Bonolo: South Africa: Jan 01, 2021

I am naturally an outgoing person who enjoys being in the company of other people. This skill and the ability to communicate effectively were further sharpened whilst I was doing the TEFL course at the University of the Witwatersrand language school, where we had 120 hours of practical experience teaching adult students.

I am a person who is bubbly but also assertive and enjoys connecting with others. I have a natural and easy affinity towards creating engaging with people and being able to learn from them, as they do me. One thing that I am proud to have learned whilst doing the TELF course, was creating learning environments where students felt a strong confidence to speak in a way that provided learning for all those involved – myself included. I think teaching is not just about talking at students, especially in a language class. Teaching is about creating a space where students can naturally use the tools and lessons from the classroom, in a more natural way. I was fortunate enough to learn this skill through the TEFL course.

Part of the skills that I have learned and implemented during the practical teaching was how to make learning communicative and relatable to the students and also how to effectively manage a classroom. This is especially important when working with adults who may view an authority figure in the classroom differently to younger students. The ability to create a motivation for students to want to learn – be it intrinsic or external was something that I also learned.

To be a teacher is not just to be a person who gives information to students. But to be a teacher is also to be a person that allows students to open up and be receptive to acquiring knowledge in a way that is more suitable to the demographic in the classroom and also to create an environment where peer learning and discussions can naturally occur. I believe that my outgoing, friendly and easy flowing personality allows for such an environment, while still obtaining respect and professional boundaries.