TEFL Uncovered: How to Teach Your Way Abroad With TEFL by i-to-i Staff

L F E T UN

D E R E V O C H C A E T O HOW TOUR WAY Y D A O R B A FL E T H WIT Written Biyn

enk JamesEJdited By

ally Mike Sc y B issioned -i Comm t i- o

About the Author James Jenkin has been teaching English as a foreign language since 1994, having managed English language programmes in Vietnam, China and Australia. His classroom career has included teaching Sudanese refugees,Vietnamese government ministers and Chinese airline pilots. As well as developing English language programmes and training teachers, James is also the proud author of Lonely Planet’s Russian Phrasebook! Needless to say, he has had invaluable experiences in the TEFL and travel world and can offer you a whole world of TEFL-Travel advice. With his extensive teaching experience, as well as ten years’ experience as a teacher-trainer on Cambridge CELTA Courses and i-to-i’s Classroom TEFL Courses, he truly understands the needs, fears and hopes of people entering the TEFL world. Qualifications: l Cambridge CELTA l Bachelor of Arts Degree in Russian and Latvian l Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics

What James Has To Say How and why did you get into teaching English overseas? “I’d studied languages and I thought I’d be a good teacher because I knew about grammar. I used to stand in the front and lecture. I wish I’d done some worthwhile teacher training before I started – it took me a couple of years to realize that being a good teacher is about helping ‘learners’ get involved and practise with each other and develop their skills.”

Any tips for first time TEFL/TESOL teachers? “Get the students talking! The less time you’re up in the front talking, the better. They need the practice, not you!”

About the Author

What do you most enjoy about TEFL training on the Classroom TEFL Course? “It’s a thrill to see people develop such confidence in such a short period of time.”

James with one of his students

Welcome To TEFL

Qualifications

Finding Good Work

Getting Good Work

Resources

Instant TEFL

Country Guides

8 9

Are You Ready To Start TEFL-ing?

Introduction A Life Changing Choice Your Opportunities What Is Teaching English Like? Types Of English Teaching Introduction Do You Need A Qualification? Qualifications Demystified Introduction The Internet Job Placements & Agents Networking Conditions Introduction Personal Contact Application Letter Or Email Creating A Teaching Resume Introduction Print Resources Online Resources Teaching With No Resources Introduction Making A Contribution What Do Students Want? Getting Students Talking Being An Effective Teacher Introduction Country Guides Introduction

Glossary

Teaching Terms Language Terms The TEFL Profession

04 06 07 08 11 16 19 25 30 31 33 37 42 43 44 47 50 53 58 59 60 62 67 73 74 76 80 84 87 88 90 95 99 104 107 108 109 137 138 140 141 142 143

Foreword The Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First TEFL Self-Help Book

Foreword

Contents

Foreword They say that ‘meaning’ is the new ‘money’. Recent research into ‘happiness’ suggests that the key components in pursuit of it are: l

being involved in activities that have ‘meaning’ for us

having opportunities to use our skills to make a difference

The research also suggests that we become happier by promoting the well-being and happiness of others. Surely, therefore, the world of TEFL offers huge opportunities for the pursuit and promotion of happiness. The material that follows opens up to us a world in which bright, committed people are making a contribution to the concept of ‘one world’ by reducing barriers, engaging respectfully with different cultures and passing on learning that expands the horizons of its recipients. These ‘TEFL people’ are taking part in life-changing experiences themselves and are inviting millions of their students to do the same. Each of us is a unique individual. Nobody else has our combination of DNA, upbringing, experiences, education, skills, values, ambitions, or aspirations. Nobody else has ever carried that uniqueness into this particular time in an ever-evolving world. The world of TEFL offers unique opportunities to unique individuals to make unique interventions in the lives of others. As a result, there is therefore no blueprint or guidelines that would work for everybody. What follows is not a blueprint but pages of wisdom and learning drawn from the experiences of many who have gone before. What follows is yours to engage with, to reflect on, to select from and to apply what fits to support your purpose and plans.

04 l

To get the best out of it, plan your study for times when you are at your best, tackle it in ‘bite-size chunks and note the things that occur to you (thoughts, feeling, ideas, questions etc.). ‘Harvest’ your thoughts and your awareness because this is your learning and the basis for your planning and decision-making. Talk through the things that occur to you with someone who knows you well, and get their reaction and feedback as a contribution to your decision-making.

Foreword

It is a book ‘to do’ rather than to read. The most effective teachers are not those who lecture others on what must be learnt. They are rather those who provide opportunities for learners to access and assess information, reflect on its relevance to them, their world and their needs, to select, absorb, ‘own’ and apply. That is what is on offer here.You will only get out of it as much as you put into it. You won’t find ‘the’ answers, but hopefully you will find ‘your’ answers in the thoughts it provokes, the awareness it creates, the clues it supplies and your choices it informs. It will reward reflection, motivation, and honesty with oneself.

You could be on the brink of a great adventure and a life-changing experience. The hope is that the material in this book will be an introduction to the most creative and rewarding time in your life and that you (and those you teach) will be happier as a result!

Mike Scally (Author of ‘Lifeskills Teaching’)

Foreword

Please note ; Any information and advice in this book is offered in good faith, but it cannot and should not replace the reader’s own need for judgment of its relevance and value in their context and the need for each of us to be responsible for our own risk assessment and decision-making.

The World’s First TEFL Self-Help Book! i-to-i commissioned TEFL Uncovered: How to Teach Your Way Abroad to help you understand TEFL and all your opportunities around the world… With 16 years’ in the TEFL industry, i-to-i’s expert TEFL team is committed to making the TEFL world real and accessible to you, so you can understand TEFL as well as the experts do! Teaching English as a foreign language is as simple as you’ve probably heard – you only need to speak English fluently to teach English abroad; however, understanding the global TEFL industry, as well as the most effective teaching methods, can be a bit more complex as all countries, schools, job requirements and people are different. Therefore, i-to-i felt strongly about creating a book that told you exactly what you needed to know about the industry, courses and opportunities before you dove straight in and possibly got lost! Interestingly enough, hundreds of thousands of people have been teaching English abroad for decades with nothing more than their knowledge of the English language. But as the market has become far more competitive, requirements and restrictions have increased and peoples’ general concerns have broadened. Today, understanding TEFL is not so simple and eager travellers are more than keen to understand the market inside and out. This book will serve as a perfect guide for you to begin your TEFL endeavours. It is a truly unbiased view of the TEFL world based on our experiences (16 years!) teaching abroad and training people to teach abroad too. We hope you enjoy this first step into your TEFL career abroad. All the best!

06 l

the i-to-i team

Book Introduction

The i-to-i TEFL Team

Section 1 Welcome To TEFL 2

Your Opportunities Take a look at the number of job opportunities in the TEFL industry and the types of conditions you can expect.

What Is Teaching English Like? Decide whether a TEFL classroom is right for you and learn about the activities you might need to do with your students.

Types Of English Teaching From outdoor activities with primary students to teaching technical English to oil and gas engineers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there are all sorts of teaching opportunities overseas.

707

A Life Changing Choice Explore how the experience of living and working abroad is very different from being a tourist and how TEFL can transform your future.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Introduction

Introduction to Section 1 1 Welcome! If you think …

l l l

TEFL allows you to travel almost anywhere TEFL is exciting and rewarding TEFL will change your view of the world

… you are right!

This book will show you how to make your dream of teaching abroad come true.You will have a clear understanding of what being a TEFL teacher is like – the many positives and the challenges – and the sorts of opportunities there are for you.

2 Is TEFL For You?

Before we look at opportunities in TEFL, let’s reflect on what you want in your life. What made you think about teaching English abroad? Tick the things that are true for you and add some more if you like.

I want to experience other cultures

I want to help people

I’m interested in English

I’m eager for a break from my career and life at home

I’d like to travel and earn

I like languages

I like mixing with people I think I would teach English well I’d like to explore something completely new and different

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

I like travelling

2.1

Back in 2007 I was in a job I hated and was very much part of the rat race! I had always enjoyed helping and guiding my employees and loved travelling, so the decision was easy! Don’t worry about the stress of adjusting to another culture, that’s part of the fun!

Ashley Griffiths from the UK

Which do you think are the most important reasons for you – and for your students? For yourself:

______________________________________________

Imagine you could be somewhere different in three months. Complete the sentence. I would like to be in

_________________

because

_____________________________________________________________________

There are TEFL jobs in my dream destination

I can secure a job there before I go

I do not need a teaching qualification to teach there

I don’t need to know the local language to teach there

I will be there in three months

Let’s look at the facts to see if you were right.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Answer yes, no or not sure to the following:

2.3

___________________________________________________________

For the people you will teach:

2.2

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See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

3 TEFL – The Situation English is the international language of business, politics, science and communications. The British Council estimates there are over a billion people learning English worldwide.* About three quarters of these people live in non-English-speaking countries. In other words, every country needs English teachers (there are even foreign TEFL teachers in North Korea).

Asia 300,000,000+ learners

Europe 200,000,000+ learners

South America 150,000,000+ learners

Middle East 50,000,000+ learners

Most language schools advertise on the internet and many like to arrange a contract in advance. There are hundreds of websites dedicated to TEFL jobs. It’s estimated that there are over 20,000 new TEFL jobs listed each month. One of the best known, www.eslcafe.com, has over 2,000 listings at any time. The demand for TEFL is so huge that many schools will employ teachers with no teaching qualification or degree. This does depend on the country – you may need to be qualified to get a work visa in some countries (we will see which ones later). Also, the question of whether you want to teach without some training needs serious consideration.

You could actually be teaching in one of many countries tomorrow.You will need to decide whether you want to simply arrive in a country and approach schools or arrange a job before you go. We will look at the pros and cons of each later.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Most English language schools are English language environments.You will use English for all interactions at work. However, knowing some basic phrases in the local language shows respect for people and will add considerably to your cultural experience.

* British Council Learning. August 1 2009. < http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-faq-the-english-language.htm>.

A Life Changing Choice

Tel Porter from Australia

I put my TEFL qualification to use within a few months as I went to Japan to work for an English language company that deals with teaching children. What I intended to be a six month working holiday turned into an 18 month odyssey! I had so much fun and so many enjoyable moments with all some 300 students that I saw on a regular basis. And yes, I learned everyone’s name! It’s my driving ambition to return to my Japanese home as soon as I can.

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See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

DID YOU KNOW?

l l

It is easy to find a job and teach in another country Teaching abroad will probably be like nothing you have ever experienced

1 First Thoughts Let’s first look at why you are considering TEFL.

Pros

Being a Tourist

Living and Working in a Country

Cons

Which has the greater appeal for you?

__________________________________________

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Think of the pros and cons of both.

How is being a tourist different from living and working somewhere?

1.1

1.2

In what ways might teaching abroad change your life for the better? Write down your thoughts about this.

_______________________________________________________________________

How do you feel about those possibilities? __________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2 The Facts Now let’s look at the experience of living and teaching abroad in more detail – both the plusses and the challenges. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? If you know anyone who has taught or worked abroad, reflect on their experiences. Fill in the following Living abroad is the most memorable experience many people have had.

Agree

Disagree

Teaching is just a means to an end – to be able to travel. You can lead a luxurious life teaching abroad.

It’s too late if you’re locked into a contract and you don’t like the place. TEFL experience will be useful for my future, even if I stop teaching.

Some expats suffer severe culture shock when they live overseas.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Locals look up to you as a foreigner.

2.1

Yes. Teaching in a country means you can experience complete cultural immersion.You can gain a deep understanding of another culture and a new awareness of your own.You have a genuine reason to interact with interesting people, and you can develop very deep and long-lasting relationships.

There are many stories of people working for little or no pay and using their savings to live and teach somewhere, simply because the experience is so rewarding.

Teaching can simply be a means to an end. But TEFL needs dedicated, passionate teachers, so we hope you will want to make a serious contribution to the profession.

Teaching will almost certainly not be a luxurious life! Teachers are not paid like expat executives. In many countries you’ll receive something like a local salary, which will enable you to have a comfortable life, but not a cushy one.

No they won’t – respect and appreciation have to be earned!

Yes. Almost everyone will experience some form of culture shock. Make sure you are mentally and emotionally prepared for a very big change in lifestyle. It can help to start teaching in a country or culture you are familiar with before moving abroad.

No. Teachers do break contracts. Schools tend to offer incentives for teachers to stay to the end of a contract instead (e.g. paying a bonus or airfare).

Overseas teaching experience is regarded by employers in many fields as unique and valuable. It demonstrates initiative, responsibility and intellect.

It’s essential to be mentally prepared. What problems do you think could arise in the following areas?

Low Salary Food Accommodation Sanitation Culture Government Security Away from Family/Friends

Possible Problems

How Could You Overcome Them?

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

How could you deal with them?

2.1

We Suggest:

Every person staying for a length of time in a new country will experience culture shock. At first, everything around you will seem exciting and stimulating. However, this can suddenly change. Often triggered by a single negative experience, you may start to feel on edge, depressed, or even angry. However, this will pass.You will reach a state where things seem normal. Some of the excitement of the honeymoon phase will return, along with a deeper appreciation of the cultural environment. The best way to adjust to culture shock is to be aware of what’s happening to you. Remind yourself that it’s natural to feel this way, that everyone experiences it, and it is temporary. Importantly, don’t isolate yourself. Try actively to meet local people and embrace the culture. Explore, enjoy the food, and learn the language. Interestingly, once people have adjusted to a new culture, they usually feel reverse culture shock coming back to their home country!

3 Reflection & Action 3.1

Think seriously. Is living abroad still right for you? Why?

___________________________________________________________________________

3.2

Where would you like to go and for how long? Plus, do you have all the information you would need to make this decision yet?

___________________________________________________________________________

3.3

How can you find out more about living in that country?

Teaching abroad has been a life-changing experience for many people

Be realistic and be prepared for challenges

SUMMARY

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

___________________________________________________________________________

KEY RESOURCES A useful introduction to the issues: http://teachertipstraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/qualifying_as_an_efl_teacher For an overview of the plusses and challenges of teaching abroad: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/esl/index.shtml For a range of articles on teaching and living abroad: http://teaching-abroad.suite101.com/

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL 15

Peter Wickman from the USA

It has been fantastic. Both living abroad and teaching in Spain have proven to be extremely rewarding. Definitely the best choice I could have made after graduating from college. What would be better than a year away to find myself?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

Your Opportunities

DID YOU KNOW? l

One billion people are learning English as a foreign language

By 2025 this should double to two billion

There are more people learning English in China than there are native English speakers in the USA

Over 100,000 people do a TEFL certificate course each year.Yet there are clearly not enough graduates to meet demand

1 First Thoughts This part will give you a clear overview of TEFL job opportunities worldwide. Do you agree or disagree with the below facts? I am optimistic about finding a job.

_______________________________________________________________________

The internet is the best place to look for opportunities. It is easy to get a job in any country.

_______________________________________________________________________

Requirements for qualifications are the same worldwide.

_______________________________________________________________________

Schools are unwilling to give contracts.

_______________________________________________________________________

Conditions are quite similar across countries.

_______________________________________________________________________

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

_______________________________________________________________________

1.1

2 2.1

The Facts Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s find out if your ideas were on the right track. Look at two of the best-known TEFL websites: www.eslcafe.com and www.tefl.com. Make some notes on the following:

The Number of Jobs ___________________________________________________________ Qualifications _________________________________________________________________ Nationality Requirements

_____________________________________________________

Contracts Available ___________________________________________________________ Conditions

There are 20,000 TEFL jobs advertised every month.

Certain countries require a degree, a TEFL qualification, or both.

Western Europe is the strictest regarding nationality: you normally need an EU passport (or a working holiday visa for people aged 18-30). It is unlikely a school will sponsor you unless they know you.

Schools typically want teachers to stay for as long as possible.

Conditions vary dramatically. It is possible to save money in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Western Europe and the Middle East. In China, Russia and Eastern Europe, salaries will be high by local standards and enough to live very comfortably on, but not to make money.

2.2

In view of the above, which countries look attractive to you? Why?

Top 3 Countries . Why?

_______________________________________________________________________

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

We Suggest:

_________________________________________________________________

Consider that the most rewarding positions may have the most difficult conditions. For example, teaching in a rural school with few facilities may be making a real difference in students’ lives.

