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Love to Travel? Then Get A TEFL Certificate!

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Want to really experience another culture? Now’s the time to say goodbye to that backpack and hello to the amazing experiences offered by teaching EFL.

Here’s why:

Spending time with people like you isn’t experiencing a new culture

Is spending all your time with other travelers who are just like you really making the most of your time abroad? You could have just stayed home!

Instead teach abroad and your working life will be spent surrounded with locals – both students and other staff. Great for getting understanding a country’s culture.

Get paid to be there

Unless you’ve got a big bank balance, spending any length of time in a country is out of the reach of most travelers. That means quick hops here and there, only seeing the ‘don’t miss’ sights that guide books rave about. With TEFL, you’ll be getting paid to be in a country for anywhere from six to 12 months, which means you can experience everything a country has to offer and not feel like you have to cram it into too short a time.

You’ll get to know the locals

While it’s easy to pass through a country and have nothing more than a few brief exchanges with waiters and taxi drivers, teaching abroad forces you to get to know the people you’re teaching, working with, and living with. Sometimes cultural differences can be a bit of a challenge, but you didn’t fly half way around the world to have everything run like it does back home!

You’re already qualified!

If you’re a native English speaker, you’re already qualified to teach English abroad. Yes, you need to do a TEFL course in order to get your hands on the best jobs and not make a total mess of your time in the classroom, but you don’t need any previous teaching experience or the ability to speak another language.

Be in the picture yourself

Go to any major tourist attraction and you’ll see tourist snapping away, trying to peer into a totally alien culture. Want to know the best way to get to know the place you’re visiting? Stop hiding behind your camera and dive in feet first – get to know people and you’ll soon find that you’re not on the outside looking in, you’re in the picture yourself.

You’ll get to really know the town

You’ll make friends with so many locals and long-term expats, you’ll know exactly where’s good to go at the weekend and how to find the really cool stuff.

So, what do you say? If you’re ready to ditch your backpack and grab your TEFL certificate, make sure to contact TEFL Zorritos today and get started on your travel adventures.

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a job placement program in Peru & guaranteed lifetime job assistance waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

Teaching English in the USA

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There are innumerable slices of the American pie and the country’s most visited destinations, like New York and Florida, only go some way towards characterizing this world superpower. Covering 6 times zones, 50 states and all the major climate zones from tropical to polar, America feels like several countries rolled into one. The thrill of seeing such iconic imagery as New York yellow taxis and the Hollywood sign up close is matched by discovering parts of the country and its people that are among its best kept secrets.

  • Lots of jobs IF you’re able to work here
  • Vast country with lots to see and do
  • Huge variety of students
  • Easy to get around
  • Less of a culture shock

Things you might not know about Teaching English in the United States

  • It is estimated that a quarter of all Americans have appeared on television!
  • Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous and were ‘put on trial’ in 1820’s New Jersey when a man had to eat a whole basket of tomatoes to prove they were safe!
  • The middle name of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president, is simply ‘S’! His parents couldn’t decide between Shippe and Solomon, so they plumped for the single letter!
  • The original London Bridge actually stands over Lake Havasu in Arizona.

Summary

There is huge demand for TEFL teachers here, but the market is competitive and it’s very difficult to get a visa

 

Main TEFL regions

All major cities – particularly New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami.

 

Types of teaching

ESL private language institutes: General English, Business English, TOEFL, ECCE

University language programs: General English, TOEFL, English for Specific Purposes

Migrant English programs: General English, TOEFL, English for Specific Purposes

Accommodation

You will usually have to organize your own apartment, which can be very expensive in the big cities. For example, a one-bedroom place in San Francisco will cost around $1000 per month!

 

Flight reimbursement

Not likely, as there are so many qualified American teachers to choose from.

 

Salary

$15-40 per hour. Newly qualified teachers shouldn’t accept less than US$18 per hour.

 

Taxes

Novice teachers will pay about 13% of their wages as tax, at the higher end of the salary range, it’ll be more like 17%.

 

Cost of living

The cost of living is high, but cheaper than much of Western Europe. A beer in a bar will cost about $5, a cheap fast food meal is about $3, while a loaf of bread is about $1.50.

 

Potential to save money

You’re unlikely to save any money unless you’re well-qualified and thus well-paid, or you’re able to get free accommodation (e.g. living at your parents’ house if you’re hail from the US)/

 

How much TEFL training is recommended?

