TESL Practicum Students

by April Hartman

Published June 8, 2021

Updated May 9th, 2023

Topic: Informational, Teachers

Tags: None

Why NAC Supports TESL Practicum Students

New America College students love us for our engaging, relevant, and expertly-taught classes. Our teachers all have ESL certification and years of experience. But all teachers have to start somewhere! Often certification programs for Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) require future teachers to complete practicums in ESL classrooms. Practicums generally consist of classroom observations and a few hours of teaching. The experience prepares future teachers for classrooms both abroad and in the United States. (Although if you’re a teacher, you know that nothing really prepares you for stepping in front of a new classroom full of students!)

NAC’s former President, Suzanne Leduc, felt strongly that NAC should be there for those who want to enter the ESL teaching profession. Because of this, we are well-known in some certification programs for hosting TESL practicum students.

Top 5 reasons why NAC loves hosting TESL practicum students

  1. We love giving back to the ESL teaching community! We don’t charge to host practicum students; we just want to see them succeed.
  2. We love showing off our instructors! Practicum students can learn so much from our experienced instructors.
  3. We love showing off our students! Practicum students are always impressed by how much English our students are learning in classes.
  4. We love inviting new people into the NAC community! NAC is a truly special place, and we want everybody to know it and spread the word.
  5. We love introducing our students to new people! Every opportunity our students have to interact with a native speaker is an opportunity for them to learn something new about American culture.

TESL Practicum Students at NAC

TESL Practicum students at NAC
Dan: I am enjoying my time on the campus, which is filled with friendly teachers and students.  New America College has been a great place for me to learn and to prepare to teach English in the future.
Michael: I am currently completing a TEFL Certification with International TEFL Academy, and New America College (NAC) has given me the opportunity to complete my practicum hours with them. Given the situation with COVID-19 right now, I didn’t know what to expect. However, my experience with NAC has been wonderful! They have great procedures in place for their students to safely attend English classes in person and remotely. The classes are small, so the students get a lot of personal hands-on attention. The teaching staff is excellent, and has provided great constructive feedback for my student teaching. My experiences observing and student teaching classes with NAC have made me a lot more confident in approaching my English teaching position abroad. Thank you NAC, staff and students for allowing me to complete my practicum hours with you!
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