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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Teach English Now! Foundational Principles by Arizona State University

4.9
stars
14,339 ratings

About the Course

Through a series of engaging metaphors and stories, prospective and current EFL/ESL teachers will identify, summarize, and evaluate 7 basic language learning paradigms. Learners will be presented information on such foundational principles as motivation, risk taking, two different modes of learning, and balancing the teacher profession. Learners are also given an understanding of basic techniques founded on those principles, such as teacher talk, looking “ridiculous” in order to lower the affective filter, and networking. With these foundational principles in mind, ESL/EFL teachers will scrutinize common assumptions about language learning by comparing how they stack up to research-based core principles....
Highlights
Engaging instructors

(331 Reviews)

Interactive content

(104 Reviews)

Top reviews

JG

Aug 17, 2018

This is a very useful course as I begin my studies to prepare to teach English abroad. ASU is a recognized university and the price is very reasonable. I look forward to the next course in the series.

CK

Sep 9, 2021

That was a great experience and im very grateful for all the information I have been taught. The professors leading this course are just so professional and it was really joyful to learn all the time.

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1 - 25 of 4,959 Reviews for Teach English Now! Foundational Principles

By Dorothy H

Feb 4, 2016

This course has great videos. I give it such a low rating to get your attention and point out some serious problems. This is a certification course in how to teach English as a second language. What was not apparent to me though is that you have to take 2 parts of the specialization before getting certified and it will take over a year! Also, there is close to no teacher participation in the module I took and there are no mentors or student teachers (that might change in future classes I would hope, but no guarantees) and there was close to zero feedback of my work or even in the discussion area and no authoritative feedback. Even the peer reviews require your classmates ONLY to judge you based on whether you actually tried to answer the question, if it was between one and three paragraphs and one other silly thing that I can't even remember now. No one is required to give actual feedback and a lot of the assignments were written by students in horrendous English, but that is not to be considered. With so many people taking this course for whom English is not a first language, even these very simple instructions were often misunderstood and people had problems with getting credit for their assignments. Also, even though the videos are really well-done, they are short and contain little information for the price. I figured that I was paying about $50 an hour for the lectures at regular speed. There are also little to no resource links etc. for further study so the lectures are pretty much the only thing you get. If you are a native English speaker who doesn't mind spending an entire year and the cost for well-done videos on the subject is not important, then this course if for you. If however you think this is going to cost only $200 and you would have interaction with teachers and you would get a certification in about half a year... I want to make sure you realize, that is NOT what this specialization is! If you are NOT a native English speaker, this course is designed well I think for people who do not speak English as a native language, who might even have a low level of English, yet who are teaching English already in foreign countries and would have difficulty acquiring certification any other way and therefore don't mind taking a full year to complete the course or the price and for whom not having someone give them feedback would be considered an asset. I have recommended it to friends who are not native speakers of English, but as a native speaker I found it slow, expensive and the assignments to be actually annoying. It's perfect though for my foreigner friends... as long as they understand it's real length and cost! THE CERTIFICATION WILL TAKE OVER A YEAR AND COST AROUND $400.

By Robert D

Mar 17, 2017

I'm only rating this course 3 stars because it's just too easy. The information is good (what there is of it) and is presented well. It's just that the amount of effort needed to pass is minimal.

For example, the fifth week had fewer assignments than the previous weeks, and the six week was only a quick review.

The problem I have with these courses being so easy is that online courses already suffer from the widespread view that they're not as valuable as a "real" in-person course. So, when yet another one of these online courses is incredibly easy to pass, it only adds fuel to those people's arguments and reduces the overall value of the certificate of completion.

I want my certificate to mean something. Please stop watering down these courses! Ditch the pay you pass mentality. Include more material to read. Make the tests longer and more difficult. Because, as they are, they don't even compare in difficulty to the junior college courses, much less the university courses, I've taken in the past.

By Viktor M

Apr 10, 2020

Great course! Nice content and great presentation of the material. Useful not only for ESL teachers, but for all language teachers and even for teachers in general. Thank you for creating this course!

By Jody G

Aug 18, 2018

This is a very useful course as I begin my studies to prepare to teach English abroad. ASU is a recognized university and the price is very reasonable. I look forward to the next course in the series.

By Aya E

Dec 24, 2018

The friendly way that the course was delivered and the many forms of feedback and assessment throughout the course was just very eye opening in a wonderful way. Thank you!

By Cassiano R

May 12, 2020

Simply amazing. Loved every single minute of it. I feel myself a much better teacher, I’ve learnt how to see resources to give a better class as well as offer my students better practices of learning.