As there is so much competition, you should get as much training as possible. TEFL Zorritos 160 Hour Onsite Course will provide you with the training you need to find a great job in the USA.

 

Common teaching conditions

A full-time position will involve about 25 contact hours per week. If you’re working for private language institutes, you’ll probably only be able to get part time hours, so you’ll have to work for multiple schools

Be aware…

Despite what you hear on the news, the USA is a safe place to visit. Just take the usual precautions when out late at night or on your own. Visas

How do I find work?

There are plenty of jobs advertised on the main TEFL job sites, as well as general job websites such as monster.com and postmeup.com.

 

Can I find work while in-country?

Absolutely. Obviously you can search via the internet, or you could simply look in the local Yellow Pages. There are more than 150 language institutes in New York alone!

 

What is the usual hiring process?

Simply send off your CV and if the school likes you, they’ll arrange an interview.

 

Is a work visa required to find paid work in?

Yes, but it is extremely difficult for teachers who are not citizens of the USA to find teaching work here.

 

Work visa requirements:

  • Offer of job in a specialized area where there’s a lack of native workers (i.e. not English teaching!)

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better? Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food. Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost! And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL – A Practical Approach

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Teaching English as a foreign language is a job that encompasses a wide array of people and personalities; from the serious educator to the adventurous backpacker just looking to make a little money so they can continue their travels.  Regardless of your reasons for wanting to become an English teacher there are certain fundamental attributes which you will need to hone in order to be effective in your chosen career.  Realistically, if you can always strive to approach all of your classes with the utmost patience and ensure that your students are having fun while learning you can be a great success as a teacher, while enjoying a wonderful lifestyle.

A TEFL course can give you all the fundamentals that you need to succeed as an English teacher, but unfortunately it cannot give you patience or personality.  If you are the type of person easily frustrated, with little patience or tolerance you will find that teaching English will not be the job for you.  Both you and your students will be extremely unhappy and you will quickly find yourself on a plane back to your home country, wondering what you could possibly have been thinking of to even consider the idea of teaching English.

On the other hand, if you are a person of great patience and tolerance loves to experience new cultures and embraces the concept that both teaching and learning should be fun, then this will be a job that you will love and you will accumulate wonderful experiences and memories.

A TEFL course with a practical approach should prepare you for a real teaching job in the real world and not just bury you in an avalanche of facts, grammar rules and strict procedures. 

The TEFL course should develop not only your teaching skills, but also resume writing, interviewing and practical living advice for your chosen teaching destination.  This will ensure you enjoy all the aspects of your new home and work environment.  Your TEFL course should rely heavily on observed teaching practices and giving you the positive feedback and encouragement to ensure that you are confident for all aspects of the teaching experience.

A primary focus of a TEFL course is also to ensure that you have a good job and a job that you want and are interested in by the time you complete your course.  Training and learning can be fun, but the end goal is to make sure you have profitable employment in the city where you desire to live and work.

A TEFL course with a practical approach is very relaxed and personalized to ensure that each student gets exactly what they need to be successful.  

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 11

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China – Gregory

Gregory Kerry talks state education, keeping warm and chicken’s feet.

State education in China is in a mess. The mass illiteracy of the past may be over but there are still terrible problems.

Under funding by the state plus the country’s growing population problem has created schools with huge classes: 50 and 60 students being not at all uncommon. And while this isn’t so bad for the sort of rote learning still prevalent here it does make language conversation classes, which, in traditional terms of great British understatement, might be termed, “challenging”.

And not only because of the numbers. A dramatic change in attitude is also demanded of the students. In one of my first lessons I asked the class a plain, simple, innocuous question. And what did they do? With barely a moment’s collective hesitation, they … repeated it back to me – the idea that I might actually be wanting an answer was simply way beyond their experience.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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Yet by and large, students are keen to learn in a system which has become madly competitive. In every town or rural area everyone knows which are the best schools and every parent wants his child to go there.

Unless, of course, the child is a girl and the family lives in the country and has trouble affording the school fees. Then many parents still say, why bother? She’s only going to get married and become a housewife.

This intense competition means long, long hours usually including at least Saturday morning and several hours’ homework every evening. But it doesn’t stop there: parents just don’t seem to know when to stop pushing. So, weekend English courses and the extra-curricular stuff fill the ‘free’ time of many students.

And, if they attend private schools, things may be even worse. Forget weekends – well, maybe once a month then, OK?

