I know nothing

For some time now it has been a semi-goal in my life to complete a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification.  I know I said I would never study again after my Masters, but with the depression and endless nothingness of unemployment started getting to me, it was something to aim for, and something to do to occupy my days, not to mention an extra string to my bow... not like I need to many more!

It would take me 6 months to complete, as I was doing it Part-Time and for the first time online.  Its not been done like that before.  I would start in January and end in June, with 4 assessments, and a number of Teaching Practice (TP) days at the college.
I'd looked into it, and the City of Bristol College was the nearest location for the course, so I duly applied.

After a little bit of uncertainty over whether they had received my application, on Friday I made the 2 hour trip by train to Bristol to take part in a sort of Interview day.

That was an adventure in itself. The train from Hereford to Newport (South Wales) was a standard Arriva Trains Wales 3 carriage job, with plenty of seats.  Reasonably modern.  A 15 minute wait at Newport, mixed with scoffing some lunch went quickly.  The First Great Western train that arrived for Bristol was more like some rickety old tram from a bygone age.  It was so small (2 carriages) and so crammed that I was stood next to the rattling doors, holding on to them for grim death, as the outside sped past me.

Upon reaching Bristol a Taxi cab took 25 minutes to get me to the appropriate campus, which turned out to be not the most accessible, and not in the nicest of areas.

I navigated to the room alright in the end, and found a group of 8 others, mainly all over 50 waiting for the session to begin.  I don't know why, but I was surprised to see so many older people.  I just naturally assumed that TEFL was for younger people all wanting to travel and teach.  It appears I was wrong.

A 10 - 15 minute chat later and we were flung into an in-class task, making corrections to a letter, sentences, and writing our own pieces.  I assume this was all part of the application process.  We then had several discussions and chats about things, about language, about teaching... where I made a discovery that actually shocked me.  I know nothing about the English language.

Yes, I can speak it, and quite well, if I do say so myself.  However, I have no clue about what words are verbs, nouns and adjectives... I don't really care.  The other students all seemed to know what they were talking about and were even using other terms like "identifier" and "handle" to describe certain word types.

The straw that broke the camels back for me was when we were discussing the fact that 'Special Verbs' like Want and Understand are misused so much... like when people put an "ing" on the end.  This is apparently a major crime.

That's right: "Wanting" and "Understanding" are NOT words.  They are not officially proper English!  Personally, I'm sure I've seen them in the dictionary.  Anyway, I was gobsmacked.  It then confirmed to me one of the several reasons why I should progress no further:

1. The course is expensive and I cannot afford it.  I owe my parents far too much already.
2. I don't have the time to devote to study or TP.
3. The campus is a bitch to get to.  The taxi ride either way was £12 alone!
4. It isn't (and never was) something I had set my heart on.  It was just an option.

Getting back to Hereford was just as bad as getting to Bristol, except that this time I was travelling in the rush hour.  I have never known trains to be so badly crowded.  I was (once again) packed in like a sardine, along with many others who I'm sure did not appreciate me breathing down their neck.  Not like they had much choice.

I have since decided (as mentioned above) not to continue with my pursuance of this TEFL course.  I have a job now.  I will be working 40 hours a week.  And it's not like I need to be able to teach.  Besides, I like using "wanting" and "understanding"!