We have just wrapped up an amazing course on a beautiful island with nine wonderful teachers in training (now Teach Abroad Thailand TEFL certified teachers!!). The weather co-operated, only raining on ‘in the classroom’ days, staying beautifully sunny for the weekends and offering up that precious bit of cloud cover for the sporting activity days on site at the Thai schools.
The teaching days were a great success. Some of the students were even crying as they said good bye to the our teachers in training. It was moving to see our group in training having such a wonderful impact in such a short period of time. Lamai school even gave each of our teachers a sea shell mobile as a thank you gift, and one Thai student took the time to hand make a thank you card for each of them. (“When you no here, I miss you!” Direct adorable quote.)
The teachers made good use of their weekends, they took part in cabaret shows (Spicy!), did motorbike tours of the island, had interesting sing alongs, rode on elephants, visited waterfalls and even made it to a Full Moon Party (I heard something about a flaming skipping rope! ). A few of them even managed to hold a short conversation in Thai after having their Thai lessons! Most importantly they also spent the time making excellent production activities for the students which were very well received.
The course was very enjoyable and it was great to have such excited, dedicated, creative and enthusiastic people!! Your future students will be very happy to have you, and that is really what Teach Abroad Thailand is about!
Victoria Biggs - Program Manager
Dear Adventurer,
Seven years ago, I accepted a teaching job in Seoul, South. Korea. It was a big move for me as I was travelling alone and had never really been anywhere....other than Spain!
What was even more scary was that I didn't have any teaching experience or TEFL training under my belt. Not one bit!
The director of studies assured me that teaching was easy and they would give me full training. As it turned out, I got no training at all. When I arrived the DOS gave me a pile of books and told me to prepare a lesson plan for the next day. I didn't even know what a lesson plan was!
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of a class of 25 bright faced students trying to teach them grammar. I soon realised thatmy lesson plan was a bit short on material (around 1 hour short) and I had to think on my feet.
My accommodation was another story. The job ad promised me free private housing as part of my package. My apartment was a small, rustic room with a mattress on the floor and the smallest toilet/washroon I had ever seen.
I somehow managed to stick the job and I got better at planning lessons. The truth is, I included as many games as i could think of. I think I spent more time in the internet cafe looking for lesson material than I did teaching. I just had to get through each day which was extremely difficult.
When I got my first pay check I moved into my own apartment even though it was relatively expensive. The apartment block had around 7 other western teachers living there and I soon hooked up with the group and made some good friends.
I can't tell you how much of a difference it made having my own space and a group of friends to hang out with. My experience went from being a complete nightmare to being amazing.
I loved my students and the I eventually started to enjoy going to work. My first month however, was brutal.
Like most teachers, I soon got tired of Korea and headed off to Thailand. I had some savings so I decided to invest in a TEFL course in Phuket. This was an eye opener. I was completely blown away with what I learned. If only I had known half of this stuff when I started teaching in Korea, it would have been a breeze. Instead it was the most stressful period in my life.
I simply cannot imagine how anyone can go overseas to teach without first taking a TEFL course. The DOS in Korea couldn't care less. All he wanted was a western face in front of his students, so his school would get paid by the parents. As for the kids learning English? So what.... as far as they were concerned.
**The TEFL industry can be a minefield. Follow my advice and you will avoid the 5 big mistakes most new TEFL teachers make**
1. Enrol on a recognised, TEFL course and learn how to teach, manage a classroom, plan lessons, and gain the confidence to walk into a classroom and face 20-50 students. Make sure you get teaching practice with local students. It's much better (and cheaper) to take a course overseas than at home.
2. Don't accept a teaching job before travelling to a country and checking out the school, staff and local area. Take a TEFL course in or near the country of your choice and look for work while on the course. You're virtually guaranteed a job on completion on a decent TEFL course.
3. Don't accept free accommodation (or flights included) deals. I have seen dozens of examples where teachers are placed in some crap hole. Most staff in Asian schools have no idea of what westerners expect for housing. Ask for an allowance instead and assistance in finding your own accommodation.
There's a good reason why these schools are offering flights and accommodation. They're desperate to get teachers and the ones they do get, don't stay too very long.
4. Make sure you have some other western teachers to talk to. Otherwise you will feel like the loneliest person on the planet.
5. Think carefully about WHY you want to teach abroad. The money in Korea and Japan is great but the lifestyle is expensive and you therefore spend most weekends at home. Also the people in Korea are not the friendliest. Thailand offers the most amazing lifestyle and
it's cheap, safe & friendly. You'll earn enough to live on but you wont get rich. You can spend your weekends in a beach hut for next to nothing.
Teaching English abroad can be a life changing experience for the right and wrong reasons.
Follow these 5 tips and you'll have the time of your life.
To your adventure,
Lisa Walker
Many people still believe you don’t need to take a TEFL course because if you can speak English then you can teach it. This is of course not true.
Here is an example of some of the things you learn on a TEFL course. Learning to teach effectively requires practice and continual development.
This video shows three common negative teaching habits: talking to the board, echoing student comments, and interrupting students to supply answers. The teacher demonstrates alternative behaviours to help you change these ineffective approaches.
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