I began my teaching time in China in just such a school but being a pampered foreigner I was lucky: weekends were free – except for same-day, last-minute invitations to join school trips. Oh, you already have something planned? Surely not?

For one other thing, though, that many visitors to China might consider a problem, there was no such allowance for my pathetic, western softness: the chronic lack of heating. Yes, heating. Here in Central China most public buildings and all poorer homes (i.e. most of them) have no heating at all. Other places have air-conditioners blowing hot, which doesn’t so much heat the rooms as simply push the cold air around a bit in them.

In winter it may not exactly be Baltic here but it does regularly drop below freezing. So for me, teaching last winter was a thermal underwear, coat, hat and fingerless gloves affair (and remembering not to stand still too long).

For students it was much the same (plus little hot water bottles – but maybe only for the wimps amongst them). As if that wasn’t bad enough, these Asiatic hypochondriacs insist on having “fresh air” (i.e. open windows) as well – in a city where the air pollution is all too tangible on bad days!

Six months of this was enough. After that I went in search of God. Or rather, he came to me … for a placement test.

 

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TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE

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Chinese English students often adopt a so-called English name. But they have a very imperfect idea of what constitutes a normal name – thus “God”. Others I’ve come across include Hitler (still oddly revered here), Lawyer Yo-Yo (part ambition/part Chinese name), Romance (unhappily chosen by a boy), and None (because “I have no house, no car, no wife … “). Trying to explain that such names are perhaps not entirely suitable prompts only quizzical looks.

On the other hand they expect their English to be corrected in meticulous and tedious detail. Instantly. Again, it comes from their education system where the teacher is always right, the students invariably wrong (to some degree or other). Positive praise is almost unknown in Chinese classrooms so students regard it as a puzzling waste of time, wanting to know only when and why they are wrong.

Away from school life can be a similar culture shock for we “foreign devils”. Think you know Chinese food from all those oriental restaurants you used to visit back home? Huh, forget it. That was sanitised Chinese grub for Westerners. The real thing is little like: chickens’ feet, ducks’ tongues, pigs’ brains, not to mention virtually every internal organ from every animal you could hope (or not) to find. And then the rice always comes last, soup and sweets come any time, and it’s perfectly normal just to spit the bones out directly onto the table.

The other most galling thing for me is the non-stop, gratuitous honking. In England, it’s a sign of last resort,of a driver’s impatience or impending anger. In my little Chinese town it’s a general warning alright but an all-purpose, ‘Hey, I’m coming up behind/near/beside you’ type of warning aimed at anyone within reasonable distance.

So: great? interesting? exciting? Well, yes, but …

Incidentally, if you want a good read about such things try the excellent ‘River Town’ by Peter Hessler – an American Peace Corps volunteer’s account of two years teaching here.

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 10

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Kazakhstan – Paul

A few years ago, many people in the West would have been hard-pressed to pinpoint  Kazakhstan on a map but following the coverage given to the antics of the fictional Kazakhstan journalist, Borat Sagdiyev, awareness of this vast central Asian country has grown. While Borat, an alter ego of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, has given the world an image of a backward, racist and misogynistic society, life in modern-day Kazakhstan is far removed from his fictional version.

I have been living in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s commercial capital, since August 2005. I’m a freelancer, doing staff development work with trainee teachers in a local university, examining for IELTS and teaching Business English to private clients.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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Almaty is a great place to live – it’s not a megapolis so is fairly easy to get around but is big enough to offer a wide range of cultural and recreational opportunities. The nearby mountains provide great facilities for skating, skiing and snowboarding in the winter months (November-March) and mountain biking and trekking in the summer months (May-October).

The city has much to offer gourmets, such as restaurants serving Kazakh, Russian, Chinese, Turkish and Italian cuisine and much more besides. Traditional Kazakh food is based on horsemeat. The national dish,besparmak, consists of pasta strips and kazy (horsemeat sausage). This is often washed down with kumis(fermented mare’s milk) or vodka, an ever-present on the Kazakh table. There are a number of  bars serving good local beers such as Derbes and Irbis and even Irish pubs for those in need of expensive imported beers and expat company. There is also a vibrant DJ and clubbing scene in the city.

The locals are a mixture of ethnic Kazakhs, Russians and myriad other nationalities from the former Soviet Union and beyond. Kazakh is the official language, but Russian is widely used as a lingua franca. You can see both mosques and Orthodox churches in the city. For shopping, Almaty has 24-hour supermarkets and is home to the sprawling Green Bazaar, a vibrant cultural experience and one of the best food markets in central Asia.

