Online Cert ICT & Cert IBET

Nicky Hockly, UK

Nicky is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com ), an online training and development consultancy. Nicky has worked in the field of face-to-face and distance education since 1987, and is co-author of the book “How to Teach English with Technology” (Pearson Longman 2007), which was awarded the 2007 Ben Warren International House Trust Prize. E-mail: nicky.hockly@theconsultants-e.com

There is good news for teachers who would like to update their qualifications, but can’t afford the time and expense associated with taking time off work to attend a f2f (face to face) teacher development course. Two new international online qualifications have recently been launched, validated by Trinity College London, and by English UK: the 120-hour Cert ICT: Certificate in Teaching Languages with Technology, and the 70-hour Cert IBET: Certificate in International Business English Training. Both of these courses are offered fully online by The Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com).

How to use ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in the classroom has traditionally been given short shrift on teacher training courses. The Cert ICT: Certificate in Teaching Languages with Technology aims to help practising language teachers develop their basic computer literacy skills, learn about various approaches to using technology in the classroom, explore (free) online tools, and have the opportunity to put these into practice over the duration of the course itself, with their own f2f learners. This is a qualification for teachers and trainers of English (EFL, ESOL) and for teachers of other languages, who have already started their teaching careers and wish to further enhance their skills and expertise in using ICT with their learners in the classroom.

The course is hands-on and firmly based in face to face (f2f) classroom practice. Participants leave the course confident not only in using a range of ICT tools with their own learners in their own f2f teaching contexts, but also with an increased awareness of broader issues such as ICT and assessment, how to integrate ICT into a teaching syllabus, and familiarity with commercially available ICT materials. Other areas include ePortfolios, Web 2.0 and blended learning. The course is validated and moderated by Trinity College London, and consists of 120 hours of course work, over a period of 20 weeks. Further information is available from the Trinity website:
www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=705 and from The Consultants-E website:
www.theconsultants-e.com/courses/trinityict

There is equally good news for Business English teachers – or for general English teachers wishing to move into Business English teaching – the fully online Cert IBET. The 70-hour Cert IBET: Certificate in International Business English Training aims to meet the needs of business English trainers to enhance their skills and expertise, to increase their employability prospects in the sector, and improve their ability to deliver a quality product to potential clients.

The online Cert IBET course looks at a range of useful techniques, tools and resources for teaching Business English to learners, in 10 modules over a period of 10 weeks. The course considers a variety of contexts for Business English (BE) teaching, and covers issues of course and materials design, ESP, needs analyses, and performance-driven learning based on the workplace, as well as how to teach business skills such as presenting, negotiating, written and spoken business communication skills, and intercultural competence. The Consultants-E’s online Cert IBET uniquely looks at how new technologies may be integrated into f2f BE teaching, and considers both blended and online learning for BE.

The CertIBET provides teachers with an internationally recognized certificate, jointly managed and validated by English UK and Trinity College London. Holding a CertIBET will improve employment opportunities and increase the Business English teacher’s chances of attracting new clients. This is a qualification for ELT/TESOL Certificate qualified teachers who have already started their ELT teaching careers and wish to further enhance their skills and expertise in the delivery of Business English courses. The Cert IBET is suitable for teachers of Business English (BE) worldwide, whatever their level of experience in BE teaching. It is also aimed at general English teachers who may want to become involved in BE teaching. Further information is available from the English UK website: www.englishuk.com and from The Consultants-E website: www.theconsultants-e.com/courses/be

Please check the From Teaching to Training course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Certificate in Teaching English to Business People course at Pilgrims website.