3 Reflection & Action 3.1

Look at job adverts from the countries you chose. What are the questions you’ d want to ask?

______________________________________________________________________?

______________________________________________________________________? ______________________________________________________________________?

We will answer your questions when we look in detail at job adverts and contracts in Section 3: Finding Good Work.

There are thousands of opportunities for TEFL teachers

Conditions and requirements vary greatly

KEY RESOURCES Key job websites: http://www.eslcafe.com http://www.tefl.com

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Adrian Thurnwald from Australia

From my experience in Hungary, schools are always looking for new teachers. To have any ‘street cred’ a school needs native speakers, at least as teaching assistants, and as most native speakers are travellers and only staying for a set period, there is a high turnover in teaching staff! I had no problem at all changing jobs. All I had to do was look for local language schools on the web and send my resume to places that looked promising. Also, because schools are used to dealing with itinerant native sorts, they often have some kind of system in place for accommodation. Not always, though!

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

SUMMARY

‘

What Is Teaching English Like?

‘

I’ve taught some fantastic classes in South Korea… been thrown into some interesting deep ends, eh....teaching science, mass and density to be exact, to a bunch of 5 year olds, oh and of course the rules of soccer (!) and the American Revolution to my 12 year olds! The kids never cease to amaze me with their questions: ‘Teacher, what’s your blood type?’ and ‘Teacher, what’s the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?’ But I love it! I have a million stories to tell about my time here.

‘

Jennifer Maxwell from Ireland

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

DID YOU KNOW? l

TEFL, more than any other field of teaching, has ‘tried and tested’ approaches to running a class

There are great materials for teaching English readily available

TEFL, EFL, TESOL, ESOL and ESL are often used interchangeably. However, as a rule, TEFL is teaching in a non-English speaking country, and ESL is teaching migrants in an English-speaking country

1 First Thoughts

What did you like? What didn’t you like? Why? I liked …

I didn’t like …

Think about when you learnt a language (if you haven’t studied a language, think of any school subject).

1.1

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Let’s start by thinking about what happens – and should happen - in a language class.

1.2

What should students spend most of their time doing in class? Rank the following from 1 (most time) to 6 (least time).

listening to the teacher talking about grammar

listening to the teacher talking about the world

listening to audio recordings

reading

writing

speaking in pairs or groups

Why did you prioritise them in the way you did? Is it because they help students’ language development, or is it some other reason? Do any of the activities have risks – for example, could students get bored, or could they learn bad habits? Shortly we will look at what students actually need. It may surprise you.

1.3

What do you find daunting about teaching? Is it being in front of a large group of people? Answering grammar questions? Make some notes.

_____________________________________________________________________

We’re going to suggest that a TEFL class may be vastly different from any class you’ve experienced – and that an awareness of the role of an effective TEFL teacher should significantly reduce your anxiety and help you feel excited about getting into a classroom.

2 The Facts When we think about teaching, we understandably think primarily about ourselves. However, TEFL challenges you to turn that around. It’s essential to think about your students’ experience and what they need. This should shape what happens in your class.

_____________________________________________________________________

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

What worries me about teaching is… _____________________________________________________________________

2.1

Look at these real quotes from students. Do they make you reconsider your priorities for the classroom? What would you change?

We always did grammar at middle school. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very boring.

We had an Australian teacher who talked for hours about Australia. I wanted to go to sleep.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m too shy to speak. I can understand the teacher but not other English speakers.

I need English for my job. I need to talk on the telephone and write emails.

Give your opinion about the following questions and say why.

Is learning a language more like going to history lectures or learning to drive a car?

_____________________________________________________________________

Which of the four skills (reading, writing, listening & speaking) is most important for students to develop?

How can you ensure students get lots of speaking practice in class?

_____________________________________________________________________

Is listening to the teacher the most useful listening practice you can provide?

_____________________________________________________________________

Do students need to learn a lot of grammar?

_____________________________________________________________________

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

_____________________________________________________________________

2.2

Games are fun.

Speaking a language is a skill, like driving or cooking. Knowing rules doesn’t mean students can produce sentences. They need to practise as much as possible.

All skills are important. However students will have different abilities in different skills. Many students from China have had little speaking practice, so they need much more speaking practice in class; whereas, many students from Saudi Arabia are confident in speaking, so they need to work on their writing.

You can maximise speaking practice by getting students to practise in small groups. The teacher standing at the front talking to one student at a time is not efficient.

Listening to the teacher is not rich practice. It’s the same voice in the same context every time. Students need to listen to a wide range of speakers in different situations (on CDs, DVDs, the internet, etc).

Students do need to know how to put together a sentence accurately. But we need to keep grammar in perspective. For example, bad pronunciation makes someone much harder to understand than bad grammar.

Students may be interested in you. And of course you want to open up to your students to build rapport and trust. But this is not the same as spending a lot of time telling the class about you. Find out what interests your students, and choose topics with which they will engage.

If you aim to have lots of student-to-student interaction in class, what will you be doing while students are speaking in groups? Look at 1.2 in Part 3 again. How can a student-centred approach reduce your anxiety?

We Suggest l

‘Monitor’ students (i.e. move around the class and listen to students) as they practise. Give students space – as far as possible let them work out difficulties themselves. Don’t pounce on every error as that inhibits students. However, do give help to individual students when they ask for it.

A student-centred approach means the less time you’re out in the front under the spotlight the better! It’s not about you – it’s about the students having a go, and you’re there to assist and guide.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

2.3

We Suggest

3 Reflection & Action 3.1

Choose from this list what you would like to happen in your class.

students role play in pairs (e.g. shop assistant and customer)

the teacher tells the class about his/her likes and dislikes

students play interactive speaking games

students do life-like tasks they need in their jobs

students read out one sentence of a text in turn

the teacher lectures about grammar

students discuss topics in small groups

one student at a time stands out in the front and talks for three minutes about a topic

students work out grammar rules together in pairs

A teacher of a student-centred class would choose the activities that involve meaningful studentstudent interaction: role-plays, speaking games, life-like tasks, small-group discussion and students working out rules themselves. Do you think you could make those things happen if you walked into a class today?

_____________________________________________________________________

Go and see a real class run by an experienced teacher! You can ask at a local English school or search for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;TEFL classroomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on www.youtube.com. Explore the link(s) over leaf to find out more about teaching methods and lesson plans.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

3.3

If not, what knowledge, skills or resources would you need?

3.2

Students need to practise

Move around the room and help students

Choose material that will interest your students

KEY RESOURCES For an overview of communicative approaches to teaching: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/knowledge-wiki/communicative-approach

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Larry Shorthell from the USA

I was traveling through Laos last summer as part of an around the world trip. When I arrived in central Laos to work at an organic farm, I was told about a building that was constructed to teach the local villagers. They had no transportation to the school in the nearby town and the children from the four villages received schooling only when someone was available. The farmer asked if I would be interested and I started that evening.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

SUMMARY

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

Types Of English Teaching

I’m in France for two years with my husband (for his job) and am teaching English to business people, part-time. I’m doing mostly telephone lessons and some face to face work. Telephone lessons are popular with business people as they don’t have to leave their work-place and are good practice for conducting business on the phone. Before coming to France I worked as a Health Visitor (a sort of community nurse) for more than twenty years and really wanted a change of career. Teaching English is great fun, although a huge challenge for me; I’d like to continue with it when we get back to the UK if possible.

‘

Jackie Podmore from the UK

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See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

DID YOU KNOW? l

English is the international language of business, science, technology, diplomacy and aviation

At a time when learning English was a fashionable pastime in some countries, it was called TENOR – ‘Teaching English for No Obvious Reason’

1 First Thoughts

compulsory at school

better future opportunities

jobs in tourism

business purposes

Brainstorm all the reasons you can think of why people learn English.

1.1

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Let’s consider first of all why so many people are learning English.

1.2

Which, do you think, are the main reasons?

_________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

2 The Facts There are numerous branches of TEFL teaching, outlined below. General English

An English class with no specific goal except to raise students’ English level (however, consider that each student will have particular goals – to travel, to write emails, to emigrate, etc). Many students study General English at lower levels and then specialise later.

Young Learners

Children (generally refers to primary age).

Tutoring

One-on-one or small group.

Volunteering

Teaching for no nominal payment.

EAP (English for Academic Purposes)

EAP is a pre-university course that takes students to the level they need for their degree. It often involves study skills as well as language. Some schools offer specialised streams (e.g. business, art and design) depending on the student’s future course.

General workplace English relevant to a range of jobs.

ESP (English for Specific Purposes)

Specialised workplace English such as ‘English for Engineering’ or ‘English for IT’.

Business English

English for business students or businesspeople. Business English can be seen as a branch of EAP or ESP, but it’s so enormous it’s usually seen as a category of its own.

EOP (English for Occupational Purposes)

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Test Preparation A course to help students pass or attain the score they need in an English test. Two important tests for university admission are IELTS (in the UK, Australia and New Zealand) and TOEFL (in the US).

2.1

The terms may differ from school to school and country to country – for example, ‘English for Occupational Purposes’ might be called ‘English for the Workplace’, ‘English for Work’, ‘Workplace English’ etc.

2.2

What do you think?

Choose a or b as your answer to each of the following: The most English spoken every day is between: a native speakers and non-native speakers b non-native speakers and non-native speakers Most learners of English want to: a use English for a practical purpose b sound like native speakers Most learners of English: a don’t know what they need to learn b are very aware of what they need to learn

We Suggest l

The most English spoken every day is between (b) non-native speakers and non-native speakers. For example, Korean and Japanese businesspeople and Russian pilots and Chinese air traffic controllers use English to communicate with each other.

Most learners of English want to (a) use English for a practical purpose. Since English is just a tool, the ideal of sounding like a native speaker is irrelevant to most learners. The ‘native speaker’ as an ideal is dead and buried.

Most learners of English (b) are very aware of what they need to learn.

Teaching business is more serious so there will be less interaction. Teaching young learners is tiring.

Disagree

Teaching small classes is easier than large classes.

Agree

2.3

Do you agree or disagree with these statements? You have to be an engineer to teach engineering English.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Students know why they need English – whether it’s to pass an exam, do business, fly a plane, or work in a joint-venture mining company. Our aim is to help students develop specific language for their real-life goals.

We Suggest l

No. Obviously the students are the experts, and, in fact, they don’t want you to teach them about the subject matter (studies have shown this). They want you to help with language they need for work. So choose topics, types of written texts, dialogues etc. that are relevant to their field. Ask your students to show you examples of what they need to read and write, and to tell you the words they need to pronounce (however it helps if you have an interest in the subject matter e.g. don’t teach English for accounting if you hate maths!).

It depends. If you organise lots of small-group work, it really makes no difference whether you have a class of 10 or 30. Teaching one-on-one can be really hard work – it’s a good idea to tutor two students at once so they can practise with each other.

No. Just choose interaction patterns that are relevant to their work – e.g. salesperson and client, socialising at a function, presenting their company.

It depends! Young learners need a lot of different short activities or they get bored. If you’re energetic and love children, it can be extremely rewarding, and the day flies!

3 Reflection & Action

General English (lower levels)

General English (higher levels)

English for Young Learners

Tutoring Tertiary Students

Tutoring Businesspeople

English for Business

English for Academic Purposes

English for Aviation

English for IT

English for Finance

English for Science & Technology

English for Nursing

English for Engineering

English for Hospitality

Retail English

Military English

3.2

Go to a specialist TEFL bookseller. Look at the resources you can buy to teach specialised areas of English. You’ll be amazed at the range and quality, and how easy it is to teach without background knowledge in the subject matter.

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

What areas of English could you teach? Choose three that appeal to you. Consider developing a niche – it’s very marketable.

3.1

Most learners have a clear real-life purpose for learning English

We should find out what that purpose is, and focus our teaching on it

KEY RESOURCES For an overview of English for Specific Purposes: http://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/articles/teaching-english-for-specific-purposes-esp.html

Section 1: Welcome to TEFL

Links for teaching young learners: http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/yl-sites.html

SUMMARY

Section 2 Qualifications 2

Qualifications Demystified Compare the different courses and qualifications available and find out which one is right for you.

Do You Need A Qualification? Gain a better understanding about qualification requirements to teach English as a foreign language.

Section 2 : Qualifications

Introduction

Introduction to Section 2 1 What Do You Think? What are your initial thoughts about getting a TEFL qualification? Tick the statements with which you agree.

A qualification will help me teach with confidence and know-how

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need a qualification due to the high demand for English teachers overseas

I could get a better ELT (English Language Teaching) job with a qualification

I need a qualification to teach in certain countries

I speak English, so I can teach English

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d rather do a course online than face-to face

_______________________________________________________________________

Section 2 : Qualifications

Write down any thoughts you have about getting TEFL qualified:

2 Qualifications – The Facts It is true that you can jump on a plane today with no TEFL qualification and get a job in a lot of countries. But just consider the below: Learning to Teach l A course shows you how to teach effectively (for your students’ benefit and your own peace of mind) l

Face-to-face TEFL training usually gives you the opportunity to practise teaching and receive helpful feedback – increasing your confidence in the classroom

Finding Quality Job Opportunities l Having a qualification puts you in a stronger position to get the best jobs possible l

Many schools ask for a TEFL qualification

A course is a great opportunity for networking and finding your job abroad

Visa Regulations l Some countries require a TEFL qualification to teach (and even a certain type) and/or a degree – see Section 7

Courses range in length from 20 to 160 hours

There are many online and face-to-face options

Section 2 : Qualifications

Types of Courses l A basic TEFL qualification (not higher) is the standard for entering the profession

Do You Need A Qualification?

DID YOU KNOW? l l l

Here are the typical options available for an entry-level TEFL qualification. But before we move further, let’s explore your initial thoughts. Make sure you consider your current budget and time constraints when answering. What would increase your potential in the TEFL world?

No course

A book on how to teach English for £30/US$50

A 20 hour face-to-face course for £300/US$500

A 60 hour online course for £300/US$500

A 120 hour combined online & face-to-face course for £600/US$1000

A full-time four-week course where you practise teaching real students for £1500/US$2600

Section 2 : Qualifications

1.1

First Thoughts

There’s a huge demand for English Language Teachers, even without a TEFL certificate Different countries have different requirements Some countries require a bachelor’s degree (in any field) rather than a TEFL certificate

I worked mainly in a private school in Hanoi. Some of the children were real trouble and wouldn’t listen, but once you asserted your authority they were eager to learn and to impress, especially when you had stickers! The TEFL taught me the basics but even if you don’t remember that, it all comes back to you, and the real training is in the classroom when you’re up at a board with 30/40 faces looking up at you!

‘

Elizabeth Cox from the UK

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See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

1.2

What kinds of questions would you want to ask before you signed up for a course?

Is the qualification recognised internationally?

_______________________________________________________________________?

2 The Facts 2.1

Here are the general qualification requirements worldwide. You’ll see in many regions a TEFL certificate is ‘preferred’ – so it may get you more (and better!) opportunities. However, many employers asking for ‘TEFL/TESOL qualifications’ (as it’s usually phrased) will still employ people without one. Region

General Requirements

North Asia

Degree required; TEFL certificate preferred

South-East Asia

TEFL certificate preferred

Western & Mediterranean Europe Degree & EU passport/working holiday visa required Central & Eastern Europe

TEFL certificate preferred

Central & South America

TEFL certificate preferred

Middle East

Degree required

Subcontinent

Degree & TEFL certificate required

Africa

EFL certificate preferred

English-Speaking Countries

Degree & CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL required (see Part 2)

Requirements for volunteering are different from paid work

Different teaching experience or qualifications may be seen as equivalent to a TEFL qualification

All schools and teachers obey the law

Do you think the following statements are true or false?

2.2

Section 2 : Qualifications

There is variation within each region, of course - we look in detail at individual countries in Section 7.

We Suggest l

There are not many requirements for volunteering (usually), so the decision to do a course is solely about your desire to develop your classroom skills before you start teaching.

In countries where a TEFL qualification is ‘preferred’, you can certainly aim to sell your qualifications as equivalent, and any teaching experience will be valued. However Englishspeaking countries are strict about the qualifications they require.

As you’d expect, no. For better or worse, the field is market-driven. Wherever demand for English is high, there are teachers working without the required qualifications and work visa and being paid cash-in-hand. This is a dangerous thing to do – teachers risk being exploited and getting caught. If you’re caught in the EU, for example, you will be deported and probably never get another visa to that country again.