By Portia H

Dec 29, 2018

Teach English Now! Foundation Principles was a great course! There was a lot of interaction with other peers studying the course and the exceptional quality of this online course. The teacher's were very engaging and really made the course very fun and exciting! The coursework wasn't very demanding but the content and delivery of the course was some of the best! Thank you to the whole team for making this online course a joy to participate in!

By Sara C R

Dec 11, 2018

The material is very easy to understand, useful, and motivating. I loved the videos, and the suggested reading material you provided.

By Sivanandan S

Nov 29, 2019

A great course! It is a well planned and goes light taking into consideration that the learners work as teachers. I have become a great fan of Dr. Dixon and hope to learn more in the modules to come.

By Winnie P M

Sep 16, 2017

Way too basic for the price. I knew by instinct basically everything they taught here. I'm giving them 2 stars because some of the reading excerpts were interesting ways to say what I already knew. I completed the whole thing in one week and then had to wait for others to submit their work so I could finally get my certificate. Don't waste your time, just find a good ESL book, it'll cost less and teach you more. PS: I passed about half of the quizzes without finishing the readings. That's how ridiculously easy this was. I barely learned anything.

By Abdel A B

Nov 29, 2018

My name is Abdel Aziz Bakari.

I really appreciated this course.It's helpful for teaching English.It help you obtained techniques in Teaching.

I thank the teaching staff for their time and effort.They are really professionals.

Best regards,

Abdel Aziz Bakari

By Brian M T

Dec 25, 2018

Great and meaningful content pleasantly delivered by the teachers. I've learnt so much from this course, not only as a prospective English tutor, but also as a Russian and German language learner.

By Laura A G

Nov 7, 2018

Lots of good information. I like the instructors' enthusiasm and expertise. However, not so happy about being assessed by my peers--first, I am not getting much feedback, although I am spending considerable time assessing others. Second, I would rather have one of the instructors, or at least someone who has the certification--perhaps a grad student or something--looking at my work. Although I am learning a lot, I feel like I'm one of many being churned out. Not sure how great the overall quality of all the "graduates" will be. I am very self-motivated, but what about others? How to be sure they aren't just going through the motions?

By Christina K

Sep 10, 2021

That was a great experience and im very grateful for all the information I have been taught. The professors leading this course are just so professional and it was really joyful to learn all the time.

By Matome T

Mar 13, 2021

I had fun enrolling on this course and it's very insightful. And Keep the great work, Dr Shane Dixon. I can't wait to complete the rest of the courses so that I get my professional certificate. Thanks

By Nuno L

Jan 13, 2017

Thank you so much for this opportunity to learn. I come from a precarious environment of social disorders, and I now have the means to an end. It looks it will be a very good journey... thank you!

By Mario A

Dec 11, 2018

Great course and content, got the foundation and basics as promised, I actually even though I have experience teaching I did learn a couple of things in this one.

By MOHD A S

Mar 4, 2020

I don't know how to express gratitude the way I'm feeling right now. This course has done a great deal in tapping up my Intrinsic Motivation, I mean I wasn't aware that English Teaching is such an exciting and happening domain. Being an English Literature student, we're encouraged or rather trained more to acquire "good content", so I was rather always dreaded subconsciously how I'd take up teaching English as my profession as I'm lacking required skills. But, with completing the course, I realize how effectively we can master the teaching art by following few simple techniques.

Dr. Shane Dixon, special thanks to you for such an invigorating presentation of the modules.

Thanks to Dr. Justin Shewell, Andrea Murau Haraway, and Emilia Gracia as well for this awesome course.

By Ibtihal A B A Y A

Nov 16, 2018

A highly informative, applicable& easy to follow course by absolutely knowledgeable professors. The thorough, well-organized& engaging course content reflects the the professionalism & the extensive knowledge of the professors in this field. Really looking forward to enrolling in other courses by the same professors & Arizona State University . Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to learn from you.

By Boodheea M

Jun 8, 2020

I enjoyed all the videos by Dr Shane Dixon. He is a very good actor indeed and his explanations are so lively. I learnt different teaching concepts and am looking forward to apply them in my lessons.

By Lyka C A

Jan 7, 2021

I really love this trainibng, since it helps me to refresh my knowledge about my professional teaching.I also learned and related a lot from this. You inspire me to teach more effectively . God bless!

By Lillie J

May 22, 2018

I think this course gives a good basic overview of the skills needed to Teach English as a Second Language. It's simple to understand and I like that the assignments allow room for interpretation.

By Xiaotong Y

Dec 5, 2018

Very interesting and thought-provoking.

By Jonny K D

Dec 6, 2018

Well designed and beautifully taught.

By Bushra I A J

Dec 13, 2018

Useful course...