 

There are drawbacks to living in Almaty, like anywhere. The traffic is horrendous and the SUV seems to have replaced the horse as the locals favourite means of transport. Consequently, pollution is a big problem. There is also a snobby side to Almaty, as a middle class enriched by petrodollars emerges, and service in bars and restaurants can be hit and miss. On the whole though, these drawbacks are outweighed by the benefits the city has to offer.

Almaty, as the country’s main business hub, offers many teaching opportunities. Native speaker teachers are in short supply, so work is easy to come by. There are a number of private language schools and universities in the city. EF and International House both have a presence. On the higher education front, there are two western-style universities, KIMEP (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research) and KBTU (The Kazakh-British Technical University). They are always on the lookout for suitably qualified and experienced teachers (Celta and above).

In the last few years, the Kazakh economy has boomed, mostly fuelled by the oil and gas sector. This in turn has opened up opportunities for teaching in these spheres, often on-site in the west of the country in the oil centres such as Atyrau and Aktobe. Demand for the IELTS examination is also strong both from private clients and from a government-run scholarship programme, Boloshak, which sends large numbers of students to study abroad annually.

 

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TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE

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The capital was moved in 1997  from Almaty to the city of Astana, which has become one of the world’s largest building sites and is beginning to take the shape of a city of glittering skyscrapers in the middle of Kazakhstan’s windswept steppe. With the focus of government here, it is the place career-minded Kazakhs head. This in turn has led to increasing demand for EFL teachers as new universities and Institutes are set up. As the country has developed, English has taken on an increasingly important role for international trade and communication. But qualified, experienced teachers remain thin on the ground in the capital.

For holidays and days off, Kazakhstan offers many tourism opportunities. There are mountains in the east and south, picturesque lakes all over the country and you can swim in the Caspian sea at Aktau. The country is huge (the size of Western Europe) so getting around can take some time. Air travel is relatively expensive but there is an extensive, reasonably-priced rail network which makes exploring the country easier.

If you’re looking for somewhere off the beaten track of EFL teaching where you can find rewarding teaching opportunities and plenty of activities to fill your free time, then why not come and check out the ‘real’ Kazakhstan and see for yourself whether Borat’s fantasy land exists or not?

 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 9

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Belgium – Colin

Chocolate I knew about, as well as fries and good beer but what about the teaching situation? “Brush up on your grammar and prepare to teach advanced learners…You’d better get an extra qualification to teach Business English. I would have thought Belgium’s quite a saturated market” was what my director of studies advised me before I left for Belgium. Not quite what I wanted to hear pre-departure.

A pre-intermediate Vietnamese clairvoyant; two upper intermediate French engineers, an elementary Italian MEP; two Greek teenagers; an intermediate group made up of Japanese housewives, a Libyan expert on water management and some Belgians, were on the menu for my first week of teaching – a far cry from what I had imagined. In actual fact, just the Belgian and European capital has so much teaching work available that you need never be without work regardless of your qualifications.

As the European commission, European parliament and associated organisations, multi-nationals are based here, there is an international clientele demanding tuition if not for themselves then for their bosses, colleagues, children… Quite a few teachers are here because of their partners’ careers so there tends to be a high turnover of teachers and offers of students when it’s time for them to move on.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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Word of mouth is generally the way I’ve been gaining clients. The British Council have a list of English teachers which goes out to people looking for language teachers – no teaching centre in Belgium however. Other networks such as BETTA (Belgian English Teachers and Trainers Association) can give leads and up to date contacts for work. Language schools are generally looking for teachers throughout the year. In Brussels the largest are CLL, Fondation 9 but there are many other respectable organisations each with varied client profiles. A useful publication is the Bulletin. A few days after arriving, I replied to an ad I found in the magazine. I had the interview the next day and was working by the following Monday.

Having clients of your own brings in the best bread. Even at language schools you can earn €18 – €38 depending on your experience, qualifications and the type of classes you teach. While there are scare stories that tax in Belgium is high, once a good accountant has deducted all you’re entitled to and probably a few things that you’re not (Belgians say that playing with the tax system is a national sport) it works out to more like 20 – 25%. Also in your first year of working you pay very little tax. Speaking to an accountant is the best way to get the low down on the nitty-gritty for your situation and you even get to deduct the accountant’s fees!