We know a certificate can make finding work easier. But there are of course professional benefits from studying a TEFL course. Which of these experiences would make a course seem worthwhile to you? I became more confident about my grammar.

I now feel confident walking into a classroom, as I know exactly what to do.

We practised teaching lessons to the other tutees in the course.

We learnt how to teach engaging lessons.

I now have 17 colleagues I will stay in touch with.

The next part will tell you what individual courses will bring you and which courses will fulfill your needs.

We learnt how to teach beginners.

Section 2 : Qualifications

We taught lessons to real English students.

2.3

3 Reflection & Action 3.1

3.2

Think back to your dream destination in Section 1. Do you think you have the required qualifications for that country? If not, will you: l

Change your destination?

Consider studying?

Your TEFL Assessment Tick the statements that are true for you.

I already know people teaching who can help me find work

I’ve already been offered a job

I’ve done tutoring

I’m a very experienced teacher

I feel confident about teaching

I’m a confident person

I’ve studied a language to a fairly high level

I’m not planning to teach in an English-speaking country

SCORES 4-8 If you ticked 4 – 8 boxes, you’re probably ready to go straight away! Perhaps consider a TEFL course along the way. 0-3

Employers like teachers to have a TEFL qualification, but it is often not essential

Consider a TEFL course for the professional benefits it will bring you

KEY RESOURCES Overviews of, and opinions regarding,TEFL certificates: http://www.tefl.net/teacher-training/faq.htm http://www.eslbase.com/courses/

Section 2 : Qualifications

SUMMARY

If you ticked 0 – 3 boxes, you’d probably benefit from a course before you go. A course will give you a feel for the TEFL industry, help develop your classroom skills, and give you the chance to make some valuable contacts.

Qualifications Demystified

The qualification you need to start teaching is a certificate – you don’t need a diploma or master’s degree

There are hundreds of face-to-face and online certificate courses, but only a few are well-recognised

TEFL, TESOL, ESOL, EFL and ESL are not names of qualifications – they are fields of teaching

Section 2 : Qualifications

DID YOU KNOW?

I took the TEFL class on line just for fun and because our church offered an English class to Hispanic people who had moved to the area. I thought that by taking the class, I could improve my own English and be better able to assist with the class. Less than one week after completing the TEFL class online and receiving my certificate, I received a call from our church denomination’s National Foreign Missions Board chairperson, asking if I might be interested in going to Taiwan for two weeks to help with an English camp there. Because I had a part time job and was pretty tied down, any thing long term was out, so I saw this as a perfect opportunity to practise what I had just learned! I said “yes”, and soon was on a plane to Taiwan! I spent two weeks as one of two Americans on a team of twenty native Taiwanese who were planning an English camp to a remote fishing village in southwestern Taiwan. I had a blast and found the Taiwanese extremely friendly, helpful, and very motivated to learn English.

‘

Julie Tipton from the USA.

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

Have you heard of different TEFL course types or providers? What do you know about them?

Make some notes.

2.1

Qualification

Details

_______________________________________________________________________

The Facts Here are some of the options available: Online Courses l

Courses are generally 20-100 hours

Input covers language analysis & teaching methodology

Often optional specialised modules available (e.g. business English, teaching children)

Better courses incorporate videos of real classes and interaction with a tutor

Short Face-to-Face Courses l

Courses are generally 20-40 hours in person

Input covers language analysis & teaching methodology

Better courses incorporate peer-teaching with tutor feedback

Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) & Trinity CertTESOL l

4 weeks full-time in person (sometimes part-time is offered)

Around 60 hours of input (language analysis & teaching methodology)

6 hours of teaching real students with tutor feedback

6-8 hours of observing experienced teachers

Written assignments

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth remembering that a lot of courses are offered worldwide. So you can do a course in Moscow, Barcelona or Shanghai â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a great way to check out a new lifestyle and look for work as you travel.

Section 2 : Qualifications

1.1

First Thoughts

2.2

What do you believe are the advantages and disadvantages of each course type?

Pros

Cons

Online Courses Short Face-to-Face Courses CELTA/Trinity Courses

We Suggest: Online Courses Cons

Pros

l l l

Some online courses are high quality Flexible Inexpensive

Some providers are not wellrecognised – choose carefully No personal contact with TEFL teachers or other students No teaching practice

Short Face-to-Face Courses Cons

l l l

Some short courses are top quality training and recognised worldwide Get a feel for the industry – meet TEFL teachers and other students Can be a fun learning experience May include peer-teaching practice A quick way to get qualified

l l

Content can be superficial Not much attention to language analysis No teaching practice with real students

CELTA/Trinity Courses Pros l l

High prestige Can use it to teach in English speaking countries (with a degree) l Audited – universally high-standard l Practical content l Teaching real students and getting feedback

Cons l l l l

Very intensive Can be stressful Inflexible delivery model Expensive

Section 2 : Qualifications

Pros

Daniel Deacon from the UK

I had several interviews with schools around Seoul. I began to teach kindergarten and elementary kids. It was very daunting at first, but I remembered what I had learned in my TEFL course and after a few weeks it became so much fun that I hardly felt like I was working at all; I felt as though I was getting paid to have a great time. I enjoyed it so much I spent three years in Seoul, and I’m still teaching but this time I’m in the Czech Republic.

‘

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Many prospective teachers ask, ‘But really which is the best course to do?’ It’s honestly hard to answer – it depends on your personal needs and teaching plans. Competition is stiff, and all of the well-known courses, whether online or face-to-face, provide useful content. Nevertheless, CELTA and Trinity are still the best known and most highly regarded. They are just about the only certificate courses that will allow you to teach in an English-speaking country, primarily because they are over 100 hours, and they include six hours of observed and assessed teaching. However, they are quite expensive and stressful, so be certain about your TEFL plans before committing your time and money to this course. You can always start with a less demanding option and teach for a while to see what it’s like. If you really enjoy it and want to stay in the field, you can then consider a CELTA or Trinity course.

_______________________________________________________________________

Google the reviews of the courses you are interested in. See what people who have done the courses think.

SUMMARY l

There is a wide range of certificate courses, online and face-to-face, ranging from 20 to 160 hours

Cambridge and Trinity CertTESOL are the most prestigious, and the only certificates that allow you to teach in English-speaking countries

Section 2 : Qualifications

3.2

Which courses will you now explore?

3.1

Reflection & Action

KEY RESOURCES For an overview of certificate courses: http://www.esljobs.com/tefl-certificate-programs-overview.htm Cambridge CELTA: http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/teaching-awards/celta.html Trinity CertTESOL: http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=201 i-to-i: http://www.onlinetefl.com TEFL Worldwide: http://www.teflworldwideprague.com/

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say! My TEFL course gave me the skills I needed to be confident in the classroom. Since coming back to the UK I have continued to teach EFL and am now involved in running a language school!

‘ 41

Section 2 : Qualifications

Amanda Gillies from Scotland

Section 3 Finding Good Work Introduction

Do You Need A Qualification? With hundreds of TEFL job sites on the internet, find out exactly where to start with your job search and how to identify the better opportunities available to you.

Job Placement Services & Agents Understand all the benefits and possible risks involved in using a third party to find your job abroad.

Networking Discover how to develop international networks with both teachers and schools.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Conditions How do you know if a job is good? What should you look for in a job advert or contract? What should you ask? Find out all the answers to these key questions.

Introduction to Section 3 1 How Do People Find Work?

Reflect on how you or people you know have found work. Circle the items below (or add your own).

Through A Friend

Newspaper Job Advert

Notice In A Window

Agency

Family

Internet Job Post

2 Finding Good TEFL Work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Situation

Visit schools

Use an agency or job placement service

Start networking

The only challenge with TEFL work is that the jobs are in another country! This section will suggest some ways of becoming an effective international job seeker. By the end of this section you should feel excited by the incredible range of opportunities, and have developed the skills to proceed wisely.

Use the internet

Section 3: Finding Good Work

The principles for finding any sort of work are the same. So in order to find your TEFL job, you can:

The Internet

Ben Casey from the UK

I took the TEFL course ... My wife and I decided to move to Hong Kong. I searched for a job online. I struck some luck and within that same week I had landed myself a teaching post in a center teaching ages from 4-12. ... I managed to strike a perfect schedule working seven days a week, I think the TEFL certificate played a large part in landing myself with a job as a teacher, because it is highly regarded by schools and centers. As long as you’re a native English speaker and have a TEFL qualification then you can get a job quite easily!

‘

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DID YOU KNOW? l l l

There are thousands of jobs advertised on the internet on any given day There are five main types of positions advertised Adverts are usually upfront about conditions

1 First Thoughts Google “TEFL Jobs” and choose three websites to explore.

Site www.esljobs.com

I liked …

Easy to navigate; spells out job details clearly

Find a job that looks exciting to you on each site.

I didn’t like … Not so many jobs

What do you like/dislike about each of the websites? Enter your findings in the chart below.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

1.1

2 The Facts 2.1

There are five basic types of positions: Types of Positions Government Schools

Examples e.g. ‘Hangzhou No. 14 Middle School’, ‘Lompok Elementary School’ While government schools advertise directly, some countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have centralised government-funded schemes to allocate teachers to schools

Universities/Colleges

e.g. ‘King Saud University’, ‘Sichuan Engineering Vocational College’

Small Private Schools

These schools have eccentric names like ‘Joy English College’ or ‘Banana School’

Private Chain Schools

Private Chain Schools have branches in many cities and countries. You’ll see many ads for organisations such as EF (English First), IH (International House), Shane, Wall Street, Berlitz, Language Link, etc

Volunteering

Development projects, working with migrants, underprivileged communities and refugees

2.2

Go back to the three websites you looked at. Find examples of these different types of positions.

2.3

What do you notice about typical contracts and conditions? Make some notes. Types of Positions

Conditions

Government Schools Universities/Colleges Small Private Schools

We Suggest: l

Conditions vary greatly between countries, and between city and rural areas within one country.

Contracts at government schools and colleges, as you’d expect, coincide with semesters. In developing countries, they are usually not able to offer high salaries but may offer free accommodation.

Volunteering

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Private Chain Schools

Private schools, especially the chain schools, may offer considerably higher pay than government schools. Contract periods vary but they tend to want you to stay as long as possible and may offer incentives, such as an end-of-contract bonus.

Volunteering, of course, takes commitment. While you may, in fact, need to pay to be a volunteer, the rewards (in terms of learning, achievement and contribution) can be huge.

2.4

You would have noticed that there are hundreds of job websites. Here are the top three sites recommended by TEFL teachers as the perfect starting point. Site

Details

www.eslcafe.com

l l

www.tefl.com

The biggest TEFL job site S earchable teacher forums where you can get inside information on schools l Site posts helpful warnings about less reputable schools l l l

Fewer positions listed, but they’re generally high quality Excellent database search engine Country cost guide

www.transitionsabroad.com l Links to country-specific job sites l D etailed country-specific information – e.g. typical jobs, conditions, visa regulations, tax etc We will also be looking at country-specific websites in Section 7.

3 Reflection & Action 3.1

Use the three websites recommended and find five jobs that you would love to have. Bookmark them – we will be looking at them later in this section.

SUMMARY

Recommended job sites: www.eslcafe.com www.tefl.com www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-jobs-abroad/ Country information: www.transitionsabroad.com

Section 3: Finding Good Work

KEY RESOURCES

Start with some of the larger ‘tried and tested’ websites

Job Placements & Agents I travelled to Lopburi, Thailand on a paid teaching placement. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable travelling alone to a new country and culture without the back up that I received from i-to-i. The staff made the whole experience so easy, advising me on everything from vaccines to visas, and knowing there was always someone available at the end of the phone.

‘

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Shelly Whelan from Ireland

DID YOU KNOW? l

There are job placement services and agents who will offer to help with contacting schools, organising paperwork, and supporting you in-country

Thanks to the internet, it’s very easy to make direct contact with schools, rather than going through a middle person

1 First Thoughts

Person B

If you’re most like Person C, you should consider the facts overleaf.

I’m a bit nervous about finding a job on my own.

Person C

Person A

I’m going to jump on a plane and find a job when I’m already abroad.

The internet job ads look fine, so I’ll give them a shot on my own.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Out of Persons A, B and C, which one are you most like?

2 The Facts Keep your wits about you. Do you believe that a person or organisation, acting on commission, is going to look after you? Always be suspicious of agencies that charge advance fees and operate exclusively by email.

2.1

Before you sign up, ask yourself whether job placement services or agents meet the following criteria:

I can actually speak with them

They have a good reputation

Conditions are spelt out clearly

The conditions are better than jobs I can apply for independently

There are clear benefits in using their service – e.g. they have an in-country representative who will support me in an emergency

If you have doubts about any of the above, perhaps reconsider using their services.

2.2

You’ll notice many agents or ‘consulting firms’ advertising on the job websites, offering to arrange work for you in schools. Why do you think many make statements like the below: Reputable & Reliable Recruiter Trust us to find you a good job

There are reputable agents and disreputable agents.

There are many critical stories about agents on teacher forums (e.g. withholding pay, disappearing).

Consider carefully – is there a need to go through one when you can contact schools directly? What value do they add?

Agents receive a signing commission that can be as much as one month’s salary and often a percentage for every hour you work. This will often mean the jobs they arrange have lower rates of pay.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

We Suggest:

3 Reflection & Action Research (1) a job placement service and (2) an agency (e.g. look at the Korean jobs board on www. eslcafe.com). What benefits do these jobs offer you?

Consider carefully whether you really need this sort of help

Agents in some countries have a bad reputation

KEY RESOURCES For well-regarded job placement services: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-jobs-abroad/ http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/ http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/ For agents, go to any jobs website – they advertise alongside schools.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Ashley Griffiths from the UK

The teaching experience in Thailand was truly amazing and I can’t wait to get back in October! Thailand is a great place to begin because everybody is so friendly and helpful! The kids are very lively but fun loving and are generally interested in learning! Working for a Thai government school also provides you with generous holiday entitlements so if you have itchy feet you can see to your wanderlust! I would recommend teaching and living in Thailand to anyone.

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

SUMMARY

‘

Networking

Most TEFL jobs are not advertised; many people find their jobs through word of mouth or networking

You can build networks through friends and the internet and easily start finding TEFL jobs

First Thoughts Interview someone who has had a number of jobs. How did they find them?

Jobs

How Did They Find Them?

Section 3: Finding Good Work

1.1

It is highly likely that some of their jobs were through someone they knew rather than an advert. 50

DID YOU KNOW?

I found it a great experience and I was really glad that I plucked up the courage to do it. I feel that I adopted qualities which were expected in that culture and which have improved me generally as a person. I also met a lot of people I might not have met otherwise - not just locals, but those who had gone there to teach from a whole range of other countries. ... I loved teaching so much that I am now working my way through a PGCE and teaching back home. I don’t think I would have done that if I hadn’t tried it out first and gained confidence abroad!

‘

Anna Lee Creed from the UK

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

In the TEFL world, developing networks is the best way to discover what good work is available and teachers are particularly willing to help you out. Networking also offers you flexible choices – e.g. rather than being tied into one contract, you might be working part-time at several schools.

The Facts Basically, tell everyone you know and/or meet about your TEFL plans. If you tell ten people who each tell two people and these two people in turn tell another two people – that’s already 70 people thinking about ways of helping you.

Do you know anyone who teaches EFL? Make a list.

Draw a mind map. Start with any five people you know. Who might they know? You might find someone who has valuable advice or contacts abroad for you!

Sarah’s School friends (still in China)

Tom’s brother

Tom

Sarah Tom’s Wife (taught in China)

Tom’s work mate, John just back from India Her sister teaches TEFL

Who might they put you in touch with and how might they help you?

John’s contacts at a school in India

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Sarah’s old manager

2.2

2.3

Which of these appeals to you? Rank them from 1 (most attractive) to 6 (least attractive).

Go to a country and meet local teachers socially

Go to a country and cold-call schools

Talk to people I already know who have taught abroad

Ask friends to put me in touch with TEFL teachers they know

Do a face-to-face TEFL course and keep in touch with fellow students and tutors

Post on an internet forum

TEFL teachers would always suggest that personal contacts work best. Meeting other teachers socially is a good place to start. Like any sort of job hunting, it’s good to meet people at schools in person and be on the ground and available when positions arise. Just remember, if you’re not the sort of person who wants to set off and make contacts, that’s fine as well. In particular, if you’ve never travelled before, it’s worth using networks in your home country or on the internet to arrange a job in advance.

