ITTT has been providing high-quality in-class and online TEFL/TESOL courses for nearly two decades. We are constantly striving to provide the best courses for our students to meet the demands of the TEFL/TESOL industry. With this in mind we have developed our online Observed Teaching Practice (OTP) course. The ITTT OTP course is mainly aimed at qualified teachers who require a practical teaching component to their certification but are unable to attend a training centre in person due to geographical or time constraints.
How OTP Courses Work
Uniquely all elements of the course can be completed remotely without the need of any specialised technology. Participants complete several study tasks before planning, teaching and recording a series of actual lessons. Course work is submitted online which is then assessed by our course trainers. An added benefit to this method of obtaining OTP is the range of additional transferable skills employed by the course, such as video recording, video conferencing (Skype) and portfolio construction.
30-Hour Course & 50-Hour Course
The course is available in 30-hour (6 hours of OTP) or 50-hour (12 hours of OTP) options which when combined with an online TEFL/TESOL certificate provides full certification for the majority of teaching jobs worldwide. The course is open to anyone with an online certificate from ITTT or elsewhere as long as the certificate includes a minimum of 100 study hours and a grammar component.
If you choose the 30-hour course you will need to complete 6 hours of Observed Teaching Practice, a figure that is generally considered to meet the minimum international standard required for developing a good level of basic EFL teaching skills.
In contrast, the 50-hour course requires 12 hours of Observed Teaching Practice which means you will benefit from extensive classroom training that allows you to develop your teaching skills to an even higher level. This extra OTP will also demonstrate to future employers that you are fully dedicated to becoming a skilled and knowledgeable teacher, and will therefore increase your chances of securing the most sought after positions.
Whichever course you choose you will have up to six months to complete all the course elements. On successful completion of the course, not only will you have earned an OTP certificate but you will also have produced a portfolio of your work on the course which will serve as evidence of your abilities in the classroom for future job applications.
The 3 Phases of an OTP Course
The course is made up of three main elements or phases.
- The first phase develops an awareness of and practice in the uses of lesson planning, feedback techniques, self evaluation and video as a training tool.
- In the second phase participants demonstrate through the actual teaching of real ELLs (English Language Learners) their skills and abilities as teachers over a range of student levels and topics.
- The final phase is where participants prepare for a series of interview-style questions on the topics covered throughout the course and a Skype interview is conducted.
The courses are very reasonably priced at $249 for the 30-hour course and $399 for the 50-hour course.
