grammar, vocabulary, and phonological skills.
• How to create a lesson plan that caters to your learner’s specific needs.
• How to provide suitable recommendations for further study to help your learners’ continued improvement.

You will be assessed through

• The preparation of a simple linguistic profile and needs analysis, including some basic phonemic transcription, of a single learner.
• The planning of, and reflection on, a tailor-made one-to-one lesson with a language learner.
• The preparation of recommendations for the learner’s future language development.

You will learn

• How to produce, use and evaluate simple classroom materials.
• The ability to significantly adapt and create your own teaching materials for use in the classroom.
• The ability to be able to discuss the use of selected materials in the wider context of the lesson.

You will be assessed through

• A written rationale for the design and adaptation of one piece of teaching material used on the course.
• A written evaluation of its use in classroom teaching.
• An interview with a Trinity moderator to discuss the ways in which materials development is beneficial to the development of teaching skills.

You will learn

• The experience of being a beginner level learner in a language classroom where your first language is not spoken.
• The ability to identify the main aims and objectives of a lesson and determine whether these were achieved.
• Awareness of how to contrast the main features of the taught language with English in terms of grammatical, lexical, and phonological differences.

You will be assessed through

• A journal of your reflective comments on four hours of tuition in an unknown language from the point of view of a beginner-level language learner, including an analysis of the methods and teaching approaches experienced in the unknown language lessons.

The Trinity CertTESOL and the Cambridge CELTA are the benchmark certificate level TEFL qualifications. They are by far the most highly regarded and widely accepted that you’ll find, providing a foundation for better job opportunities, further study and travel options.

Any reputable TESOL employer should be familiar with the Trinity CertTESOL. You may want to reconsider your options if your future employer is not well-informed about one of the best-known initial teaching English certificates in the world. 

The Trinity CertTESOL is accepted as a suitable teaching qualification by the Hong Kong Education Bureau (including for Primary NET teachers) and by global English Language Teaching organisations such as the British Council and International House. It is also accepted by the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

In the UK, Trinity College London has corporate recognition from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), and its respective partners in Wales and Northern Ireland. The CertTESOL is rated at Level 5 on Ofqual’s Regulated Qualifications Framework, a comparable level to the second year of an undergraduate degree, and comprises a minimum of 130 hours, with an expected minimum of 70 hours further study required (Total Qualification Time: 200 hours).

Trinity has agreements with a number of leading universities for the transfer of credit points. Holders of the CertTESOL are granted 10 Open University points as credit towards a BA or BSc degree.

The CertTESOL is accepted and recognised by most English schools in most countries around the world. It gives you a good basis to train to teach English in the Lifelong Learning Sector in the UK (further and adult education and other programmes funded through the government).

The British Council is an international organisation that works to build learning opportunities and lasting cultural relationships between the UK and countries around the world. The British Council runs accredited English language schools in over 100 countries worldwide, employing English language teachers in a respectable working environment with good pay. The CertTESOL is one of only two TEFL qualifications that are listed by the British Council in their job postings as an acceptable introductory teaching qualification that meets their standards and requirements.

By obtaining a TEFL/TESOL certificate that is accepted by the British Council, you will be able to apply for teaching positions in any British Council language school in the world. 
 
The British Council only recruits teachers that meet their requirements.

The volume of information online about TEFL/TESOL training can be overwhelming. We recommend sources below for credible information. 

• Getting into TEFL by EnglishUK
• Career pathways in TESOL: What’s next for me after my CELTA/CertTESOL by Bryan Holmes

In Hong Kong, the CertTESOL is registered under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Course Registration 250562). It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognise any qualification to which this course may lead.

In order to obtain and maintain this registration, the CertTESOL course undergoes an annual scrutiny by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) to ensure that we can meet the criteria for registration.

This registration ensures that local employers and government departments are able to verify the qualification (including HK Immigration Department, for work visa purposes).