✨ Enrollment Is Open Now! Holiday Launch promotion! ✨
- 120-hour reflective, self-paced personal and professional development for language educators.
- Deepen Your Practice. Lead with Humanity. Transform Through Reflection.
Course Overview
This 120-hour, self-paced certificate course invites language teachers to explore the human side of teaching and reconnect with their professional and personal purpose. Based on the reflective TESOL book What About the Teacher?, it blends teaching practice, humanistic and constructivist values, and reflective inquiry with both auto-graded and mentor-reviewed tasks. Whether you are pre-service, in the classroom, or returning to the field, this course helps you grow—not just as a teacher, but as a person.
Developed by Jay Leonard Schwartz, a veteran teacher trainer and materials developer, the course is designed for educators ready to cultivate resilience, presence, and reflective depth in their teaching practice. It is rooted in the core ideas of What About the Teacher?, a non-linear, humanistic guide to self-actualization in TESOL, and invites participants to develop not only methodological insight but a more grounded sense of identity and purpose in their work.
Who This Course Is For
This certificate course is designed for:
- Pre-service TESOL teachers preparing for language classrooms
- EFL/ESL instructors seeking personal and professional renewal
- Teachers interested in reflective practice, humanistic teaching, and self-actualization
- Foreign language educators wanting to integrate identity, social-emotional learning (SEL), communicative language teaching (CLT), task-based language teaching (TBLT), and classroom presence into their instructional practice
- TESOL professionals considering TKT or similar pathways who want an exploratory foundation
- Returning or transitioning teachers rebuilding confidence or clarity in their teaching identity
What You Will Learn
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Integrate humanistic principles into everyday teaching practice
- Use reflective tools to develop teacher identity, emotional resilience, and classroom presence
- Recognize the role of self-actualization in teacher and learner growth
- Apply core concepts from methodology, educational psychology, and constructivist teaching
- Build intercultural and student-centered responsiveness into lessons and feedback
- Connect personal purpose with professional practice
- Support learner autonomy while tending to teacher development across inner and outer dimensions
Course Structure & Delivery
The course consists of 14 modules that guide you through the philosophical and practical themes of What About the Teacher?, combining guided reading with reflective writing and practical comprehension checks.
Each module includes:
- Assigned reading tied to key themes in the book chapters
- Auto-graded tasks to check comprehension
- Two manually-graded written reflection tasks
- An audio-based guidance pre-task to support the written tasks
Across all modules, participants will complete approximately:
- 30–40 hours of directed reading
- 18–22 hours completing 135 auto-graded quizzes
- 28–32 hours producing 28 mentor-reviewed written reflections and reflective loops
- 5–6 hours engaging with 14 audio-based guidance activities supporting the written reflections
- 20–25 hours of self-directed note-taking, journaling, and synthesis
The course is fully self-paced, with all materials located inside the ELT Vista learning platform. The coursebook is purchased separately and forms the essential reading foundation for each module. Enrollees retain unlimited access to all modules upon registration.
The course is designed to work alongside the book the book What About the Teacher? (2025, ELT Vista), which is required reading. Select tasks in each module reference specific chapters, so participants must have access to either the paperback or electronic Kindle edition. There is no final project. The work of reflection, connection, and integration is continually built into the course flow.
Assessment and Course Completion
Assessment in this course is centered on growth, presence, and practice—not perfection. Moreover, the program is intentionally designed to be achievable and supportive. The passing score for both auto-graded and manually-graded tasks is 65%, and all auto-graded quizzes may be retaken up to four times. There are no deadlines, and the audio-based guidance activities offer an additional layer of reflective support as you prepare your written work.
Assessment in this course is structured through the following elements:
- 135 auto-graded short quizzes ensuring comprehension of foundational ideas
- 28 mentor-reviewed and graded written reflections and reflective loops, supported by 14 audio-based guidance activities
On successful completion of all 14 modules, you will receive:
- A 120-hour Certificate in Humanistic TESOL Teaching (digital)
- A personalized Letter of Reference
- Alumni discounts on future ELT Vista training, publications, and workshops
Accreditation & Our Philosophy
The ELT Vista Certificate in Humanistic TESOL Teaching is not accredited by any external body—that is intentional and by design.
Accreditation does not create transformation; people do. Genuine professional growth arises from reflection, experimentation, and the will to improve, not from bureaucratic approval. We support teacher autonomy, not top-down systems that measure compliance rather than growth.
In the real world, undertaking a program of study such as this demonstrates a teacher’s personal commitment to the craft of teaching and to the field of TESOL itself. The value lies not in where the program originates, but in where the desire to engage in it begins—and that answer is always the teacher.
“Quality shouldn’t be imposed from the top down. It grows when teachers own the desire to refine their work—not because someone required it, but because they chose to grow.”