Salaried employment can be come by but you’d best come with a fair whack of experience and ideally a Master’s – neither DELTA nor CELTA carry much weight in Belgium indeed for some freelance work teaching qualifications aren’t always necessary. Occasionally there are openings in Higher Education Institutions and some language schools and secondary but you may also have to speak Dutch and/ or French. BETTA or BAAHE (Belgian Association of Anglicists in Higher Education) may be able to offer leads.

Outside of the capital, the main cities in the Flemish speaking area are Ghent, Antwerp, Brugges, Leuven, Ostend. In the French speaking part of the country there’s Liege, Mons and Charleroi. Being a small country with excellent and inexpensive transport you could base yourself in one of these cities and commute to Brussels if you couldn’t get work locally.

You will at some stage have Belgian students. Even more so if you base yourself outside of Brussels. These come in four varieties Dutch speaking, French speaking, German speaking or a combination of any of those three.

As a general rule, the Dutch speakers have great fluency and good listening skills. This is mostly due to similarities between Dutch and English but also TV and radio. Most of the American, Australian, British programmes are subtitled and most of their music is British or American. Lessons can often turn into singing sessions when they make the connection between a new word and a song. There are lots of Flemish who have acquired English rather than learnt it. Ilke Jense’s approach to grammar works well as most older learners have never studied grammar and can be a little allergic to it. Also writing can be quite traumatic for learners who have never officially studied English. Unlike the Dutch, The Flemish tend to be slightly less forthcoming.

French speaking Belgians on the other hand tend not to have the oral/aural ability but are more at home in grammar books and the written language. Most English language TV programmes become French language programmes and given the strength of French speaking culture there are fewer pop songs in English so listening is more difficult for them. French speaking Belgians must study Dutch at school so Dutch syntax and vocabulary often comes out to play in their English. The French speaking Belgians see themselves as being more open and Mediterranean than their Flemish counterparts but still they need a bit of coaxing if you’re to get some genuine feedback on your classes.

 

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TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE

The German speakers I’ve worked with have been the jolliest of all the Belgians. With the German speaking population being able to fill Wembley stadium or approximately 9% of the Belgian population (around 10 million) you don’t get to meet them that often particularly if you work outside the German speaking region in the east of Belgium. You’re more likely to work with Belgians of Arabic, Italian, Turkish background than German.

Visitors sometimes notice that in the evenings Belgium can seem a little quiet. Seeing as you get over 45 channels on cable (nearly everyone has it) including BBC 1 and BBC2 even ITV in some regions there’s no better way of getting hold of material to use with learners. Printed material such as British and American newspapers/ magazines is just as easy to get wherever you are in the country – even more so in the Flemish speaking part of the country. If however you need published EFL material there are specialist English language bookshops in Liege, Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp. Waterstones has a branch in Brussels. With inexpensive boat, train and plane connections to the UK I’ve been able to take groups of learners on day trips.

You may want to want upgrade yourself as a teacher at some stage. It’s fairly easy given that the British Council organise various events throughout the year, as do BETTA and BAAHE. As Belgium isn’t the typical destination for TEFLers the competition for interesting work and openings in areas such as materials trialing, examining is more available. For experienced and committed teachers there are opportunities to get into IELTS and Cambridge ESOL examining. Most language schools allow you to create your own materials and with some of the clients available such as in the European Parliament or Commission you could find yourself designing some niche teaching material. I’ve found that most professional development you do is to satisfy your own desire rather than career progression within the country.

If you are looking to earn a fairly decent wage, teach a wide variety of learners, have a good standard of living, fast track your career in EFL then you could do a lot worse than work in Belgium. Oh and perk to working in a country that has chocolate as part of it’s culture is that you often get chocolates as a reward for the good job you’ve done – particularly if your students are Belgians.

 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 7

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USA – Maytal

I taught ESL in California, USA for about one year. After I posted a few flyers in the Mexican supermarkets a lot of South and Central Americans called me. After a few lessons, I realized that the main thing I needed to teach was not English, but rather self confidence and basic studying skills. I had a 50-year-old student, who had been sent to work on a farm since the age of 5, and had been working ever since. He had never studied, and felt very insecure about his ability to learn. His wife told me, that he was worried I would not want to teach him because of his bad memory! I constantly encouraged him, and told him he was doing very well. My top priority was to be very patient. I kept reminding myself that what I had planned to teach, was for HIM and not for me. It would take a few weeks to complete one lesson.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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The South Americans who have immigrated to the USA are the main market for ESL classes. They have left their home to live in a place where there is enough money to live on. They usually do not have studying skills, and work long hours at hard jobs. By the end of the day, they are not very motivated to study English. Therefore, the lessons must be exciting in order to have a chance!