SUMMARY l l

KEY RESOURCES

Online forums: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=30 http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/ The TESLJB-L mailing list (for making contacts, and receiving postings about jobs) http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/wl.exe?sl1=tesljb-l&h=listserv.cuny.edu

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say! TEFL has brought me work experience in Shanghai. Before getting a permanent full time teaching job, I taught part time in various schools (kindergartens, adult classes, teaching centres... etc). I now work full time in an international school in Shanghai and have just signed my 3rd year contract with the school. Leelawati Khalil from Singapore

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Think explicitly about the networks you can make Don’t hesitate to ask people

Decide what you’re happiest with – pick your preferred options from 2.3 and follow up on them.

3.1

Reflection & Action

‘

Conditions

Louise Clark from the UK

DID YOU KNOW? l l

QUIZ In which country…

Can you make the most money? a. Turkey b. Saudi Arabia Is the typical hourly rate higher? a. Russia b. Vietnam You can find the answers at the bottom of the page. In this part we look at some general principals regarding what to look for in a contract and your rights and responsibilities as an employee. In Section 7 we look in more detail at conditions country by country – and, of course, where to find information yourself, since conditions change.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Do employers often pay for a return airfare? a. Japan b. China

1.1

First Thoughts

Job adverts typically spell out conditions clearly There are some snags you should learn to avoid

The answers to the quiz are all b!

I took the TEFL course online, just after I’d moved to Sweden after finishing my Masters. After I’d completed the course I started teaching English at various levels at a couple of evening class organisations. This wasn’t organised through TEFL or anything - I had to sort it out all on my own. I did have a lot of fun, and got to meet all kinds of people. I had to do whatever I could get workwise over there, and money was tight, but my teaching jobs were the ones that kept the smile on my face.

‘

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2 2.1

The Facts Go back to Part 1 of this section Remind yourself of the different types of positions available – at a government school, chain school etc. What kind of position looks most attractive to you? Why? _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2.2

Do you agree or disagree?

Agree

Disagree

Schools need you more than you need them. You shouldn’t negotiate. Ask direct questions about your contract. Deal directly with a person – avoid emails with ‘Sir/Madam’. Be courteous. You can break a contract.

Schools do need you. If you don’t feel right about a school when you first deal with them, don’t pursue it – there are plenty of other opportunities.

You can always negotiate – but be polite. Some teachers recommend negotiating after you’ve started with a school and already made a good impression.

Always ask direct questions so you’re clear about what you want to know (and again, be polite).

You should find out the name of the person with whom you’re dealing. A personal relationship helps things run smoothly and it’s easier to know what’s going on.

Always be courteous. Getting angry or even being seen as ‘proud’ is a considerable loss of face in many cultures.

Many teachers do break contracts if things don’t work out. In view of this, many schools offer a bonus at the end of a contract.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

We Suggest:

Look at the forums listed in the Key Resources section on page 52 See the types of feedback teachers have given about different schools. What are typical features of good schools and bad schools?

Good Schools

Bad Schools

You probably will have found that teachers do not define good schools based only on money or physical conditions. Teachers value: l l l

Respect from management Someone on staff you can talk to about problems A culture of teaching and learning - not just profit

The most reliable ways to tell if a school is good is if there are positive testimonials from other teachers. Use contacts or online forums. The first sign of a bad school is when they evade questions or are willing to behave questionably (for example, offering to employ you illegally). If they’re lying to the government, why wouldn’t they lie to you? If anything doesn’t seem quite right, trust your instincts and go somewhere else. Schools are usually upfront about rates of pay. What might not be clear are your working hours – which in turn can affect how much money you receive. What details would you want to know about teaching hours in reference to the below?

Monthly salary

Hourly rate

Split shifts

Travel required between sites

Extracurricular activities

We Suggest: l

A monthly salary: ask about maximum hours, because $2,000 for 120 hours is a very different pay rate from $2,000 for 80 hours. As a rule, new teachers would not want to teach more than 25 hours a week, unless all the teaching materials are provided.

Section 3: Finding Good Work

maximum hours

2.4

An hourly rate: ask about minimum hours. For example, $20 might look like a good hourly rate in Prague, but not if you only work five hours a week.

Split shifts: find out if there are any, and what the possible configurations are. To give you an extreme example, imagine if your teaching hours on one day were as follows: 8:00AM – 9:00AM, 12:00PM -1:00PM, 3:00PM – 4:00PM and 7:00PM – 9:00PM! It wouldn’t make for a very enjoyable life – especially if you were living in a foreign country!

Different sites: ascertain whether you are expected to go to different branches or, for example, work with corporate clients at their workplace. Consider travel time and how you will travel.

Extracurricular activities: ask what they are and how many hours they involve. Be careful that ‘activities’ are not unpaid teaching in disguise.

Remember: They need you more than you need them! Don’t be afraid to ask. If a school evades your questions, simply move along. Also, always be prepared! Try to determine what will happen if you decide to break your contract (e.g. pose the question on an online forum if you don’t want to discuss it with the employer). Consider having an emergency fund to cover expenses if you’re suddenly out of work.

Exact days and hours per week

Pay

Location

Out-of-class responsibilities

Type of students

Resources

Living conditions

SUMMARY l

Be courteous yet upfront. Ask what you need to know

If it doesn’t feel right, move on

Section 3: Finding Good Work

Go back to the jobs you bookmarked in 4.1. Draft an email to clear up any queries regarding:

3.1

Reflection & Action

KEY RESOURCES Advice on finding a good school: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/find-a-reputable-tefl-school-abroad-649405.html What to ask a school: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0503/teaching english_abroad_the_ good_the_bad_the_ugly.shtml For teacher forums: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/ Blacklist (mainly China and Korea): http://eslblacklist.com/ Interesting article regarding warning signs of bad schools: http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?read=3336

Section 3: Finding Good Work 57

Lauren Mehl from the USA

I was in Qingdao, China! The schools’ grounds were made up of a preschool and kindergarten school and a grade 1-12 school, both of which were made up of Chinese and Korean students, and an American international school, which catered to Korean and Japanese students. I taught classes at all three schools, working with kindergarten-2nd grade. I taught a total of 22 classes (between 30-50 minutes long).

‘

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‘

Section 4 Getting Good Work

Application Letter Or Email Learn how to make your application stand out in a stack of hundreds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you can also take a look at a model application.

Creating A Teaching Resume Top tips on how to create a teaching resume that resonates with the needs of employers.

Personal Contact Understand how beneficial it is to deal directly with a person, rather than anonymously, when applying for a job.

Section 4: Getting Good Work

Introduction

Introduction to Section 4 1 Why Are Some Job Applications Better Than Others? 1.1

What has your success rate been when applying for work? What do you think you’ve done well and not so well? Think about: l

Any initial contact

Your application letter

Your resume

The interview

After the interview

What I Did Well

What I’d Like to Improve

______ minutes ______ seconds Ready for the truth? Most recruiters look at a covering letter for about five to ten seconds! They then make the decision of ‘maybe’ or ‘no’. First impressions are powerful. How can you make your application stand out and be impressive? This section will help you write a powerful covering letter and a resume that will get past the tensecond selection stage, so you can secure the job you want.

Have you ever recruited people, or do you know someone who has? If a recruiter has a pile of job applications, how much time do they usually spend on each? Write the time here:

2.1

Section 4: Getting Good Work

2 Successful Job Applications – The Situation

Personal Contact I taught at an underprivileged school and also nuns at a private school. I managed to get in contact with the nuns through some people I met at my accommodation. It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever undertaken. The children where so receptive and eager to learn. The nuns could speak English however, needed someone to practice their pronunciation and conversation skills with.

Sheryl Hawkins from Australia

DID YOU KNOW? l

If you send a job application to a general business, rather than a person, you most likely will not hear back from the employer

1 First Thoughts Think of a time when you wanted something from a company or government department.

What did you want?

_________________________________________________________________________

If you did have a contact’s name, did it help?

_________________________________________________________________________

Names are particularly important in international communication – when, obviously, there is no faceto-face contact. Email is inherently anonymous.

_________________________________________________________________________ Did you know a person’s name?

Section 4: Getting Good Work

How did you contact them?

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2 The Facts Which of the followings points do you think are important? Why?

A personal relationship makes you different from a sea of unknown applicants

A personal relationship can smooth out difficulties

Knowing someone’s name establishes a professional and collegial relationship

Knowing someone’s name shows you’ve made an effort

You’re more likely to hear back from a person than an anonymous company email address

Using someone’s title

We Suggest: l

All of the above are equally important. The TEFL industry is different because the applicant and the employer are distant. Do anything you can to make professional but personal contacts.

If a job advert does not name a contact person, find out. Email or ring, and simply ask, ‘Who can I speak to regarding the TEFL position?’

3 Reflection & Action 3.1

Look at one of the job websites you discovered in Section 3. Find three job adverts that don’t include a contact name. See if you can figure out the name of the person with whom you should get in touch.

School

Person

Find out a name and contact them directly

Use their title

KEY RESOURCES Advice on contacting schools: http://www.teflnewbie.com/tag/jobs-teaching-english/

SUMMARY

Section 4: Getting Good Work

1 2 3

Application Letter Or Email

DID YOU KNOW? l

Most application letters don’t clearly portray the applicant’s ability to do the job for which they’re applying

If an employer can’t immediately see that you have relevant skills, your application will probably go in the bin

Cirlce the ideas you agree with: A LONG COVERING LETTER

A SHORT COVERING LETTER

HIGHLIGHTING SKILLS THAT RESONATE WITH THE JOB ADVERT UNUSUAL PAPER

ARTISTIC FONT

CONSERVATIVE FONT

We’ve said that employers may only look at an application for a few seconds. What will make your application stand out?

Section 4: Getting Good Work

First Thoughts

I was amazed at how much my TEFL course prepared me for the English teaching job market. I am still in Milan, Italy, teaching Business English. There is a huge market for GOOD teachers here. I had been teaching other things before English, so I was able to cross train my teaching skills to fit. I work full time for one school (though most teachers start out working part time for 2 schools) and there is no lack of hours.

‘

Brooke Miller from Italy

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2 The Facts 2.1

There are no tricks here: DO l l

2.2

DON’T

Have a short covering letter l Highlight the skills you have that they’re specifically asking for Keep the format simple and professional

Use unusual paper, fonts, illustrations, perfume, etc.

Let’s look at what this means in practice. Look at the job advert below. What two things do they want?

_________________________________________________________________________

ENERGETIC TEACHERS WANTED IMMEDIATE START! Established school in Osaka seeks motivated and energetic English teacher to teach teenagers. You will need to work with Japanese teachers to provide conversational English lessons, and run activity programs (sports and games) in English. TEFL qualification desired but not essential – energy and enthusiasm a must! Please send application and resume to:

The employers clearly want some who can teach English and run activity programs.

Clearly, you always need to work out what they want before you can highlight it in your application. l

What the company wants – the ‘selection criteria’ - may be:

l Stated clearly in the advert l Hidden in the advert (you may want to email them to clarify what the job needs) l Listed on a separate position description – if this is the case, the ad will usually direct

you to a website or state ‘contact us to receive a detailed position description’.

We Suggest:

Section 4: Getting Good Work

Ms Sawako Wakita Principal, Foundation English Kindergarten 3-2-6 Ogimachi, Kita-ku Shinagawa Osaka Japan

2.3

Look at the application below from Janet Baldwin for the position. Why are the words in bold? a. They are the most sought-after skills in the TEFL industry b. They are what the advertisement asks for What is the purpose of the sentences after the bolded words? a. To give examples which support her statement b. To describe other skills she has Ms Sawako Wakita Principal, Foundation English Kindergarten 3-2-6 Ogimachi, Kita-ku Shinagawa Osaka 20 July 2009 Dear Ms Wakita This is an application for the position of English Teacher, as advertised on www.eslcafe.com. I am a qualified and experienced English teacher. I have an i-to-i TEFL Certificate, and have been working for six months as a TEFL teacher at the Universal English College, Kyoto. In addition, I have designed and organised sports and activity programs. While at university I worked for the Student Activities Committee, coordinating a number of sports clubs for students.

Janet Baldwin

Answers: l The words in bold (b) are what the advert asks for. That’s all they want to know – nothing more, nothing less. l

The following sentences are (a) examples which support her statement. It’s proof.

In other words – tell them what they want to hear, and nothing else. Don’t cloud the message.

J.Baldwin

Section 4: Getting Good Work

Yours sincerely

I would be very grateful for the opportunity to discuss my application further. Please find my resume attached.

2.4

What do you notice about the language & formatting?

Greetings:

___________________________________________________________________

Length:

___________________________________________________________________

Complexity of Language:

_______________________________________________________

Directness: ___________________________________________________________________ Punctuation: ___________________________________________________________________ Paragraphs and Indents:

_______________________________________________________

Justification: ___________________________________________________________________ Font: _________________________________________________________________________

Use ‘Dear …’ with the person’s name, and finish with ‘Yours Sincerely’.

Keep your letter as short as possible.

Keep the language simple and clear (and you, as an English teacher, will be judged on the clarity of your writing).

Be courteous but direct – there is no need to grovel. ‘This is an application for …’ is better than ‘I would like to apply for …’.

In contemporary business letter styles, do not punctuate dates, ‘Dear …’ or ‘Yours Sincerely’. Leave a line space between paragraphs and do not indent the first line. The text is left-justified.

Use a clean, businesslike font, such as Arial.

There is no right or wrong answer regarding formatting application letters – but the style above works very well in the TEFL industry. Most importantly, get someone else to check what you write! Errors in a letter look very bad for an English teacher.

3 Reflection & Action

Go to one of your bookmarked jobs and type up an application letter. Model it based on the example we have given you.

Section 4: Getting Good Work

We Suggest:

SUMMARY l

Keep your application letter brief and professional-looking

Highlight the selection criteria so they can see straight away you are the right person for the specific job

KEY RESOURCES Useful advice for application letters and resumes http://www.eltworld.net/blog/2009/04/6-simple-reasons-why-your-tefl-resume-sucks/

Section 4: Getting Good Work

For more application letter ideas, the difference between email and post etc: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobapplications/Job_Applications.htm

Creating A Teaching Resume

DID YOU KNOW?

First Thoughts Are these true or false for you?

I have skills a school would want.

TRUE / FALSE

I have qualifications a school would want.

TRUE / FALSE

I have experience a school would want.

TRUE / FALSE

We suggest the answers for all three of these questions can be yes for you. If you speak English fluently (you probably do!), that’s already an enormous skill. Also, you’re sure to have some experiences or qualifications that you can shape to your advantage by showing how they are relevant to a teaching position.

Section 4: Getting Good Work

Your resume should support your application letter Once you have a basic resume, it’s easy to tailor it for any particular teaching job There is no right or wrong resume, but there are some principles that work well in the TEFL industry

l l l

After more than a year of retired life, I became bored and learned of native English speakers teaching in Korean English language schools in Subic Bay and within other select cities in the Philippines. I submitted my resume at Sky Language School in November of 2007 and was given a quick interview by the Korean supervisor. I was hired and began teaching on December 26, 2007 and have been teaching there for well over a year now. It is both intrinsically satisfying and helps with finances. Prior to the Philippines, my experience only included six months of teaching English in Quito, Ecuador in exchange for Spanish classes. However, with my i-to-i TEFL certificate and humble associate degree in liberal arts, I was hired to teach Koreans English! I teach in a cheerful air conditioned private room within a well kept building with a brilliant staff. All resume experts say different things.

‘

Ralph Francis from the USA

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Look at Janet Baldwin’s resume which she sent with her application. What do you notice about the ‘key skills’ box?

