Courtney Malone did Tutor Training course in 2016. She is a Curriculum and Teacher Development Supervisor at Yew Wah Educational School System.
Did you find the Teaching ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms (TESMC) tutor training to be valuable?
Yes – after the tutor training I was confident in delivering the course that I would be true to the content and intentions its design and that my students would satisfy all requirements of the certification.
In what ways did it impact your own teaching? Did it impact your school?
I first took the course as a participant back in 2004 and trained to be a tutor twelve years later. Throughout teaching experiences across several countries and continents, it has helped me to be sensitive to, anticipate, and plan for the needs of English-language learners at a range of different levels. I am better equipped with varied strategies to support different learners day-to-day as well as to plan large scale approaches to move them forward in both their subject knowledge and language use over time.
When you ran the participant course, did you and the participants find it to be engaging?
Yes – the participants were each able to grasp and engage with all the major concepts, with each teacher finding several ideas or strategies that they were able to immediately apply in their classes. One of the strengths of the Teaching ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms course is that it can be context-embedded. When teachers can discuss the ideas and their work with colleagues seeking to support the same students with the same challenges, they can find solutions that are realistic and applicable to their situations.
Did teachers use their understandings from the course in their teaching?
Yes – in observations in the weeks and months following the course, I was able to see teachers in many subject areas apply their learning from the course. In addition, there has been a perceptible shift in the teachers’ sense of their own role as teachers not only of their subject content, but also as teachers of language. Whether in individual classroom practice or in larger academic and policy discussions, teachers are more aware of the critical role they all have to play in advancing the English language learning of our students.
Would you recommend the TESMC tutor training and/or the participant course to other teachers?
Yes. The course offers a pathway for schools to open conversations and enrich skills sets around how a whole school supports English-language learning. The nine-module format facilitates sustained focus for development, allowing for the reflection and practice necessary for teachers to make real changes in their understanding and practice.
Thank you, Courtney, for sharing your perspective on the TESMC course!
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