Cactus Language Blog

Cactus TEFL Open Evening in conjunction with Brighton Festival!

Posted by Sarah under Cactus TEFL

Sarah Wilson, Cactus TEFL Training Consultant, reports back from our TEFL Open Evening on 15th May

Due to the increasing popularity of our TEFL Open Evenings we thought, why not hold this event in our home town, and what better time to do this than during the Festival? Admittedly we were a little nervous - we weren’t sure how this event would be received, and the sheer number of weird and wonderful events in the Festival programmes gave us stiff competition. We were thrilled to see that this event sold out and we even had a queue of eager TEFLers at the door who were desperate to get in!

The Evening kicked off with Cactus’ Germaine Broadbent, Head of Sales, saying a few words about the 2008 Suzanne Furstner Scholarship. This will be officially launched on 11th June at our next TEFL Open Evening at the Guardian Newsrooms in London, and is truly a great opportunity for anyone who may not be able to fund a course to get their first TEFL qualification. Head of Cactus TEFL, Jenny Johnson introduced the audience to the world of TEFL and one of the most daunting aspects of EFL teaching for new teachers, grammar. Sarah Wilson, Cactus TEFL Training Consultant, gave some helpful information about the various types of TEFL courses and useful advice on how to choose a TEFL course.

Representing Trinity College London and Cambridge ESOL, the two leading examining boards, were Huan Japes and Mike Williams. Both Huan and Mike highlighted how well-regarded the Trinity CertTESOL and the Cambridge CELTA course are worldwide. Huan focussed on some of the unique features of the Trinity CertTESOL course, and Mike had some useful information on who takes the CELTA course and where it can lead.

Emily Milner from St Giles International Brighton gave an outstanding Turkish language demonstration lesson to our brave audience, who learnt how to say hello and introduce themselves. (If any attendees happen to read this please write to us at [email protected] to let us know how you say hello, what your name is and how you ask someone their name in Turkish, and Cactus TEFL will give you a £5.00 discount off the ELA course!). The post-lesson group feedback and analysis session gave attendees and invaluable insight into what happens on a TEFL course and how the teacher manages the learning process in the classroom.

Laura Harrison, Cactus TEFL Consultant, shared her knowledge on that all-important issue of TEFL jobs, where you can go and how much you’ll earn. Continuing on this theme Robin Fry, Recruitment Manager of ISIS Education and Travel, spoke about the highs and lows of ELT in UK summer schools and stressed the value of this experience for newly-qualified EFL teachers.

Following the Q & A session three lucky audience members won in our prize draw. Congratulations to Faye Bennett on winning the ELA course and Heather Ball for winning a place on the Brighton Weekend TEFL course. A huge congratulations goes to Kate Bouchier on winning a place on the newest TEFL course in town, a Trinity CertTESOL course kindly donated by our main sponsor for the evening ISIS Brighton Study Centre.

Tags:Brighton Festival, Cactus TEFL, ela, Suzanne Furstner Scholarship, tefl, TEFL jobs