 

The South American US immigrants don’t need English classes, don’t want to pay for English classes, and are scared of them. Let me explain. Due to the large number of immigrants from South America to the USA, it is very easy for them to spend their whole lives there, without speaking any English! There are Spanish speakers in every shop, government agency and bank. Knowing that, it seems they are willing to give up on English lessons, without feeling guilty. They don’t NEED English.

As most people know, spending money is a very complicated thing. Guilt is a common feeling, I would say, when taking out one’s wallet! And coming from a culture where most people spend their whole lives working and not studying, you can see that it is hard to spend money. They don’t WANT to pay for English.

 

But, after all they do take classes! Keep in mind that they are being very brave. In order to encourage them to continue their studies (and not just start), let them discover this: Knowing English is beneficial to them for many reasons: better paying jobs and job advancements could be available to an immigrant who knows English. Also, the immigrant’s children are in English speaking schools, and come home with homework in that language. So the parents who can understand their children’s homework, can help create a better future for the children and themselves (those with high paying jobs, have the chance to support their parents in their old age!!)

I had a few Japanese students as well. They did have good studying skills, and seemed to need challenging lessons. They got bored easily, maybe because I had gotten used to teaching at a slow pace with the South Americans.

 

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I asked at a few private schools, about teaching there, but all required university degrees. I do not have a university. degree, but I do have a TEFL certificate. I was confident in my teaching skills, so I put up a few flyers. I received a lot of calls, and was able to charge $20 for 40-minute private lessons. What I’m saying is that there is plenty of work in California.

Also, UC Berkeley Extension (in Berkeley, CA) offers many different types of short classes on teaching ESL. The classes last a few weeks, or months and are inexpensive. I assume that all major Universities offer these classes in their extension schools (anyone can attend, you don’t need to be accepted).

So, to those who want to move to the USA and teach ESL, my recommendation is: dive in! Good luck and remember to be as patient as possible with your students. Teach them at their pace, not yours!!

 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 6

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Mexico – Mark

I arrived in Mexico in the summer of 2000 fresh from a TEFL course. I’d taken a job in the city of Queretaro in central Mexico after a 20-minute telephone interview with the school’s Swiss owner. I didn’t really know what to expect but was just looking forward to something new…something different.

On arrival in Queretaro I was amazed. I found myself in one of the most beautiful cities I’d ever been in – full of beautiful Spanish colonial architecture, terrace bars and restaurants, plazas with ample seating and beautiful fountains full of families in the evenings, narrow winding streets with vendors selling all kinds food and local handcrafts and grand old houses with beautiful, open “patios”. With so much history around me, it felt like I was walking around a movie set. I felt incredibly lucky to have ended up in such a place but was soon to find out that Mexico is full of equally wonderful cities.

At 7am Monday morning however, I remembered that I was here to work. The school was smaller than I’d expected as was the system of teaching. I was told that I’d be teaching classes of no more than 4 students of more or less the same level but that they’d probably each be doing a different chapter from the book. Later, I came to realize that buzz words or phrases in the marketing English institutes in Mexico are “native teachers” and “small classes” and that various other schools in the city offered very similar systems.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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The first few weeks flew by trying to teach 3 or 4 different grammar topics in one hour. After a month it felt like I’d taught everything in the book. I realized that in fact it was impossible for a student to possibly understand how we use, for example, the present perfect simple after their 15 minute explanation from me but that this wasn’t my problem. Too keep myself motivated I started trying to think of imaginative, “student centred” ways to present the topics and thus keep the students engaged even if they weren’t exactly learning what I was supposed to teach them.

Within the first month the school converted my FMT tourist visa to an FM3 working visa and paid the $1700 pesos to the immigration department. I would just say to anyone whose thinking of coming here to get your TEFL certificate, birth certificate and degree certificate notarized back home first otherwise you won’t get the visa.

Furthermore, I was getting paid my $6000 pesos per month on time and occasionally received a bonus. The pay was enough to rent a room in a house in a good neighborhood, eat out several times a week and go out at the weekends. I couldn’t save too much and couldn’t travel very far, but that didn’t matter too much as I had no time to go anywhere.

