Online TEFL Courses vs Onsite TEFL Courses - Research Paper Example

Online and Onsite TEFL s: Which is Better? Introduction While English is continuously gaining popularity among non-English speakers, being proficient in English is an advantage both in people's social and professional lives. However, the busy lifestyle hinders them to attend in a formal language class. The emergence of live-streaming through the internet made TEFL class easier, especially for busy individuals. It suits their schedule and it basically offers the same curriculum as with the onsite instruction.

However, certain aspects of face to face interaction are lost during the course of the lessons. This leads to the question of which instruction is more efficient. Online and onsite TEFL courses, although they have different means, have one goal and that is to promote English proficiency. There are benefits and disadvantages for each mode of TEFL instruction and may have a fair share of successful learning among its students. Onsite TEFL course The curriculum taught for students in both online and onsite TEFL class may be the same; but what lacks online TEFL session is human interaction.

Surely, there is already an online camera where the other person can see whom he is talking to. However, genuine relationship may not occur. According to Hill (2008), teachers in onsite classes can easily detect students who are poorly motivated and can easily address this problem, whereas online teaching could not provide this type of approach and may lose his student’s attention before he would know it. The depth of learning may vary, although it is more likely to experience both theoretical and practical use of the language, since it can easily give the students hands-on practice (Donahue, 2006).

On the other side is the financial cost. Practically, online TEFL is cheaper and schedule-flexible. Onsite courses would require time and more resources for instruction. In the case of other TEFL learners, they would even fly to English speaking countries and enroll in formal English class. This is costly but it can provide the learner genuine language interaction through language and culture immersion. Online TEFL course Learning the English language is not the sole activity of most TEFL learners.

As professionals, most of them are into doing other things. Enrolling in an onsite class would be time consuming, making online courses a viable option to study and at the same time keep their other activities. According to Roberts and Jameson (n.d.), online courses are more cost efficient than the onsite because it “allows the flexibility to study at [the learner’s] own pace.” Although it is unlikely for an online course to have practical exams, learners can always reach their tutors anytime via email and instant message.

Other teachers would incorporate audio-visual materials such as videos which instruct English learning. Conclusion Both online and onsite TEFL learning have their own advantages and disadvantages. An onsite instruction would not guarantee 100% efficiency, same with online. Therefore, it is the TEFL learner’s initiative to decide which method is more comfortable to learn with. If the learner has enough time and has the resources, experiencing onsite instruction would be a better option. Practicing the target language every now and then would be beneficial.

As for learners who could not reject personal and professional obligations, an online course would be most effective. References Donahue, N. (2006). Online vs. onsite TEFL courses. Retrieved from http://www.tesolonline.com/articles/ complete_articles.php?index=223&category=94 Hill, M. H. (27 July 2008). Teachers sound off on benefits, disadvantages of teaching online courses. Memphis Business Journal. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2008/07/28/focus2.html Roberts, S.

, & Jameson, J. (n.d.). Online vs. onsite courses. Retrieved from http://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-course-articles/ online-onsite/article-04-sr-jj.php