POLOKWANE – Maletsema Ruth Emlsey, an English teacher at Flora Park Comprehensive School, proudly represented South Africa in Washington DC in the US during in-service training on the English language recently.
Emsley attended the course for two months and said she learned a lot from it. “The course made me realise how important my role is as a teacher. I have learnt quite a lot about classroom management and many other subjects relating to teaching,” she said.
She added that teachers should love their subjects and attend as many workshops as possible to learn more about their subjects and other matters. Emsley received a certificate in professional development in English language after completing the training.
“I applied for the training then I wrote a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) test, which I passed. This gave me green light to progress to the next stage. My last assessment was during the interview, which was conducted by the US embassy. I was told that I had made it,” Emsley explained.
TOEFL is a standardised test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers wishing to enroll at US universities. The test is accepted by many English-speaking academic and professional institutions. TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests in the world.
Emsley added that South African citizens should apply for courses in other countries to learn various skills which would benefit their country in the future. She urged teachers to go the extra mile in order to excel in what they did. “The trip to the US was both educational and fascinating. I visited many schools in America and the level of education there is very high,” she said.