The students were great and I made some good friends. They ranged from business professionals, university and high school students to bored housewives. The small classes meant that I was able to get to know some of them quite well. I found myself invited to all kinds of parties and celebrations and got a great insight into Mexican life (at least an affluent, middle class version).

In general my students seemed quite motivated – most of them needed English to find good jobs or to enhance their chances of promotion in their existing jobs. The demand for English as a foreign language in Mexico stems the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. NAFTA meant that many north American companies set up plants the in industrial areas of Mexico such as Monterrey in the north, Mexico City, and the Bajio region in central Mexico which encompasses the cities of Queretaro, Leon and Celaya.

The only problem was that I was exhausted after teaching 8 hours a day plus Saturday mornings. The shifts were split; the mornings began at 7am and the afternoons ran until 9pm. I also began to notice that the morale amongst the staff was pretty low. Everyone felt the same about the system and the hours. As the months went by, teachers came and went…few stuck out their year contracts. I kept working, realizing that the system at the school wasn’t the greatest but that I was learning a bit of Spanish, traveling a little and getting to know the local area and its people. I’d taken a risk going there, my relationship with my boss was good and I was enjoying life.

 

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After a year, strangely, I found myself as the most experienced teacher in the school just because I’d stuck it out. My boss offered the opportunity to become the academic director of one of his new schools in the smaller city of Celaya which is about 45 minutes from Queretaro. My pay was doubled but the hours got longer. More money meant I could rent my own apartment and live more like I would back in England. It also meant that my Spanish got a kick start as I suddenly became responsible for selling courses when people came in for information and dealing with my secretary who didn’t speak any English. On the plus side, it gave me an opportunity to shape the teaching system and change some of the materials and more generally develop a more effective learning environment.

Another year went by and things were good. My boss asked me to move to Morelia, another beautiful colonial city 3 hours away, and open a new school for him. I got another pay rise. Once again I found myself in another beautiful place, this time closer to the pacific coast. Things were good. I realized that I’d got lucky in Mexico.

After a year in Morelia I returned to Queretaro, back where I’d started. This time I was to work as a teacher trainer. I did for 6 months but realized that my heart was still in Morelia. In February 2004 I returned to Morelia and started working freelance, teaching business English in-company and running TOEFL preparation courses in the evening. Mexico has been good to me and is a wonderful country to live and work in. The historic cities have beautiful colonial architecture, there are mountain ranges, forests, jungle and desert like climates. There are beaches to cater for all tastes from undeveloped virgin stretches of coasts to luxury resorts. Traveling long distance in Mexico by bus is cheap and comfortable, although not always fast, which means that teachers here are able to really enjoy what Mexico has to offer. Mexican culture is rich in variety which manifests itself in the countless festivals and national holidays such as the Day of the Dead and Independence Day. The people are warm and friendly although more conservative and religious than I’d imagined and are very family-centered. Sadly, there is a deep divide between the rich and the poor. English classes in private institutes are obviously for the better off and this means that living and working in affluent neighbourhoods, where most institutes are situated gives you a rather unbalanced view of life here.

 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 5

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Australia – Steve

I really enjoyed teaching English in Australia and found it a great way to experience a truly massive and amazing country. I’d recommend it to anyone who (like me) can’t afford to fund an extended trip around the place but is willing to juggle work and play over the course of a year.

Work can be found in private language schools, teaching a mix of Asian, European, South American, and occasionally African students. These schools are similar to those operating in other English speaking countries, and generally consist of young adult students hoping to improve their English whilst having a good time in Oz. This means that motivation levels can vary widely. Classes range from hard working Cambridge groups and IELTS/EAP students desperate to get into Australian colleges, right through to easy going general English groups with more interest in surf reports than reported speech.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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If you’re wondering about access to work there’s bad and good news depending on your age! Visas are tricky to get, and sponsorship (by employers) is not easily obtainable in the TEFL industry unless you have something special to offer. BUT, if you’re under 30 and from a signatory country (including the UK, Ireland, Canada and many others) you can qualify for a ‘Working Holiday Visa’ (See the Australian Government Website in your country for details). This bit of wallpaper for your passport isn’t too expensive and entitles you to work for 1 year (up to 3 months for each employer you can find).

When armed with a visa, blast all prospective schools with emails and CVs offering your services, and providing you’ve got a TEFL qualification you should get some positive responses. An invaluable resource is the list of accredited language schools which can be found at www.neasaustralia.com. Schools are listed by state and if they don’t supply an email address you’ll have to do a few searches by name to dig out the contact details.