RESUME Janet Baldwin 412 Iseya-cho, Kamigo-ku Kyoto 602-0873 Telephone: 075-212-6342 Email: janet_baldwin999@gmail.com

KEY SKILLS • •

Qualified and experienced TEFL teacher Coordinator of sports and activity programs

QUALIFICATIONS 2009

TEFL Certificate i-to-i Melbourne

2008

Bachelor of Arts (Major: History) Monash University Melbourne

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Jan-Jul 2009 • • •

TEFL Teacher , Universal English College, Kyoto Teaching Conversational English at all levels Teaching Business English to executives Organising out-of-class language activities

Jul-Nov 2007 Freelance Tutor • Tutored high school students in English and History

INTERESTS

Japanese language & culture; sport & outdoor activities

REFEREES

Professor Jane Scott History Department Monash University jane.scott@monash.edu.au (+613) 9275 2978

Mr Tim Michaels Tutor i-to-i TEFL Certificate tim_michaels_1978@hotmail.com (+613) 9352 3998

Section 4: Getting Good Work

Mar-Oct 2008 Activities Officer, Student Activities Committee, Monash University • Planned and managed sports clubs and events • Designed promotional materials and checked for errors • Completed records in a timely and accurate manner

2.1

The Facts

‘Key skills’ is a powerful way of restating what the employer needs and supporting your application letter: JOB ADVERT

APPLICATION LETTER

RESUME

Identify selection criteria

Highlight selection criteria in bold

Restate selection criteria in ‘key skills’

In fact, you can keep your teaching resume the same for most jobs, but just change the ‘key skills’ for each specific teaching job. Some resume writing guides suggest listing ‘personal goals’ or ‘career objectives’. We’d suggest avoiding this for the TEFL field. In some cultures this seems strange and egotistic. ‘Key skills’ shows you can do the job rather than describing what you want out of life.

2.2

Let’s look further at the layout of the resume. 1

The resume is (long/short)

The font (is/is not) the same as in the application

Qualifications and experience start from the (oldest/most recent)

The words in the key skills box are (nouns/verbs)

The description of the current job uses verbs (in the dictionary form/ending in –ing)

The descriptions of past jobs use verbs in the (present/past) tense

Again, there’s no right or wrong way to format a resume; however, in the TEFL industry, the model above works well. Make sure everything on your resume is relevant. Remove anything that doesn’t shout ‘I can do this teaching job well’. Keep it succinct and punchy.

Use the same font as your application. It creates a good impression – you’ve made an effort to present a professional package.

Start with most recent qualifications and experience.

Key skills should be nouns.

For current responsibilities use verb + ing.

For past jobs use past tense.

Make sure you are consistent with word forms and punctuation. For example, make sure a list of past responsibilities is all past tense, not a mixture of past tense and verb + ing. Use full stops after all or no items in a list – not just some of them. Care and consistency is especially important for an English teacher. If your resume is sloppy, an employer will think your work in class will be sloppy.

Section 4: Getting Good Work

We Suggest:

2.3

Some people suggest a professional-looking photo helps to personalise an application – it makes it more than an anonymous piece of paper. Think of photos you have of yourself. Which would you choose for teaching at a Japanese kindergarten and which would you choose for teaching German businesspeople?

2.4

Why did Janet Baldwin include the interests she has? Imagine she also likes electronic music. Should she include that?

2.5

_________________________________________________________________________

What do you think about the following questions? What jobs should I include in my resume?

_________________________________________________________________________

Should qualifications always come before experience?

_________________________________________________________________________

What if I have no TEFL qualifications or experience?

_________________________________________________________________________

We Suggest: l Include

any jobs that required skills and personal attributes of value to a school. These could be, for example, anything involving responsibility, dealing with the public, or language and writing.

l Whatever

sells you… put it first. If you have considerable experience but no degree, consider putting your experience first.

l As

a. b. c.

Apply anyway and apologise for not having what they want Apply anyway and not mention the issue Not apply

We Suggest: l

Apply anyway and not mention the issue. For better or worse, the TEFL field is demand-driven. If you can sell yourself as the perfect candidate, the school may ignore the stated requirements.

If you see a job that you know is right for you, but you don’t have something they ask for (e.g. a TEFL qualification), what would you do?

2.6

Section 4: Getting Good Work

we’ve mentioned, there are many jobs that do not require qualifications or experience. However, sell your experience as being relevant to the classroom.

Having said that, when it comes to legal requirements (e.g. needing a degree to get a work visa) there may be no way around it.

If you don’t have something quite specialised that they ask for (e.g. ‘must have postgraduate degree in business’), perhaps consider a different job? There are plenty of others to choose from.

3 3.1

Reflection & Action List some or all of your current and former jobs. Include any experience you have from your former jobs which might be valuable to the school. Think about the following: l

Dealing with the public

Working independently

Being responsible for children

Being trusted (e.g. with opening a building, looking after money)

Working with books

Working with language

Training

For example:

3.2 3.3

Write your teaching resume to support your application from Part 2. Make sure the verb tenses are consistent (e.g. all past jobs use past tense) and get someone to check for typos!

Section 4: Getting Good Work

SHOP ASSISTANT l Dealt with customers of different nationalities l Trained staff l Was responsible for cash

SUMMARY Use a ‘key skills’ box and change it depending on the selection criteria

Keep your resume succinct and relevant

KEY RESOURCES For TEFL resume tips: http://www.tefl.net/esl-jobs/resume-tips.htm

Section 4: Getting Good Work

For suggestions regarding tricky issues such as lack of experience: http://susanireland.com/resumework.htm

Section 5 Resources

Online Resources Understand how online computer activities can help you prepare lessons and get your students practising.

Teaching With No Resources Get a plan for what to do when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re faced with limited resources in the classroom.

Print Resources Learn the benefits of different teaching materials and which ones are the best to take with you when teaching abroad.

Section 5: Resources

Introduction

Introduction to Section 5 1 What Do You Think?

There are many great TEFL resources in print and online

In some countries it’s difficult to find good print materials

Good resources really help a teacher

What are ‘good resources’ for teaching EFL? Brainstorm some ideas.

Why do you think authentic materials - reading and listening materials not designed for language students, such as menus, newspapers, brochures, timetables, songs, adverts from the radio – might be some of the best resources you can use? Finish the sentence below.

Authentic materials motivate students because:

_________________________________________________________________________

Section 5: Resources

1.3

1.2

Which of the below statements do you think are true?

1.1

We Suggest: l

Students often talk about the gulf between the classroom and the real world. They say the course book is irrelevant to their real lives, and they worry that that they understand their teacher but not people on the street. Authentic materials are motivating because they bridge the gap. They bring the real world into the classroom.

2 Resources – The Situation

There are lots of great resources because TEFL is such a huge market. There’s great variety, and the approach is often cutting edge, with emphasis on enjoyment and interaction in the classroom. And many online materials are free. Most cities will have at least one bookshop with TEFL resources. However, the range may be limited. We’ll be suggesting the essential materials you might want to take with you – especially considering you may not be able to carry too much on your travels!

Section 5: Resources

We’ve said we want our students to do things with language, so they need activities and materials to support this. These could be, for example, photocopied handouts (which teachers sometimes rely on too much), or simply ideas for things students can do. The more activities you have up your sleeve the better.

Print Resources Definitely take the opportunity to teach abroad it if you have it. Try to bring many ideas for teaching with minimal supplies. Also, be willing to provide materials at your own expense if you want to make some of the lessons more elaborate. TEFL books are so much better than textbooks we had at school.

Kathryn Neigebauer from the USA

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DID YOU KNOW? l

Most schools have some sort of syllabus and prescribed texts

The TEFL publishing industry is massive

1 First Thoughts The foundation of many courses is a ‘course book’. Go to a specialist TEFL bookshop or have a look at an online bookseller like www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.You can also search for some well-known TEFL course books such as:

New English File (Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig & Paul Seligson) Language In Use (Adrian Doff & Christopher Jones) Reward (Simon Greenall)

New Cutting Edge (Sarah Cunningham & Peter Moor)

Section 5: Resources

New Headway English Course (John & Liz Soars)

1.1

Make some notes. Think about: l

Your overall impression – are they different from textbooks you used at school?

Why they have different ‘levels’ (beginner to advanced)

What supplementary resources they have

Good course books, in theory, contain everything a student needs. They are colourful and engaging. They generally teach a balance of the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and have grammar and vocabulary activities. Usually each unit will be based on a topic (such as food, travel or education). A course book series usually also contains a teacher’s book (with suggestions for the classroom, and grammar explanations), a workbook (for homework), audio CDs, and possibly DVDs and online resources.

1.2

What do you think about the following statements? Why? Think back to your own experience when you were in school. Students like having a course book

_________________________________________________________________________

Typically students have a course book prescribed by their school

_________________________________________________________________________

Course books are the only resource you need

_________________________________________________________________________

Knowing where to get good resources will reduce my preparation time dramatically

2.1

The principles

We Suggest: l

Most students like having a course book because it makes the course feel organised. They can see a plan and go forwards and backwards as they need to.

2 The Facts

Section 5: Resources

__________________________________________________________________________

2.2

It depends. In most schools (in particular, the big well-organised chain schools) you’ll need to follow the course book. However in some schools, especially in developing countries, there may be no materials or just materials in the local language, so you’ll need to consider whether to buy resources and/or create your own.

Many course books are engaging and self-contained, but you may find some that are dull or irrelevant to the students.You may want to supplement a course book with activities (there are many activity books that you can photocopy legally) and – what is especially motivating to students – authentic material (e.g. real magazine articles, brochures, songs etc). However this can seem chaotic unless you plan this well. They should match the content of the course book, for example, by addressing the same topic as the unit they’re studying. A little bit of additional material goes a long way – use it less frequently but to a more memorable effect.

Yes. The biggest problem most new teachers have is preparation time. Accessing good materials (and knowing how to exploit a course book fully, which we’ll discuss in Section 6) will greatly increase your quality of life!

Again, go to a TEFL bookshop or online bookstore. Match the following books with their function. Publication

Function

1 New Cutting Edge (Sarah Cunningham & Peter Moor)

Dictionary for students

2 Communication Games (Jill Hadfield)

Reference grammar for teachers

Reference & practice grammar for students

Activity book (to photocopy for use in class)

Course book

Skills practice

Ideas for teaching (to help plan lessons)

3 Teaching Large Multilevel Classes (Natalie Hess) 4 English Grammar In Use (Raymond Murphy) 5 An A-Z Of English Grammar and Usage (Geoffrey Leech, Benita Cruickshank and Roz Ivanic)

Incidentally, these are not particular recommendations – just examples. Choice of materials is a very individual thing and should be tailored to the needs and interests of your students. Spend time browsing and looking at the range available.

2.3

Which sorts of publications would you find most useful as a new teacher? Why?

7 Impact Listening (Kenton Harsch and Kate Wolf-quintero)

Section 5: Resources

6 Oxford Learner’s Dictionary

2.4

What should you take? Which of the above would you probably not buy to take overseas? Why?

We Suggest: l

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take course books because you may not know what students and schools require.

New teachers often like to have a reference book for grammar, books providing ideas for teaching and some resources to photocopy.

Before you buy, try to get some idea of the language level of your students, as activity books come in different levels. If you have arranged work with a school, ask them.You can also research a country â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for example, Chinese post-secondary students will normally be preintermediate to intermediate level in spoken English.

Printed materials can be quite expensive. Ask potential schools what resources they have. Consider sharing. Remember materials will be tax deductable in some countries.

3 Reflection & Action

Research and make a list of resources you would like to have and how much they would cost.

Most students have a course book

Supplement the course book, but in an organised way

TEFL publishers: http://www.cambridge.org/elt/ http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ http://www.macmillanenglish.com/ http://www.oup.com/elt/select?url=/eltnew/

Section 5: Resources

KEY RESOURCES

SUMMARY

Online Resources

Ralph Francis from the USA

Computers can help students practise all four skills, including speaking

There is a lot of free material on the internet, for teachers and students

First Thoughts

What’s your opinion – why would computers be useful for you and your students? Circle the answers with which you agree. FUN INTERACTIVE FREE LISTENING RANGE

PAIRWORK

VISUAL

SPEAKING

VIDEO MUSIC

AUTONOMOUS

AUTHENTIC

Section 5: Resources

1.1

DID YOU KNOW?

I took my TEFL course in Dublin 3 years ago. The girl that gave the course (I believe her name was Michelle) was absolutely brilliant. I just kept on remembering everything she said to us and my confidence grew and grew. I came back to Holland and began making preparations to begin my English teaching. I advertised in the local papers and began with a course for 6 people for 10 weeks. I was so nervous the first week, but the most important part of this was I was very well prepared. I did what Michelle said and I had plenty of back up material to get me through it. My course was for 1 and a half hours. My confidence grew and grew and every time I went to Ireland I bought new materials and books to teach with.

‘

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We Suggest: l

Computers have revolutionised language learning.

Students can work at their own pace on what they need to practise – which is truly studentcentred.

Visuals and sound bring learning to life. The new exciting developments are voice recognition (so students can practise speaking on their own) and virtual reality (so students can practise speaking and listening in simulated real-life environments).

Presenting old written materials as PDF’s on screen does not work well – presenting written books on screen does not give it an edge or advantage at all.

Despite the potential uses of technology, students still want human interaction. Think of using computers as just one part of a language course. Many larger schools have computer labs you can book for classes.

Google ‘Free Online ESL’ and ‘Computer Assisted Language Learning’. What’s the difference in focus?

1.1

__________________________________________________________________________

The Facts There is an enormous amount of material online that includes: l

Resources for you as a teacher (in particular ideas for activities, lesson plans and worksheets)

Programmes that students can do in and out of class – called CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning)

2.1

What are the risks of using TEFL materials you find online? Make some notes below:

Mistakes in materials

Like any unapproved and unedited material on the web, you can’t be sure of quality and accuracy. Aim to use moderated lists like the ones we recommend below or ask other teachers for sites they recommend.

Section 5: Resources

1.2

2.2

Follow some of the CALL links you found earlier.

Are many available for free?

__________________________________________________________________________

Do you think students like CALL? Why?

__________________________________________________________________________

Could students use social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace, to develop their English?

__________________________________________________________________________

What other websites could you use in class?

__________________________________________________________________________

We Suggest: l

There are many online CALL activities for free. However, the better ones are by subscription or sold as CDs.

Students like interactive programs – but not if it’s just a time filler and an excuse for the teacher not to teach.You need to use your teaching skills to run CALL – e.g. plan what you want students to achieve, prepare students with vocabulary for an activity, get them to work on one computer as a pair so they need to interact verbally.You can also recommend CALL programs for students to do outside class.

Any form of interaction is useful.

Use any websites that are in English and engage students appropriately. They don’t have to be designed for language learning. If the topic in the course book is food, get students to browse recipe websites.

Printable materials for teaching

Online activities for students

Make some notes below: Website

Name of Activity

Engaging?

Doable? Accurate?

Section 5: Resources

Use some of the links below and look at some:

3.1

Reflection & Action

SUMMARY There are both very exciting and very dull computer-based learning exercises

Computers are a useful part of a language course, but students still need human interaction as well

Be adventurous. Get students to work in pairs and groups using computers

KEY RESOURCES Free worksheets http://www.esl-galaxy.com/ ESL Café idea cookbook http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/ About.com lesson plans http://esl.about.com/od/englishlessonplans/English_Lesson_Plans_for_ESL_EFL_Classes.htm One Stop English lesson plans and activities: http://www.onestopenglish.com/ Reflections on online resources: http://www.tefllogue.com/in-the-classroom/online-efl-resources.html CALL links: http://iteslj.org/links/TESL/CALL/ http://www.edvista.com/claire/call.html Recommended books with ideas: Bringing technology into the classroom http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/isbn/0-19-442594-0?cc=gb 700 classroom activities (many incorporate using the internet) http://www.macmillanenglish.com/Course.aspx?id=28618&producttypeid=28254

Section 5: Resources

Lesley Voss from the UK

This is the best website for quick, printable conversation cards for speaking activities! http://esldiscussions.com/ * There are currently 650 discussion topics to choose from. * Use for ESL lessons, speaking practice, debate clubs, lesson add-ons, and more. * Students can form discussion groups for independent speaking practice. * The speaking activities are on everyday themes, controversial issues and just plain funny. * Each conversation lesson has ready-to-print Word and PDF downloads. * There are also Grammar discussions and Idiom discussions. The grammar involved varies, but the questions can be adapted to suit each level!

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Teaching With No Resources

Jean Marshall from the UK

Many schools around the world have few, if any, resources

Less material in class can be a blessing

First Thoughts

Can you imagine being asked to take a class with no preparation and no materials? How would you feel? What would you do?

__________________________________________________________________________

Section 5: Resources

Make some notes.

