On Saturday, I completed the Trinity College London-accredited CertTESOL after studying for one month at Liverpool School of English, and I am now a qualified EFL teacher.

Prior to studying on the course, I was given repeated warnings by the course director about the intensive nature of the TESOL programme, and I can safely say that those warnings were not exaggerations. Throughout June, I and 12 other trainee teachers experienced the extraordinary challenges and difficulties that come with studying for the TESOL qualification, but thankfully, we were able to achieve our goal.

It is important for anybody considering applying for place on a TESOL course to know that commitment is an absolute necessity. The TESOL programme will be your entire life for one month – you will have no social life whatsoever. There is a huge workload and it is essential to remain well-organised throughout the duration of the course. Students on the TESOL programme are required to attend classes that will train them for life as an EFL teacher. Training that I received included: classroom management, error correction and teaching young learners. In addition to this, I was required to attend four Russian language lessons. These lessons gave me an invaluable insight into what it is like to learn a new language with no prior knowledge of that language and I know what to consider when teaching English to my future students that possess no prior knowledge of the language.

In terms of teaching practice, I was required to plan and teach 9 EFL lessons to a group of adults. I spent two weeks teaching upper-intermediate level students and two weeks teaching pre-intermediate students. From this practice, I improved my ability to grade my language in accordance with the level of students, and how to provide clear instructions and check understanding. I also learned how lessons should be correctly structured (Engage, Study, Activate) so as to maximise student engagement and learning. Finally, I was required to plan and teach a personalised, one hour less to a student of my choice; this lesson had to be built around the needs of the student, as identified by myself. The student that I taught was a 22-year-old woman from Chengdu, China, and our lesson was based on the correct use of the definite and indefinite articles.

I’m extremely proud to have completed the TESOL programme and I wouldn’t have been able to complete the course if it weren’t for the incredible support from the programme director, my fellow students and my family.

I am now more familiar with the technical elements and rules of English grammar, tenses and phonology and I have been able to practice planning and teaching lessons to students. The course was extremely demanding, and sacrifices had to be made, but it is through sacrifice that good things come.

I am looking forward to putting my training to use by teaching students in China. It is time to leave England and embark on an adventure overseas.