The effect the Delta has had on my teaching and learning

After I finished my M.Ed in Tesol I thought to myself, “ok I have studied a lot, I have conducted research, written some assignments. I am ready to teach!” And I did. I have been doing so for some years actually.

Then I found out about the Delta. Whatever I thought about my teaching style, my materials, the way I planned my lessons automatically changed and I started viewing everything more critically.

In fact, this is probably the biggest effect. I look at my lessons more closely. I question the effectiveness of my materials,my tasks, what my aims are and how I will achieve them. I now look closely at my lessons and reflect on them. I then make an action plan and try to improve any weaknesses of my lessons. I have become better informed about my own teaching and believe I can observe others too and make suggestions regarding what could be done to make a lesson more effective for the students.

The contents of the course has been extremely beneficial. The background reading has informed me about approaches/ methodologies and educational matters which as a result have affected my teaching. My tutors’  input and feedback have steered me towards more skilled teaching and guided me throughout this whole experience. The workload is heavy and at times overwhelming. This has been an intense experience that has made me step out of my comfort zone and experiment with new teaching techniques and tools. No pain, no gain. This experience is so rewarding and the effort my tutors and I have put into it so far, has paid off.

At a more personal level, this course has given me the opportunity to meet some marvelous people who have become part of my PLN. I started attending conferences, I  have my own reflective blog and often tweet about ELT matters. All this because of the Delta.

The delta is a teacher training course which does exactly that. It trains you. No matter how many hours I have spent reading or in a classroom, the training I received during the course has truly changed the way I view myself as a teacher.

I think the key words here are: Learn- be trained-reflect and take action.