Where do you think that might happen? 84

DID YOU KNOW?

? ?

I spent four weeks teaching English in a small primary school in Santiniketan, West Bengal. The children were delightful; they came from low-income families and had very few material things but nonetheless seemed very happy. The school was poorly resourced and it was a real eye opener for me as I’m a primary teacher in the UK and used to working in a classroom with a laptop and an interactive whiteboard! We spent a lot of time on craft activities, playing games, singing and role playing in order to improve their spoken English skills

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The Facts

2.1

Where? Many schools in the developing world are under-resourced – for example, some schools don’t even have paper or a blackboard, let alone a photocopier. So it is essential you are prepared and confident to deal with that scenario.

2.2

Do you agree with the below statements?

As a rule, the more material you can give students, the better.

The best speaking activities need photocopied handouts.

For any teaching situation, even a well-equipped school, knowing how to teach with no resources can be a plus.

Rather than photocopying everything, get students to copy from the board.

We Suggest: l

We can sometimes overwhelm students with handouts. It can seem chaotic. The focus can become ‘getting through the material’, rather than listening to and responding to the students.

In Part 1, we saw that there are books containing ideas for teaching. A lot of these activities don’t need photocopying or special materials.

Write questions on the whiteboard for students to discuss in groups

Play hangman with the class

Get students to write down one thing they like and one thing they don’t like, so they can then find fellow-students with the same feelings

Ask students in turn to say what they did yesterday

Write three numbers on the board and ask the class to guess why the numbers are important

Divide the class into pairs and ask each pair to write the first part of a story that the other pairs will continue

Section 5: Resources

Talk to the class for an hour

2.3

Teachers are kind-hearted and will, for example, photocopy an empty grid, which students will use to conduct a class survey. Why not just draw the grid on the whiteboard and get students to copy it into their book? Which of the following would be effective activities if you wanted or needed to avoid using materials?

We Suggest: l

One person talking for a whole hour of a lesson is not an effective way to maximise student practise.

Expand your range of interactive activities. Don’t fall back on the same lame handful each time (like hangman and bingo).

Explore resource books containing ideas for teachers. We’ve listed some links below, including a review of the very aptly named Lessons from Nothing.

SUMMARY l

There are great books containing ideas for teaching without resources

Limit the amount of material you hand out – exploit materials and texts fully

KEY RESOURCES General links, regularly updated: http://iteslj.org/links/ Cambridge University Press ideas for teaching: http://www.cambridge.org/elt/catalogue/catalogue.asp?cid=15 Oxford University Press ideas for teaching: http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/rbt/?cc=gb Review of Lessons from Nothing: http://www.developingteachers.com/books/review_lfn.htm

‘ Nicola Simpson from the UK

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say! I was very much in at the deep end when I started in Brazil. Although there had been a teacher there previously there had been a gap of 5 months. I was well prepared, and had to design a course from scratch for 3 levels of students. I had to plan my own lessons from a selection of old books, which then had to be photocopied. There were no overheads, only chalk and myself. The main things I learned were to laugh at myself and to have fun teaching the students. I was prepared, especially to use mime initially.

Section 5: Resources

Explore some of the publications in the links below. Try some of the activities out with your friends. They’re often just as engaging for native speakers as for learners.

3.1

Reflection & Action

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Section 6 Instant TEFL

Introduction

Making A Contribution Reflect on the responsibilities youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have as a teacher and the cultural differences to be aware of.

What Students Want Understand what your students want from you as a teacher and learn how to effectively deliver it.

Getting Students Talking Learn practical approaches for getting your students talking.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Being An Effective Teacher Check out some simple ideas for bringing your class to life and communicating with your students.

Introduction to Section 6 1 What Are Your Aims As A Teacher? 1.1

Mark a number from 1-5 from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. I can teach people how to live.

1.2

What should the aims of a TEFL teacher be? strongly disagree

strongly agree

I can learn what students’ language needs are and try to meet them. 1

I can convince people to believe certain things.

I can help people learn English.

I can tell students about my country.

I can motivate students to learn English.

Think back to Section 1. What makes a class good or bad? Cross out the things you want to avoid when you teach.

The teacher talks a lot. One student talks at a time. The students talk to each other.

The Role Of The TEFL Teacher As an EFL Teacher, your focus should be on what your students need and how you can motivate them to continue learning. Students need to learn useful languages and practise it with your guidance and expertise.

Remember – students need the practice, not you.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Students learn a language that is relevant to their lives.

We Suggest: Our role is not to: l

Teach students about the world (apart from how language is used).

Convert students to our beliefs.

On the contrary, we can give students opportunities to: l

Teach us what they know, teach us about their ‘world’.

Express what they believe.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

This section is like a crash course in TEFL.You are going to reflect on your role as a teacher, and work out what works and doesn’t work in the classroom. While approaches to teaching are varied (which is what makes it interesting!), there are some basic beliefs and practical rules of thumb you will find right across the profession.

Making A Contribution

DID YOU KNOW? Many learners take English incredibly seriously

1.1

Why is English so important for many people?

______________________________________________________________________

English, as the international language of business and communications, is a vital skill for getting ahead and connecting with the international community.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

1 First Thoughts

Do it! It’s, without a doubt, the most worthwhile and enjoyable thing I’ve ever done. Parts of it are hard but generally the experience is amazing. It’s a great opportunity to travel the world as well as benefiting a community. It’s the best way to actually live in a community, an experience you might not have if you were just backpacking. The satisfaction comes from knowing you have survived in a culture so different from your own, and made a huge difference in doing it.”

‘

Richard McMahon from the UK

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1.2

Do you think a TEFL teacher fits the following descriptions? l

Makes a significant contribution to a community

Shows the same level of professionalism as a teacher in your home country

Has particular responsibilities

Note down your thoughts about the previous statements:

2 The Facts

Be serious; don’t smile

Wear appropriate clothing

Be organised in class

Prepare your lessons

Don’t play games

Don’t talk to students outside class

Don’t socialise with students

Being professional means taking the job seriously. So dressing appropriately, preparing classes, and being organised with your materials, are all very important.

Taking a job seriously does not mean looking serious. It means trying to help your students meet their goals. All students want warmth from their teachers, inside and outside class. Knowing your students’ names and chatting outside class can contribute greatly to rapport inside the class.

Games are fabulous. But they need to have a serious purpose – e.g. to break the ice so students feel less inhibited, or to help students practise speaking. They should not just be time fillers (if you’re teaching executives, you might want to call games ‘practice activities’ instead).

Whether you should socialise with students depends on the situation. Just consider the factors carefully. Generally, going out with the whole class is fine, but there are risks if you only go out with a select few - it can seem like you have class favourites for example.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

We Suggest:

2.1

What do you think is important in being ‘professional’?

Look at these real quotes from students in Thailand. Why do you think they mentioned these issues? Why don’t foreign teachers dress for work?

Why do foreign teachers sit on the desk?

She said I was lazy in front of the whole class.

______________________________________________________________________

Which of these do you think are effective and reasonable ideas? BEFORE YOU GO:

WHEN YOU’RE THERE

Read about social dos and don’ts (e.g. in a guidebook or on the internet)

Don’t worry about it, they know you’re a foreigner

Do a course in cultural awareness

Observe what locals do

Take particular care with certain areas (e.g. religion and physical contact)

Ask other foreign teachers

Ask local teachers

Ask your students

Section 6: Instant TEFL

2.5

Think of when you’ve been overseas or ask someone who has. Have you noticed foreigners clearly not being aware of local sensibilities? What happened?

2.4

He put his hand on my head.

2.3

! 2.6

We Suggest: l

People are forgiving if you make a naïve mistake

The main thing is to be aware. Observe what people do

Below are the areas that tend to have the most cultural issues (add more if you like). Think of a country you’re interested in teaching in and note down any really important social rules you can think of:

Religion

Gender

Physical Contact

Dress

Food

3 Reflection & Action Complete the sentences below:

My most important aim as a TEFL teacher is to

______________________________________________________________________

I’m going to avoid

______________________________________________________________________

Section 6: Instant TEFL

I’m going to

Teaching TEFL can transform your life

Have a professional attitude

Be aware of your environment

KEY RESOURCES Cultural differences in TEFL: http://esl.about.com/od/esleflteachingtechnique/a/culture_dif.htm Interesting ideas on taboo topics in the classroom: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/taboo-classroom

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Daisy De Windt from Australia

The lack of English speakers was difficult and took me some effort to adjust to. However, by the end of my stay, I got so accustomed to this different way of communication (lots of hand signals, acting out, and even sketching and pointing to things!) that it was my preferred way to communicate with most everyone! When I’d meet someone who spoke English fluently, I felt a little disappointed that I wasn’t faced with the challenge of body language and the challenge of using my drama skills!! I even found that I was communicating on this level with my fellow volunteers - I learned to speak slower, clearer, and with more active body language. Unfortunately, since being back in Sydney, I’ve readjusted to my previous way of communicating (i.e. speaking fast and mumbling at times!). I can’t wait to speak to a non-English speaker again!”

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SUMMARY

‘

What Do Students Want?

There is a lot of research on what students like and don’t like in the classroom

The teacher is the most important factor in motivating students

First Thoughts Think back to when you were a student. What sort of teaching did you like? What didn’t you like? I liked it when the teacher …

I didn’t like it when the teacher …

Section 6: Instant TEFL

1.1

DID YOU KNOW?

The most memorable experience I have when teaching English to my students is my everyday teaching & every time I see my students speaking the language… or when their parents tell me that their children are speaking English at home… or when they come to me and I can see that they try hard to talk to me in English; that to me is memorable because I can see that I am reaching my students interest in applying their knowledge of the language with me or other people.

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Monica Viteri from China

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Consider these questions. l

What does the above mean for your teaching?

How can you do the things you liked, and avoid the others?

Are you ready to teach now, or do you need some sort of training or further professional development?

The Facts There are a number of studies regarding what motivates and de-motivates students. Here are the main problems that TEFL students can have in the classroom. How would you solve these problems? Problem

Solution

It’s boring. The teacher talks too much. We don’t get enough speaking practice. Each student just reads out one sentence at a time. The teacher doesn’t like us. The teacher always praises one student. The teacher always criticises one student. We can’t follow the instructions. We don’t know what the point of the lesson was. The teacher doesn’t know the material. The CD player is poor quality. The book is boring.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

2.1

1.2

We Suggest: l

We all remember how hard it was to stay awake in a class, sitting in the same seat for hours. Plan a range of activities with different skills and different interactive patterns. Encourage physical activity. For example, students first mingle and survey each other; they then work in groups; they then form two teams and race to the whiteboard to write something relevant to the activity.

Stop talking! Get students to do activities, not sit and listen to you.

Get students talking in pairs and small groups.

This can come from nerves (remember the students are more nervous than you are). Get to know the students before class and in the breaks. Change the class dynamic, so it’s not just you out in the front talking. As students do activities, move around the classroom and don’t forget to smile!

Treat all students fairly and spread your attention and interaction evenly. Don’t have any classroom favourites.

Don’t ever single out students and make them lose face.

Keep instructions really short and clear. Demonstrate an activity rather than explaining it (for example, it would be crazy to explain to someone how to play chess without showing them the board and how the pieces move).

Have a clear aim for your lesson.You can write it on the whiteboard.

Prepare your lesson! Course books generally explain language really well, but make sure you’ve read the unit beforehand and understand it.

Somehow get good equipment. There is nothing more demoralising for a language student than hearing a recording and not understanding a word.

Try to supplement a course book with interactive activities and with authentic materials (as we discussed in Section 5).

Almost all of the above are issues you can control in the classroom.

What qualities will you bring to the classroom that students will like? Draw three circles which represent three positive aspects of your character. Then brainstorm what this will enable you to do with your students.

Won’t favour certain students

I am fair

Will encourage students to give their opinions

Section 6: Instant TEFL

For example:

3.1

Reflection & Action

Build rapport with students by showing you like them and are interested in them

Keep your classes active with different types of tasks and interaction patterns

Have a clear aim, and be prepared

Learn what de-motivates students and avoid it

KEY RESOURCES On student motivation in TEFL: http://teflbootcamp.com/Student-Motivation-in-EFL.htm http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/motivation-motivating-efl.htm

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Rhonda Tang from Australia

It seems that conversational English is valued with the students more than you trying to grill grammar into them. In fact, their grammar was probably better than mine because they’ve learnt it through memorisation and continual practice of proper English. Whereas, us, in everyday ‘spech dun talk properly and dun spell stuff right either - so its prolly harder 4 us.’ Most university students in China are hardworking and earnest in learning what you have to teach, but it does take a while to tune into what they want to learn and the class’ mastery of English is at all different levels - you’ll get some really good ones and get some students who just don’t get it, all in the same class.

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SUMMARY

‘

Getting Students Talking

It so happens that I have been to China, before I took a TEFL course, on a mission trip. There, I was able to implement some English language teaching in local classrooms and in conversation corner settings that helped the students hear an American and ask questions in English. The food, though mostly delicious, was different and hard to adjust to using chopsticks, but I managed to use them quite well as time went on.

‘

Karen Smith from the USA

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? l

You need to plan activities to get students to talk to each other – students won’t usually talk without a purpose

Whole-class discussions often don’t work – try smaller groups instead

First Thoughts If you were an English student, which beginning lesson would you enjoy most? Why? The teacher says ‘Today we’re going to learn about the past tense. In English usually it is formed by adding –ed …’

Students stand up, mingle, and greet all the other students in English.

You can guess we suggest the third option. But is it just about enjoyment, or is there a serious purpose as well? What sort of atmosphere is created when the class begins with a student-to-student speaking activity?

Section 6: Instant TEFL

The teacher asks one student at a time ‘How are you today?’

DID YOU KNOW?

2 2.1

The Facts

Why do you think many students have had little speaking practice when they’ve learnt English? Select true or false for the below statements.

Students don’t want to speak.

TRUE / FALSE

Speaking isn’t in their final exam at school.

TRUE / FALSE

They’ve had teachers who were non-native English speakers. Non-native-speakers can’t teach speaking as well as native speakers.

TRUE / FALSE

Many teachers aren’t sure how to maximise speaking practice.

TRUE / FALSE

We Suggest: l

a. This is rarely true, although their priorities may have been elsewhere while at school – see b.

b. Often the case. For example, there is no speaking test in some countries’ university entrance exams. Therefore, speaking in class can be seen as a waste of time by some students, teachers and parents. However, these students often later want to improve their speaking skills for further study and work.

c. Absolutely not – because speaking practice isn’t something the teacher does. It’s a matter of how to organise it – see d.

d. Sadly this is true. But it’s easy to fix. It comes down to a couple of simple principles, which are coming up next.

2.2

Choose the answer you think is best. Start your lesson with a student-to-student ice-breaker because: a. It reduces students’ anxiety, and gets them feeling confident speaking b. It’s fun

We Suggest: l

a. It may well be fun, but the main goal is to reduce anxiety and build confidence.Your students may not have spoken a word of English since the last class.

b. Unless the school or surrounding classrooms object, generally the louder a class is the better! It means students are practising. Small group and pair work is important to enable students to get as much practice as they can.

100

If you want to have a whole-class discussion, do it: a. Before students talk in small groups b. After students talk in small groups

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Students should generally speak in small groups, rather than one at a time to the teacher because: a. They can speak at a lower volume b. More students get to practise at the same time

2.3

b. Start with small groups, and then finish with a whole-class discussion. Students are then warmed up and confident. It’s very high risk to start a lesson with a whole-class discussion – there will often be deathly silence.

Students need structured speaking activities. Few classes will respond if you just say ‘talk’. Ideally, speaking activities should be related to the topic of the lesson. Types Of Speaking Activities Here are some classic types of speaking activities. Of course, any one has hundreds of variations.You’ll notice they involve as many students talking as possible, and each one has a goal – students are not just talking for the sake of it. l

Mingling

Students mingle and find someone with, for example, the same likes/ dislikes about a topic.

Brainstorming

Divide students into groups. One person in each group writes. They brainstorm a list (this could be to recall vocabulary in preparation for a discussion).

Discussion

Divide students into groups. Write some controversial topics on the board. Each group should try to come to an agreement about the topics.

Role-play

Divide students into pairs. Assign each person a role (e.g. customer and shop assistant). Give them life-like goals (e.g. the customer has to buy everything on a shopping list for as little money as possible, and the shop assistant wants to make as much money as possible).