For clarity, while ELT Vista and its principles maintain professional affiliations within the TESOL field, affiliation does not imply accreditation. While we value and respect the contributions made to the field by TESOL-specific accreditation bodies, we do not regard them as the ultimate authorities on meaningful teacher development. This certificate reflects the integrity of our humanistic approach to teacher development—not the priorities of bureaucratic gatekeepers.
How to Begin Your Certificate Journey
This course draws deeply from What About the Teacher?—a reflective, non-linear companion text that serves as your guide and anchor throughout the 14-course modules.
Step 1: Purchase the Book
Obtain your copy of What About the Teacher? (available in both Kindle and paperback formats) directly from Amazon or your regional marketplace. Please note that the links to the book on this page take you to the US-based Amazon website, the book is available across all Amazon international marketplaces. The book is required reading and integral to your progress.
Step 2: Enroll in the Course
Once you have access to the book, enroll in the certificate course below. You’ll gain immediate access to all course modules, auto-graded tasks, reflective assignments, audio-guidance, and course-basedmentorship support.
Please note: The course fee does not include the book. This gives you full choice over format (digital or print) and ensures the most accessible path for international participants.
Why the Book and Course Are Sold Separately
At ELT Vista, we believe that accessibility and autonomy are part of humanistic teaching—and that means empowering you to select the learning format that works best for you.
Selling the course and required book separately not only makes the program more affordable up front, it also removes international barriers. Whether you’re teaching in Thessaloniki, São Paulo, Paris, Nairobi, or Bangkok, you can purchase What About the Teacher? in Kindle or print from your local or regional Amazon marketplace, without hidden shipping costs or digital lockouts.
Moreover, separating the two gives you the freedom to:
- Choose the format you prefer (print for margin notes, Kindle for on-the-go reading)
- Order the book when it’s most convenient
- Reuse the book as a long-term, reflective companion beyond the course
In other words, this approach isn’t a workaround—it’s a reflection of our values: flexible, learner-centered, and globally inclusive. It ensures your personal and professional journey remains both achievable and accessible, no matter where in the world you teach.
About the Book
What About the Teacher? A Humanistic Guide to Self-Actualization for TESOL Teachers (2025) is a non-linear, reflective guide that blends methodology with personal inquiry. Through a thoughtful, metaphor-rich voice and chapter-based reflection tasks, it supports teachers in integrating professional growth with emotional and existential awareness.
Written by Jay Leonard Schwartz, with contributions from Steve Vassilakopoulos, the book draws on decades of international teaching and mentoring experience. It forms the philosophical backbone of this course—offering teachers a means to explore not only how they teach, but who they are becoming through the act of teaching.
About ELT Vista
ELT Vista exists to promote the personal and professional growth of language educators through humanistic, reflective, and learner-centered practices. Founded and directed by Jay Leonard Schwartz, a Miami-born educator who later established his professional roots in Greece, ELT Vista began as a periodical and teacher network in the early 2000s. Now based once again in USA, the organization continues as a training and publishing initiative that supports educators around the world with the same humanistic vision it began with.
At its core, ELT Vista is a community-driven project committed to meaningful and ethical teaching—supporting educators not only in their careers, but in their call to improve life for the communities they serve.
About the Instructor
Jay Leonard Schwartz is a humanistic TESOL professional with more than 35 years of experience as a teacher, teacher trainer, and materials developer. He has mentored educators across Europe and the United States, developed learning materials and coursebooks, and delivered workshops and seminars, and he is the author of What About the Teacher?, the reflective text at the heart of this course. Jay is the founder of ELT Vista and serves as the course creator and lead instructor, supported by a network of like-minded colleagues who contribute to grading and mentorship.
Enroll and Begin Your Journey
Teaching is more than a profession—it is a lived practice of becoming, of showing up with presence, empathy, and purpose. Begin your personal and professional development journey today and reconnect with the craft, character, and meaning of the work we do.
🌟 Holiday Launch Promotion 🌟
To mark the release of our new ELT Vista Certificate in Humanistic TESOL Teaching, we are offering a limited holiday-season enrollment rate of $99 (regular price: $119). This introductory price is available for a short time as we open the doors to our first cohort of learners. If you’ve been considering joining us, now is an excellent moment to begin your journey in humanistic TESOL teaching and professional development.
☞ Click here to enroll now and get immediate access to the course.
Enrollment Is Now Open!
Institutional Enrollment Opportunities
ELT Vista offers special enrollment opportunities for institutions seeking to develop their teaching staff through the ELT Vista Certificate in Humanistic TESOL Teaching. Organizations interested in registering multiple participants can access exclusive partnership benefits designed to support professional development at scale. Institutions are invited to contact ELT Vista directly for more information or to discuss tailored arrangements.
✨ Contact ELT Vista to Explore Institutional Opportunities ✨