 

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Pay is usually enough to live on comfortably though definitely not extravagantly. I managed to save up travel money during my work stints without starving or staying home every night. The usual rules apply regarding employers – get a contract, check the pay, but remember that there’s a steady supply of teachers in the bigger cities so your bargaining power is limited.

I found that some of the bigger schools in particular weren’t overly concerned with real teacher development (revolving door employment policies to keep wage costs down) but always paid on time and had good resources. Also, some places only recognise Australian or British Council school teaching experience when it comes to remuneration, but are happy to ask such ‘unproven’ staff to teach Cambridge or other more demanding classes.

Accommodation is cheap if you’re prepared to share a house – check the classified adverts in the local papers. Private residences can also be rented and tend to be of varying quality but uniformly expensive.

 

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When it comes to spending your earnings, you can start to enjoy the benefits the ‘lucky country’ has to offer: great food, the great outdoors, surf, loads of sports facilities, modern shops etc. Supermarkets are reasonably priced but eating out in Australia is deservedly popular and many places let you BYO (bring your own) alcohol. Loads of pubs and clubs; outgoing people; and a lively, original arts scene all mean plenty to see and do.

My own experience was of nice classes and fun school activities (like being paid to take surfing lessons or play beach volleyball with the students). Management varied from friendly and enthusiastic to bureaucratic and dishonest. The bits of independent travel in between work were fantastic, and I even got to know a few Aussies amongst all my fellow tourists. The locals are easy to talk to but speak their minds, so don’t always expect polite banter or five-star customer service. On the other hand, they value their leisure time and like to show guests a good time.

As for travelling around and seeing the sights, you’ve all read the guidebooks, so get out there – if your school runs a social activities programme you might even get paid to do it!

 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories – Part 4

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Cameroon – David

When I first told people I was going to work in Cameroon, the most common reaction was: ‘Why?’. The second was: ‘It’s in Africa, you’ll die!’. The third: ‘Where is that?’

So let’s give some answers. I was offered a job that looked interesting in a part of the world I’d never been to before. I’d also long had an interest in Africa, if in a rather vague way, so decided it was time to find out the reality.

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Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people’s lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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Second, a small amount of research showed that in more than 40 years since gaining independence, Cameroon has been a peaceful country with no wars. Of course it has had political repression and the occasional flare-up, but this country hardly falls into the Africa stereotype of wars and famine. Not only were there no wars, but Cameroon is a food exporter to the region.

Now, after three years, I can say that these have been the healthiest years of my life! No malaria, typhoid, cholera or any of the other frightening diseases you read about when Africa is mentioned. The worst thing that ever happened to me was a bout of food poisoning – once.

And for those with poor geographical knowledge, Cameroon is situated in the west of Africa, next to Nigeria and surrounded by Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon and Congo Brazzaville.

So what is it like to teach here? Well surprisingly not so different from teaching anywhere else: prepare a duff lesson and the lesson will be dull. Prepare a good one, relevant to your class and things will be good.

Most students come to us with a bit of English in their heads. Cameroon is a bi-lingual country with French and English as official languages, while there are also close to 200 local ethnic languages in a country of 16 million people. French is the dominant language, spoken by about 80% of the population, while the English speakers often prefer Pidgin. This rich mix of languages creates its own learning problems: ‘Was that first, second, third or fourth language interference?’.

 

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It does take time to persuade students to take part in an interactive EFL lesson. It’s just not what they’re used to. The local school system is very traditional and somewhat strict. Perhaps not surprisingly when there can be up to 150 students in the classroom (of which maybe 30 have the book, and there are probably seats for 70) – try organising and monitoring pair work in that environment. However, give them a bit of time, coax them a bit, explain why you want them to do it your way and soon they’ll open up and you’ll be wishing they’d shut up.

Like anywhere, students appreciate it if you know a bit about their country, and not just Roger Milla (top scorer of the 1990 World Cup, in case you’re wondering). It helps if you know the names of the ten provinces, know who the first president was, can say a word in a local language (I only have mandingwawhich means ‘I love you’ in Ewondo, the language of the capital city Yaoundé) and know that Yannick Noah isn’t French.

So in conclusion: Cameroon isn’t just football. Nor is it war, poverty and disease. It’s just life and people, like anywhere else.

 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait, make your reservation today!