Divide students into groups. One person thinks of a person (or a thing). The other students have to ask yes/no questions to work out who or what it is.

Games

There are many more ideas for speaking activities in the Key Resources section at the end of Part 3.

What do you think might be the risks allowing lots of student speaking practice? Note down your thoughts.

101

You might think that at lower levels students won’t be able to say much, and the teacher will have to talk more. Counter-intuitively, you can argue the opposite. The beginner level is exactly when we need to help students develop confidence with speaking. Also, students won’t understand a lot of teacher talk – it fact it might confuse and demoralise them. So it’s a matter of choosing topics for speaking activities that beginners can cope with.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Students reinforce their errors if I’m not listening & correcting

2.4

2.5

Students do want us to correct their speaking. A number of studies have shown students want a lot more correction than they receive. In fact, this is the help many students most appreciate.* So when is it appropriate to correct students? To begin with, what’s the moral of this story? (It’s apparently true!) A student missed a week of classes. The following week he came to class and said to the teacher “I am very sorry, my friend die”. The teacher replied “That should be ‘died’. My friend ‘died’.” We’d suggest it shows there are appropriate and inappropriate times to correct. If a student is trying to express meaning, that is not the time to jump in and correct. So when do we correct students?

Yes

During an ice-breaker When they have just learnt some grammar (e.g.past tense) and are practising forming sentences with past tense in pairs When they are role-playing as shop assistants and customers and trying to buy everything on their shopping list at the best price When they are discussing their opinions

We Suggest: l

There is a difference between accuracy and fluency practice

Accuracy is when students are trying to say something right, so you should correct at this stage (consider not correcting everything, but focus on a particular type of error – e.g. some grammar they have just learnt)

Fluency is when they are trying to get the words out to express themselves, so avoid correcting students at this stage as it inhibits them

Reflection & Action

How do you feel about stepping back and letting students speak? Does it feel like you’re not doing your job if you’re not up at the front talking? How do you think the students feel?

Start any class with a student-to-student ice-breaker

Maximise student-to-student practice throughout the lesson

Minimise teacher talking time

Correct students when they are speaking for accuracy, but not fluency

* Leki, I. (1991) ‘The preferences of ESL students for error correction in college-level writing classes.’ Foreign Language Annals 24 203-18. Ur, P. (2000). ‘Teaching grammar: what can we learn from research.’ The TESOLANZ Journal 8, 14-22.

102

SUMMARY

Section 6: Instant TEFL

Talk to a student (in English or another language) and ask them.

KEY RESOURCES Speaking games and activities online: http://www.squidoo.com/esl_icebreakers http://www.eslcafe.com/idea/index.cgi?Ice:Breakers http://www.esl-galaxy.com/speaking.html http://www.eltgames.com/ Recommended books with speaking activities: Talk Your Head Off http://eltcatalogue.pearsoned-ema.com/Course.asp?Callingpage=Catalogue&CourseID=RU React – Interact http://eltcatalogue.pearsoned-ema.com/Product.asp?Callingpage=Catalogue&ISBN=9780130220578 Five-Minute Activities http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projectpage.asp?id=2500403 Discussions That Work http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projectpage.asp?id=2500401 Keep Talking http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projectpage.asp?id=2500406

Section 6: Instant TEFL 103

Sheila McAllister from Australia

I taught English in the National High School, Galapagos. I had been learning Spanish for some months previously but my Spanish was not good enough to communicate effectively and the people in Galapagos did not speak much English. Apart from the communication problem, it was a wonderful experience and I found living and working in the local community to be vastly different from being there as a tourist. I think my greatest contribution was working with the English teachers in Galapagos who were very keen to better their English and bombarded me with questions, some of which were very challenging. I felt they would be able to pass their increased knowledge of the language on to future generations.”

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Being An Effective Teacher

DID YOU KNOW? l

How sure are you about the following? (1 = sure , 5 = unsure,) I get the idea that students need to practise together

Sure

Unsure

I could walk into a classroom right now and make it happen 1

This part is designed to give you some easy rules of thumb to make lessons work well and maximise student-to-student practice.

Section 6: Instant TEFL

1.1

First Thoughts

104

You can energise a class and motivate students with some simple principles

Go for it. Even if you just do it for a month or two and it doesn’t work out, at least you know you tried. There is nothing worse than ‘what if ’. If you’ve learned foreign languages yourself, that’s a great help as you already have a good understanding of how language is built up and the kind of problems you can encounter when learning a new language. A course is really good as a base to get the grammar clear in your head, get ideas for lessons and so on, but nothing beats the practical experience.

‘

Louise Clark from the UK

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Imagine you are teaching a beginners’ class. Each student has a course book and the unit is about food. Students will learn some basic grammar in this activity, as they are told to add an “s” when there is more that one item. Write the nouns in the correct form. a

Sally bought three (banana) _____________ and one (orange) _____________.

We need some (tomato) _____________ to make the sauce.

I want a kilo of (apple) _____________.

What could you do to bring this lesson to life? Write some ideas.

______________________________________________________________________

Get students interested in the topic

Do this by bringing in visuals or real objects. Get the students to talk to each other about the visuals or objects (for example, in our food lesson, bring in some real ingredients, and ask students to discuss in groups what they could make with them. Alternatively, bring in some cooking magazines, give one to each group, and ask students to discuss what recipes they think look good).

Get students to work together

Put students in pairs. Tell one to put their book away.

Personalise everything

Make everything meaningful and relevant to the students (for example, after students complete the ‘Sally’ exercise in pairs, tell them to change the sentences to make them true about THEM).

Section 6: Instant TEFL

THREE EASY IDEAS FOR GREAT LESSONS

105

2.1

The Facts

3 3.1

Reflection & Action What would you do with the food lesson to make it engaging? Be creative. Ensure there’s lots of student-to-student interaction.

I would …

SUMMARY l

KEY RESOURCES Ideas for getting the most out of a coursebook: http://www.thornburyscott.com/tu/MET3coursebook.htm_

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

Section 6: Instant TEFL 106

Aoifie Scallan from Ireland

‘

Make sure to try and learn some of the basic vocab of the country you are teaching in. Have a lesson plan, but be prepared for this to change while in the class. The children love crosswords, colouring and worksheets.

‘

Apply these three simple principles to make a course book engaging and effective

Section 7 Country Guide Introduction

107

Section 7: Country Guide

Country Guide This section gives you specific information about jobs, conditions and requirements in different regions and countries.

Introduction to Section 7 1 How To Use The Country Guide 1.1

1.2

For each region we’ll show you: l What attracts teachers l The main types of work available l When most work is available l Challenges and possible solutions For each country, we’ll list: l Most common types of positions l Official requirements l Useful insider information l Recommended country-specific websites We haven’t specified exact salaries and conditions, as these circumstances can change. However, we do suggest you research these for any countries you are interested in. Under each country there’s a space for listing monthly and hourly pay rates, other benefits provided by employers and living expenses. Regions Covered Are:

For all countries we do suggest starting with the major websites. Jobs www.eslcafe.com www.tefl.com All the best in your search!

Country Information forums.eslcafe.com/job

Teacher Forums www.transitionsabroad.com

Section 7: Country Guide

KEY RESOURCES

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North Asia South-East Asia Western & Mediterranean Europe Central & Eastern Europe Central & South America Middle East & Central Asia Africa Sub-continent

1.3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

North Asia

China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan

Good teaching packages in China (airfare, accommodation, travel bonus)

What Jobs Are There?

Private schools & universities

Enormous demand in China and South Korea

Not so much in Japan (after recession, collapse of Nova, the largest private English teaching companies in Japan)

l l

Private schools: year-round Universities: Japan/South Korea/Taiwan – before start of semester Aug/Feb China/HK – before start of semester Sep/Feb

Times of Year?

Challenges

Solutions

Conservatism

Sexism

Don’t fight it - first impressions are crucial (e.g. dress, respectful manner) Status as teacher and foreigner helps

Do research (e.g. teacher forums)

Stories of badly managed schools

Stories of bad agents

No need for agent, go to schools directly

Political sensitivities

Avoid them

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Possibility of saving money in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong

Section 7: Country Guide

Why Choose North Asia?

China

‘ Ni hao! ‘

Types of Work l Huge demand l Government middle schools and ‘normal’ (teacher training) universities l Private language schools (for adults, students and children) l Chain private schools (English First, Shane, Wall Street etc) l Some opportunities for teachers with a degree & CELTA l Foreign campuses Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits: Living expenses:

Official Requirements l Employment visa (Z Visa). Need visa notification from an authorised Chinese employer l Degree Insider Information l Such demand that schools may not require a degree – stress your experience as an alternative. l Many expats find work on a tourist visa and the school arranges the employment visa while you remain in the country.

Hong Kong

‘ Lay ho! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l Anything to sell your expertise is useful – TEFL/TESOL certificate, experience with children.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l Degree l Working visa l Working holiday visa available for 18-30 year olds from Australia

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Strong demand for teachers willing to sign one-year contracts l Most demand at private schools with children l Part-time teaching on top of a full-time job especially lucrative

Japan

‘ Konnichi wa! ‘

Types of Work l Demand for English exists but less because of recession, and competition for work after collapse of Nova l Numerous private schools and chains (e.g. GEOS & ECC) l Conversation classes l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school) l Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) when you work as an assistant in a junior or senior high school (must have degree and be under 40) Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Work visa sponsored by employer l Degree

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Enter Japan on a 90-day tourist visa and look for work. Once you’ve agreed your contract, your employer will arrange your work visa. l We do not advise that you work until your visa is finalised, but many teachers choose to, and schools may call it ‘training’.You then need to apply to an embassy outside Japan (e.g. Seoul). l You can enter Japan on a ‘cultural visa’ for study, which allows you to work up to 20 hours per week.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

South Korea ‘ Annyong hashimnikka! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l Most teachers recommend job hunting on the ground to find better schools and conditions.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l Need E-1 Visa (for large schools) or E-2 Visa (as conversation instructor) sponsored by employer l Evidence of fluency in English (if you’re not from an English-speaking country) l Degree (four-year degree, or three-year degree plus TEFL/TESOL certificate

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Huge demand for a English teachers l Most work opportunities are teaching young children and adolescents l Private hagwons (language schools) in cities l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school) l English in South Korea Program (EPIK), similar to JET, which places native speakers in schools & education offices

Taiwan ‘ Ni hao! ‘ Types of Work l Huge demand for teachers willing to sign one-year contracts l Most work is with children in private language schools and cram schools. Seem willing to sponsor teachers l Government schools often advertise l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school) Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits:

Official Requirements l Working & residency permit, only obtainable with a one-year contract l Bachelor’s degree with TEFL/TESOL certificate l Passports only from English-speaking countries Insider Information l You can enter on a 60-day Visitor Visa, and then apply with a signed contract.

Living expenses:

KEY RESOURCES

Japan www.eltnews.com www.jobsinjapan.com

Taiwan www.eslisland.com www.englishintaiwan.com

Section 7: Country Guide

Hong Kong www.hkjobs.com

South Korea www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea hiteacher.com/ www.worknplay.co.kr

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China www.eslcafe.com/jobs/china www.tefljobs.cn

South East Asia Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam

Why Choose South East Asia? l l l

What Jobs Are There?

l l

Low cost of living Relaxed lifestyle Many countries allow foreigners to stay up to 90 days without a visa Students respect teachers and see value of education, so class management is rarely a problem Travel opportunities

Many jobs in private schools (but lower pay than North Asia) Most demand for English for Business

NB It’s very difficult to find work in The Philippines and the Indian Subcontinent (as most students learn English at school). Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei source teachers from Britain through official channels

Challenges

Solutions

Schools may insist on a British or American accent

Sell your different accent as ‘international’

First impressions are very important – bad for teachers to lose face

Dress smartly with a professional resume and references

Section 7: Country Guide

Year-round, especially school holidays, when many secondary and university students take extra English classes (Thailand mid-Mar to mid-May)

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Times of Year?

Indonesia

‘Selamat siang! ‘

Types of Work l Medium demand l English First chain schools l Otherwise largely ‘back-street’ private schools

Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits: Living expenses:

Official Requirements l No degree required l Employment visa is 90 days max l For longer work and stay (VITAS) permit you need sponsorship l Passports only from English-speaking countries l TEFL course very useful Insider Information l Authorities are very strict about visa regulations. l However, schools like English First generally arrange VITAS for you.

Thailand ‘ Sawatdi krap! Sawatdi ka! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l Most EFL teachers in Thailand teach on a tourist visa but there is threat of a crackdown. l Universities and larger language schools might apply for a work permit for teachers willing to sign one-year contracts.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l Required: teacher’s license, working permit, and one year working visa l For work at a university/college, you need a bachelor’s degree in Education + Thai cultural awareness course OR any bachelor’s degree + Thai education exam l If you do not have a university degree, you need a letter of acceptance from a school

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Strong demand, especially in cities other than Bangkok e.g .Hat Yai, Chiang Mai and Songkhla l Chain schools l Small private schools l Many opportunities with universities, teachers’ colleges and private business colleges l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g while working at a school) l Most schools source teachers locally rather than arranging jobs in advance

Vietnam

‘Chào ông! Chào bà! ‘

Types of Work l Strong demand l Universities l Chain schools e.g. ILA l Many small private schools, often specialising in business English, TOEFL etc l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school). Lucrative with children of expats from Japan, South Korea etc Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Degree in any field l Sponsorship from employer for work visa

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Tourist visas can be changed easily to work visas in-country.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

KEY RESOURCES Indonesia www.eslbase.com/jobs/indonesia Thailand www.esl-teachers.net www.ajarn.com/

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Section 7: Country Guide

Vietnam www.eslbase.com/jobs/vietnam

Western & Mediterranean Europe France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey

Why Choose Western & Mediterranean Europe? l l

Times of Year?

l l

Private schools/freelancing: year-round, but peak in most countries Sep/Oct Summer schools in Mediterranean: Jul-Aug University: depends on country’s academic year

Challenges l Very difficult for non-EU passport holders as workplaces are reluctant to sponsor them (employer must prove no EU national is suitable) l Employers (esp. in Mediterranean) may offer cash-in-hand with no work permit l Strict requirements regarding qualifications & experience l High cost of living (and housing rarely supplied)

Solutions l Working holiday visas for 18-30 year-olds (from Australia, NZ, Canada) l Student visas often allow part-time work l Build relationships with potential employers when in the country for other purposes (e.g. during a holiday in Spain) l Be very cautious of employers offering you cash-in-hand – you may be exploited, and if you are caught it’s big trouble l Worth considering other options if you haven’t got any qualifications or experience l Teachers often combine one main job with freelancing

Section 7: Country Guide

l l l

Many chain schools (e.g. Berlitz, Wall Street, International House) Summer schools (but this is now hard to get a hold of) Universities Freelance work (esp. for companies and private tutoring, often through an agency – very useful to have contacts and to know the local language)

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What Jobs Are There?

High salaries (esp. Northern Europe) Cosmopolitan lifestyle

France

‘ Bonjour Madame! Bonjour Monsieur! ‘

Types of Work l Private language schools l University language centres l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school)

Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Degree l EU nationals preferred

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Business qualifications and/or experience is useful.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Germany

‘ Guten Tag! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l It’s easier to find work than it looks.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l Degree l Specific requirements for different states l EU nationals preferred

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Private language schools l Agencies delivering corporate work l University language centres l Language assistants in government schools l Adult education courses l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school)

Greece ‘ Geia sou! ‘ Types of Work l Frontisteria (secondary cram schools) l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school)

Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits: Living expenses:

Official Requirements l Degree l EU nationals or teachers from Greek background preferred l Certificate of Proficiency in English l Application for work permit must be in applicant’s country of residence (can be a slow process) Insider Information l Most teachers say it is better to look for work on the ground in Greece and then leave the country to apply officially.

