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What our participants say about the course...

New: In answer to a posting on Dave's ESL Cafe's Teacher Training Forum: CELTA vs. SIT: "I am looking at Celta vs. SIT Tesol but not sure which course to take. Both seem to be well established in terms of longevity and course structure. I would like to learn as much as I possibly can prior to on the job learning!"

Nicole Ring responds: "I struggled with the same decision... I'm biased, because I chose SIT over CELTA and believe it was an excellent decision. I'll share what I learned in my own research (in 2003) and what my personal experience has been. The SIT teaching philosophy of reflective and experiential learning matches closely with my own teaching philosophy. CELTA, I've heard, is a much more objectively-based curriculum, with teacher-trainer feedback being much less constructive, as it relies on grades. Everywhere I go, SIT seems to be very well respected. I know I made the right choice for me; I think it really depends on what kind of teacher you are, and want to be. With the SIT TESOL course, you know you're getting the same tried-and-true curriculum on your teacher training. CELTA courses follow some guidelines, and are observed to make sure they're up to par, but the curriculum itself could be vastly different from course to course, depending on the whims of the trainer."

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"Just a quick note to thank you for having me in class today. As I mentioned to you before leaving, I was extremely impressed by your technique. It's a science to write a good lesson plan, and an art to execute it well, and you are doing both of those things with remarkable skill. I love how you are providing students with a fully immersive, completely engaging classroom experience where there is never a moment of "down time" and they are constantly involved: listening, pointing, repeating, moving "Mr. Garcia," etc. You are hitting all of the modalities in a way that allows them to learn and comprehend new material, then apply and practice it in several different ways. Of course, an hour of observation is not much, but I saw enough -- along with the few minutes I spent last week -- to be thoroughly impressed. People who have visited your class have consistently commented on what a fantastic job you are doing, and I see what they are talking about. I'd love to be able to send more people your way to watch you in action. For now, thanks again for welcoming me in class, and thanks again for the tremendous dedication you are offering your students."

"I will write to you with my feelings after the course and my reflections also. At this time I can tell you that the world was turned on its head, what I had been doing in Cairo and at the CentroRomero here in Chicago, makes sense...and more so....It has changed my life---and whoever said "you can't teach an old dog new tricks, was once and forever proven wrong with the course....I have not only learned new tricks, I have had to un-learn, re-learn and then learn anew----you ask, Ron, has the course been a success? Good Sir, I am a different person....Thanks with all my heart. --Frank Manella

"The SIT TESOL Certificate course has met my expectations above and beyond what I initially set for the course. I am confident I can teach an ESL class successfully."
--Annie Chey

"This course is fantastic! If someone is seriously interested in TESOL, I think they should really invest their time and money to do this course."
--Leslie Brown (Leslie pursued her SIT MAT ESOL degree after finishing the course)

"At SIT, you not only gain training as a teacher, you gain understanding and appreciation for working with different cultures. It is an experience you need not only as an ESL teacher, but as a human being."
--Giselle DeMaria

" I do not know how I was even teaching without knowing everything I learned in this course. It was a very organized and efficient way to learn. The teachers were very sensitive to the needs of the participants and the classes were full of good humor and interaction. Not only was the content so rich, but also the teaching experience and group work provided us with real growth and left us with plenty of things to think about. This was the first time IÕd heard of the experiential learning cycle and reflective teaching and I think education, in general, would be much richer if these ideas were used in every school." --Selma, who had been teaching English for three years when she took the course

"I had no idea when I signed up that the practice teaching sessions would be such an important part of the course. Not only was it tons of fun but also I was amazed to see my progression from an unsure instructor, not really understanding what I was doing, to someone who really feels comfortable teaching a language in a classroom."
--Phayvanh

"I've worked with governors, senators, rock stars and environmentalists of the highest intellectual and spiritual characters and certainly the TESOL Certificate (and my classmates) were easily as great and in some cases a greater pleasure to work with. I missed them before I got even halfway home."
--Doug

"The commitment, dedication and professionalism of the trainers was superb. I was dazzled by my observations of their lessons and learned so many things from their manner, presence, and gentle firmness that I want to carry into my own teaching."
--Jan

"The course was a taste of a wonderfully rich and rewarding profession. It was thought-provoking, mind-expanding and totally great. The trainers were exuberant and energetic and totally complemented one anotherÕs gifts and strengths."
--Carolyn

And more from a trainer and faculty member: Trainer, Connie Tumavicus says,

"The SIT TESOL Certificate course goes beyond the "how-to" of teaching. Through experience, feedback and reflection, participants enter into a personal discovery of who they are, and who they can be, as teachers. Each time I train, I see participants' eyes light up as they begin to understand the possibilities of learning and growth open to them." ESOL luminary and author, Diane Larsen-Freeman says, "I believe the TESOL certificate participants find the course so rewarding because it takes the "best practices" of our MAT program and applies them in the certificate context. SIT's comprehensive approach gets participants thinking reflectively and planning and teaching learner-centered classes. Dramatic changes occur when the learner is respected and understood as a whole person, when teachers and students engage in building communities of learners, and when beliefs and practices are challenged in safe and constructive ways."

What one unbiased school in the Middle East says,

"Dear Ron, We put TEFL Certificate as a qualification in our ads because the ELS Language Centers basic qualification was called such. SIT is recognized around the world as having one of the best programs for MA TESOL. We would certainly encourage SIT TESOL Certificate graduates to apply for our positions."