CertTESOL

Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/language-linguistic-science/study/cert-tesol/ Parent: https://www.york.ac.uk/language-linguistic-science/study/undergraduate/

CertTESOL

The Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL) is an intensive English language teacher training course at level 5 which is open to everyone and is accepted by the British Council as an initial TESOL or TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification.

This course is run by the Department of Language and Linguistic Science and is designed to give you the skills and knowledge needed to take up your first post as an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher. Classes will take place in person at the University of York on the Heslington West campus. It’s an in-person, full-time course requiring attendance from 9 am to 5 pm and evening preparation time. In 2026, we are planning to run two courses:

Monday 8th June to Friday 10th July 2026, and
Monday 17th August to Friday 18th September 2026.

The application window for the first course (June/July) has now closed, but we are still taking applications for the second course (Aug/Sept) and will continue to do so until 5 pm on Thursday, 30th April. If you would like further information about this practical English language teacher training course, please read the following Trinity document.

The Trinity CertTESOL course

If you would like to apply for this course, please email us at trinity-tesol-course@york.ac.uk .

If you have any questions or would like more information get in touch at:\ trinity-tesol-course@york.ac.uk.

Timetable

We are currently reviewing our plans for the delivery of Cert TESOL courses in 2026.

Write to us at trinity-tesol-course@york.ac.uk and we will notify you about future dates.

Tuition fee

£1,100 - for Dept of Lang & Ling, Univ of York students

£1,275 - for other University of York students

£1,550 - for non-University of York students

Entry level

IELTS 7.0 and above

A level or equivalent

Course structure

The course is a minimum of 130 timetabled hours and 15 non-timetabled hours. This includes:

90 hours of supervised teaching and learning

4 hours observing experienced ESOL teachers

6 hours of observed teaching practice

30 hours of private study

The course comprises five units as follows:

Unit 1: Teaching Skills (74 hours guided learning)

This unit covers:

methodology
teaching skills
teaching practice and related portfolio
guided observation and related journal
coursebook and materials evaluation
methods of assessment and testing in the classroom

It will assess your ability to apply your skills, knowledge and understanding to a dynamic learning environment.

This is the largest unit. Its length reflects our need to ensure the vocational validity, relevance and professional integrity of the CertTESOL award.

Unit 2: Language Awareness and Skills (20 guided learning hours)

This unit covers linguistic form, function and meaning in standard English and how to teach these to learners.

Unit 3: Learner Profile (18 guided learning hours)

This unit covers:

one-to-one teaching methodology
needs analysis
linguistic analysis
lesson planning
syllabus design

It brings together everything studied in Units 1 and 2 in the form of a practical assignment.

Unit 4: The Materials Assignment (8 guided learning hours)

This unit covers the production, adaptation, use and evaluation of simple classroom teaching materials and tasks.

You'll devise/adapt your own materials to use in teaching practice lessons. Your assignment will be externally assessed by a Trinity moderator.

Unit 5: Unknown Language (10 guided learning hours)

This unit covers methodologies and activities for teaching beginner language-learners, using little or no use of their first language. It also introduces lesson planning and contrastive analysis.

Objectives

By the end of the course, you should have:

a knowledge of the main grammatical, lexical and phonological features of contemporary English;
an understanding of the main advantages and disadvantages of various language teaching approaches.

You should be able to:

establish rapport and create and maintain learners’ interest;
draw up a range of lesson plans with clear and achievable aims, using appropriate methods for learners with various needs;
manage and stimulate active participation among a class of learners;
provide a relevant learning environment and learning opportunities for learners;
evaluate, use and adapt published material and create simple teaching material;
evaluate your own effectiveness as a teacher;
work co-operatively as a member of a teaching team.

You will be aware of:

the learning needs of individuals or groups of learners;
the motivation of learners in a variety of cultures and contexts;
the use of English as an international lingua-franca and language of transcultural communication;
the process for finding a TESOL post after training and of the main issues relevant to employment in this area;
the need to continue your development as an ESOL teacher.