Italy

‘ Buon giorno! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l Many teachers work illegally but this is very risky.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l Degree l EU nationals preferred l Work permits for non-EU nationals now almost impossible

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Private language schools l Chain schools

Portugal ‘ Olá! ‘ Types of Work l Frontisteria (secondary cram schools) l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school)

Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Degree

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Because of demand, degree may not be necessary. When you find a teaching job you can apply for permits locally.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Spain

‘ ¡Buenos días! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l Many teachers work illegally but this is very risky.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l No degree required l EU nationals preferred l Application for work permit must be in applicant’s country of residence (can be a slow process)

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Boom for teaching adults has passed l Private language schools (but most unwilling to arrange official permits and will pay you cash) l Growing area: pre-school and children

Switzerland ‘ Guten Tag! Bonjour! Buon giorno! ‘ Types of Work l Private language schools l University language centres l Private tutoring (especially after making contact, e.g. while working at a school)

Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits:

Official Requirements l Degree l CELTA/TEFL + teaching experience l EU nationals preferred Insider Information l The law is strictly enforced.

Living expenses:

Turkey

‘ Merhaba! ‘

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Schools rarely help with work permits. l Many teachers are on 3-month tourist visas, which is illegal.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

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Official Requirements l Degree l Work permit

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Strong demand (especially for evening and weekend work teaching adults) l Many private language schools l Chain schools l Colleges/universities (require MA)

Portugal http://www.lisbon-guide.info/facts_visitor/working

Germany www.tesall.com/germany.html

Spain www.eslbase.com/jobs/spain

Greece www.tefl.edu.gr/faq.htm#a9

Switzerland http://www.jobsabroad.com/Switzerland.cfm

Italy jobstefl.com/esljobsitaly.asp

Turkey turkeyjoblink.com

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France www.tefljobsinfrance.com

Section 7: Country Guide

KEY RESOURCES

Central & Eastern Europe Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia

Why Choose Central & Eastern Europe? l l

Times of Year?

Year-round, but especially winter when tourist teachers return home

Challenges

Solutions

l In

Supplement school salary with freelancing

Be professional (in appearance and approach to teaching)

Specialise (e.g. in English for Business or IT/ network with other teachers)

much of the region, standard of living is low, so youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll receive low salaries

l Locals

have high expectations of teachers and are wary of foreign hooligans

l Competition

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lots of UK and American teachers, especially in Prague

Section 7: Country Guide

Many private language schools Strong demand for teachers outside the big centres (i.e. Prague and Budapest) and especially in the former USSR Business/technical English with corporate clients (through a school or as a freelancer)

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l l

What Jobs Are There?

Low cost of living Good lifestyle with cafes, nice food, beer and wine

Czech Republic

‘ Dobrý den! ‘

Types of Work l Private language schools l Chain schools l Freelancing with companies l Lots of opportunities in provinces, but stiff competition in Prague l Lots of stories of badly managed schools – do some research Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Any bachelor’s degree (but TEFL helps) l Work permit

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Where demand is strong (e.g. small cities), a degree may not be necessary and schools will arrange paperwork.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Hungary

‘ Jó napot kívánok! ‘

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Smaller schools find it difficult to get teachers. Degrees may not be necessary and schools will arrange paperwork.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

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Official Requirements l Most schools say TEFL/TESOL certificate + year’s teaching experience l Work permit

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l There’s demand but language schools rarely provide full-time work – many teachers need to work at several schools l Private language schools l Chain schools l Freelancing with companies

Russia

‘ Zdravstvuitye! ‘

Types of Work l Private language schools l Chain schools l Freelancing with companies l Strong demand for business English. Private schools send teachers to client’s workplace

Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Most schools say degree + CELTA l Work permit

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Demand for teachers is so strong that many schools will hire native speakers without qualifications. l Good references are as important as qualifications.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

KEY RESOURCES Czech Republic www.eslbase.com/jobs/czech-republic/ Hungary http://www.esljobs.com/teach-english/hungary/

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Section 7: Country Guide

Russia www.englishfirst.com/trt/esl-jobs-in-russia.html

Central & South America Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico

Why Choose Central & Eastern Europe?

Many private schools Universities & colleges (better conditions but may be strict with qualifications) Companies may employ English teachers (for Business/ Technical English) directly

l l

Private schools: year-round, but especially autumn Universities: school year generally starts at the end of March

Times of Year?

Challenges

Solutions

Low pay, rarely with accommodation

Security

Latin America is for lifestyle, not making money

NB once you start working at a school, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often possible to negotiate a higher salary l

Act sensibly

Section 7: Country Guide

l l

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What Jobs Are There?

Low cost of living Slower pace of work Colour & excitement

l l l

Brazil

‘ Olá! ‘

Types of Work l Private language schools l Chain schools l Government schools

Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits:

Official Requirements l Bachelor’s degree l No TEFL required as all hired teachers must do in-house training by law l Need sponsor Insider Information l There are a lot of Brazilian students studying in English-speaking countries. Ask them for recommendations and contacts.

Living expenses:

Chile

‘ ¡Buenos días! ‘

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Most teachers start teaching on a 3-month tourist visa (which is illegal but widespread) while they look for a longer-term contract which will get them a year-long work visa.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

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Official Requirements l Bachelor’s degree l Need signed contract for work visa

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Private language schools, especially in Santiago l Chain schools l Government schools

Costa Rica

‘ ¡Buenos días! ‘

Types of Work l Private language schools l Chain schools l Government schools

Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits:

Official Requirements l Only bachelor’s degree required if you undergo an interview in person l If apply from offshore, you need a bachelor’s degree and TEFL/TESOL certificate Insider Information l Making contact in person is effective.

Living expenses:

Mexico ‘ ¡Buenos días! ‘

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Insider Information l Some private language schools will take teachers with the certificate only while others require nothing more than native-level fluency. l Schools often prefer to interview teachers in person. Many positions are never posted online.

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Hourly rate:

Official Requirements l TEFL/TESOL certificate l No degree required l Need a sponsor for work visa

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Strong demand because of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) l Private language schools l Chain schools l Government schools

KEY RESOURCES Brazil www.eslbase.com/jobs/brazil Chile www.teachingchile.com Costa Rica www.escapeartist.com/efam/64/Teaching_English_In_Costa_Rica.html

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Section 7: Country Guide

Mexico www.teachenglishinmexico.com

Middle East Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan have the highest demand Most jobs through colleges & universities

Sep/Oct is the start of the academic year in most countries

Challenges

Solutions

Laws are strictly enforced (e.g. no pork or alcohol is allowed in Saudi)

These laws are no joke! You have to accept them before accepting a job

Strict social ‘rules’, especially in Saudi Arabia & Kuwait – e.g. no public display of affection between a man and a woman, no discussion of family members in class, no reference to decadent behaviours in class

Again, you have to accept this if you want to live there

Many jobs ask for a male or a female teacher, depending on the gender of students – both men and women will receive respect in a teaching context

Sexism

Anti-Semitism

Israeli passports and teachers with ‘Jewish’ sounding names may be refused a visa

129

Times of Year?

What Jobs Are There?

Section 7: Country Guide

Why Choose The Middle East? l Can be highly lucrative. May be tax free. Often accommodation is supplied and free schooling for children l Sponsoring schools arrange all paperwork l Longer contracts 2-3 years (but only 1 year in Saudi)

Jordan

‘ Marhaba! ‘

Types of Work l Sep/Oct is the start of the academic year in most countries

Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Generally a degree is required l Must be sponsored

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l The law is strictly enforced.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Kuwait ‘ Salaam! ‘

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l The law is strictly enforced.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

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Official Requirements l Generally a degree is required l Must be sponsored

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Colleges & universities l Some foreign institutes

Saudi Arabia ‘ As-salam alaykum! ‘ Types of Work l Colleges & universities l Some foreign institutes l The demand for native-English speaking males is strong. Colleges offer high tax-free salaries, free transportation and accommodation, along with other perks l You will have to organise a job before going there because there are no tourist visas for Saudi Arabia Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Degree l Must be sponsored

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l The law is strictly enforced.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

UAE

‘ Aahlan wa sahlan! ‘

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l The law is strictly enforced.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

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Official Requirements l Degree l Must be sponsored

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l Colleges & universities l Some foreign institutes l Private schools

KEY RESOURCES Jordan www.esljobs.com/teach-english/jordan/ Kuwait www.esljunction.com/TEFL/TEFL_Jobs_Kuwait.html Saudi Arabia www.jobsabroad.com/SaudiArabia.cfm

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Section 7: Country Guide

UAE www.eslbase.com/jobs/uae/

Africa

Egypt Sudan

Demand for volunteer teachers is very high Some international schools are present, but the requirements for qualifications & experience is very strict

Year-round

Challenges

Solutions

Very few well-paid teaching positions in Africa

Do not consider Africa for making money

Difficult living conditions

This will be a meaningful experience – just have realistic expectations

Hard to get work permits in many countries (employer needs to show no local can do the job and there are many high-level English speakers in Africa)

Volunteering is a much easier option

Learn about possible classroom activities with limited resources – check out any training courses that specialise in this

Lack of teaching resources

Act sensibly

Security (crime and terrorism)

133

Times of Year?

l l

What Jobs Are There?

Section 7: Country Guide

Why Choose Africa? l Volunteering is very fulfilling work – teachers report Africa is ‘life-changing’ l You are directly helping people in difficult circumstances l Sense of adventure l Because of lack of resources, Africa will quickly develop a teacher’s skills & creativity

Egypt

‘ Ahlan wa sahlan! ‘

Types of Work l Private schools l Volunteers for various international organisations l Foreign institutions like the American University in Cairo and the International Language Institute Heliopolis

Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Work permit & work visa (school arranges) before arriving

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Making contact in person is effective.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

Sudan

‘ Salaam aleikum! ‘

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Ensure you are emotionally prepared if you’re volunteering – as much of the population is below the poverty line.

Other benefits: Living expenses:

KEY RESOURCES

Egypt www.elgazette.com/teach_in_egypt.cfm

Sudan www.eslbase.com/jobs/sudan/ www.volunteerabroad.com/Sudan.cfm

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Official Requirements l Work permit plus letter of recommendation

Conditions Monthly salary:

Section 7: Country Guide

Types of Work l High demand for volunteers through various international organisations that work directly with Sudanese institutions

The Indian Subcontinent India, Nepal

Volunteering Niche jobs such as accent modification

Times of Year?

Year-round

Challenges

Solutions

Paid jobs are scarce. There are many local English teachers – English is a national language in India – and many foreign teachers looking for work

Have a point of difference – e.g. Business English experience

Low cost of living

Low salaries

Be emotionally prepared

Poverty & crowded conditions

135

l l

What Jobs Are There?

Section 7: Country Guide

Why Choose The Indian Subcontinent? l Culturally exciting l Cities like Mumbai are booming l You can directly help people in difficult circumstances

India

‘ Namaste! ‘

Types of Work l Strong demand for volunteers l Business English l Interesting work such as accent training for call centres

Conditions Monthly salary: Hourly rate: Other benefits: Living expenses:

Official Requirements l Degree l Work permit for paid work Insider Information l Most teachers are volunteers and have entered on a tourist visa. l

Not many paid positions are advertised on the internet.You generally need to be on the ground and look for opportunities. To get a work permit you need a letter from your employer.

Nepal

‘ Namaste! ‘

Types of Work l Strong demand for volunteers l Short-term work at private schools l Interesting work such as teaching at monasteries

Conditions Monthly salary:

Official Requirements l Work permit for paid work

Hourly rate:

Insider Information l Most teachers are volunteering and have entered on a tourist visa.

Living expenses:

KEY RESOURCES India www.esljobs.com/teach-english/india/

Nepal http://www.tefl365.com/country/nepal

Section 7: Country Guide

Established schools may help you get a work permit.

136

Other benefits:

137

Section 8: Are You Ready To Start TEFLing?

Section 8

Are You Ready To Start TEFLing?

Are You Ready To Start TEFL-ing?

Congratulations! You should now have a clear understanding of the TEFL world and so, there is much to reflect on. What do you wish to do on the basis of all the TEFL information you have worked through? A useful structure for reflection and decision–making can be the ‘5 W’s’.

l l l l l

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

Addressing those 5 questions can help us become very clear about our ambitions, our motivation, our action plans, our preparation and our timescale. The value in those questions is that they cannot be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’, they require an amount of thought and analysis which should be the basis for any important decisions. They also have to be answered in clear, practical language. Having absorbed much data on TEFL, it is now, as all good game shows conclude, ‘make your mind up time’!

Where will your plans take you? How different would your lifestyle be in the place you choose to work? What would be the challenges for you in that context? What could you do to meet those? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

138

What have you decided to do about TEFL? Think about whether or not you want to be involved, if so in what way. Think about anything you might have to do ahead of starting any TEFL project. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Who can tell you what you need to know? Think about anyone you know with TEFL experience or any organisation with TEFL expertise. Plan your data search thoroughly? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Section 8: Are You Ready To Start TEFLing?

Jot down your thoughts on the following.

When will you implement your decision? Think about the timescale of your plans. What will you have to do in preparation, in what sequence? What might you have to bring to a close before you start? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ Why have you decided this? Think about what you are looking for in making that decision, think about how realistic those ambitions or aspirations are, how achievable they might be. What skills will you need to make your plans successful, what skills might you need to develop? What might you be giving up, what would you be looking to gain? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

Travel, Earn, Find-meaning and Learn So, ahead of embarking on a TEFL adventure:

Ioannis Latsis from the UK

I came to Italy four odd years ago to try out a totally new experience. I didn’t know any Italian and I didn’t have any teaching experience. All I had was an TEFL certificate and no more than ten survival expressions in Italian. I’m currently the Director of Studies at the same institute where I started off and as for my Italian.....well, I can survive!”

Section 8: Are You Ready To Start TEFLing?

‘

See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!

139

you have all the information you need you have reflected thoroughly on what you are seeking and hoping for and have also considered the challenges that could be involved l Be clear about what you will be taking on and what you might be leaving behind l Be confident you have talked through the contract and are clear what support is available and from whom l Be ready for a life-changing experience and hopefully one which will enhance your happiness beyond expectations

l Ensure l Ensure

‘

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Section 9: Glossary

9 Section 1 Glossary

Teaching Terms

Activity book A book containing activities for the classroom, often including handouts that you can photocopy

Communicative classroom A classroom where students often interact and speak with other students Course book The main book used in a class, often set by the school EAP English for Academic Purposes; teaching students planning to study at university ESP English for Specific Purposes; teaching students in a specialised field, e.g. engineering or health General English English with no specialised focus Handout A worksheet or other activity a teacher gives to students in class Ice-breaker A student-to-student speaking activity at the start of a class; also called a warmer Learner A language student Learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dictionary A dictionary specially designed for learners Methodology An approach to teaching (e.g. the communicative methodology believes students should speak to each other in class) Reference grammar A book where you can look up grammar rules Resources Print or electronic materials Role-play Students pretend to do something in real life (eg shop assistant and customer)

Test Preparation A course for students who are going to take an important test Young Learners Teaching English to children

141

Teaching practice A lesson a trainee teaches on a teacher training course

Student-to-student Happening between students; e.g. in a student-to-student ice-breaker students talk to other students (rather than the teacher)

Section 9: Glossary

Student-centred Focussed on what the students want and need

Language Terms

Accuracy Saying or writing something correctly Error A mistake a learner makes in speaking or writing, caused by their language knowledge

Fluency Saying or writing something without unnatural pauses Language analysis Examining the structure and meaning of language Macro skills The four primary language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking Native-speaker Someone who learnt a language from early childhood Non-native speaker someone who learnt a language after early childhood

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Section 9: Glossary

Vocabulary Words

The TEFL Profession

Agent A person or company who arranges teaching work

Application letter A letter sent to an employer to apply for a job together with a resume CELTA The Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults, run by Cambridge University Certificate The entry level of qualification for the TEFL industry Chain school A school with a number of branches in different cities or countries Diploma A higher level of qualification than a certificate; only required for positions of responsibility in a school EFL English as a Foreign Language; generally used to mean English for work or study ESL English as a Second Language; generally used to mean migrant English ESOL English as a Second or Other Language (used mainly in the UK); any English teaching to non-native speakers Networking Making contacts in the industry Resume A document showing your qualifications and employment history; used interchangeably with CV Selection criteria The skills and attributes an employer looks for to choose someone for a job Split shift A work schedule with a long break in the middle (e.g. 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening) Teacher forum A page on a website where teachers post comments

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Trinity The Certificate in TESOL, run by Trinity College, London

TESOL Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (used mainly in the US, Australia and New Zealand); any English teaching to non-native speakers

Section 9: Glossary

TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language (used mainly in the UK); generally used to mean English for work or study