Wednesday 30 October 2013

TEFL Success Stories - Part 15

Oman - Fatma

I am an Omani teacher and I teach English to young children ages (6-9) years old. I took my teaching diploma over two years in a Teacher Training College after which I started my first teaching job in 1993.

The education system in Oman has been undergoing dramatic changes over the past four years. A new education system has been established which is the Basic Education System in which, amongst other things, children learn English from first year (6 years of age). Prior to the new system the youngest age at which English was taught was 9 years of age. I am fortunate to be involved in these changes as I am now teaching at one of the new Basic Education schools.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

These reforms have been a large undertaking for the Ministry of Education which had to train teachers all over the country to enable them to work with young learners. This was made even more challenging due to the fact that the principles behind the new English curriculum are very much founded on communicative teaching methodology. This constituted a large shift from the previous principles followed which were very traditional.

In addition to the training programme for the teachers, a new course book was designed and some very useful materials, such as visual aids, prepared to help the teachers to make learning English as enjoyable as possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this new course children learn English through a variety of activities such as songs, games, stories and acting. On top of this there are many activities which take advantage of the children's natural instincts. Therefore it is not unusual to walk into an English lesson these days and see children cutting, building or pasting. This certainly makes their learning meaningful and generally provides a genuine purpose for the young children. Of course there were initial reservations from all quarters, as there often is when change is involved but I think it is safe to say most teachers and parents are satisfied with these new changes.

Being an English teacher is a great thing in Oman because it means that you know two languages and most people hold great respect for this; they feel that they can depend on you. Also it provides more chances to meet native speakers and to keep in touch with the changes in the educational world through the courses arranged by the Ministry and of course through being able to read educational literature which is usually in English.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY TEFL COURSE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

However, teaching English as a foreign language is a hard job since it is completely different from the learners first language, which means we have to work hard to support their learning and to motivate them to learn and keep on learning. It should be remembered that we have to help the children learn a new script and to write in a new direction as well as all the other aspects usually found on the curriculum.

Finally, the future has great potential for our nation as more and more schools adopt the new system and the Ministry of Education adopts progressive ideas.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better? Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town, free surfing lessons, great accommodations available, including delicious local food. Fully accredited 160 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 5 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!

Monday 28 October 2013

TEFL Success Stories - Part 14

Bolivia-Chris

There appears to be a divide between the experiences of the other South American contributors to this section. On the one hand, native teachers having to contend with apathy in their public school classes due to poverty, and finding the need to instil motivation an integral part of teaching. On the other, TEFL teachers from overseas working in large private institutes where the only necessary motivation is results. My experiences in Bolivia come somewhere in the middle of this divide.

There is obviously a great deal of poverty in Bolivia, and for most, learning English is of minor importance. The poorest are the indigenous campesinos who number half the population and speak the native languages of Aymara and Quechua. When they come to the cities they settle on the outskirts and are generally employed in street trade. Learning Spanish is their main concern. English is of little use to the majority so they don't learn it. In fact, many of the poorer children forego education entirely to earn a living on the streets.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of the Spanish speaking population, most have a little money and a family home. Only those involved in government are truly rich. Although not troubled by poverty, even people in respected professions such as law or medicine earn comparatively little and can afford few luxuries. This, I soon learned, extends to English textbooks, which I could not afford either on my teacher's wages.

Few will get the opportunity to leave Bolivia, and out with the top Government jobs, or tourism or teaching, there is little requirement for English. Yet people do learn, mainly for reasons of self-improvement or prestige. English is studied only at very low levels, or not at all, in public schools, so they have to go to independent English schools.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As results are usually more for personal satisfaction than academic purposes, motivation is largely based on ones own determination to do well. Coupled with the Latino laid-back tendency, this manifests itself in students' behaviour. Most will wait until two weeks into the term to enrol, and when they have, will not think it strange to miss several classes or arrive up to half an hour into a lesson. I also soon found that many were not used to a class where they had to do some of the work themselves. They wanted to be told everything.

I travelled to Bolivia without a job lined up. I knew it was the poorest country in South America and that wages would be comparatively low, yet I assumed that jobs would be relatively easy to come by. In fact, there were fewer schools than I imagined. A handful of larger private institutes – and therefore the best employment and pay prospects - exist in the largest population centres of La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, especially the capital. I headed instead for the relative tranquillity and blissful climate of Sucre. Despite the grandeur of its colonial centre, the old capital is much poorer than its larger neighbours, with little industry and high unemployment. Even so, as the so-called student capital of Bolivia I was surprised to find only three potential places to teach, and no daytime hours.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY TEFL COURSE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One noble venture was specifically set up to teach the less well off for the purposes of tourism, such as taxi drivers. However it can only afford to pay $0.60 an hour - not nearly enough to live on as a foreigner, and I had to leave it to untrained volunteers. The place to try, they said, was the "rich kids' school" - the Centro Boliviano Americano.

There is a CBA in every major city so it's one of the best places to look for work, especially if you want to travel in-between, although wages may vary. Despite being termed rich, even here the students all use photocopies of the textbooks, as the originals are too expensive. It's mainly for children, whose parents send them to every conceivable after school class. After a long school day, with results largely unimportant to their academic record and using out of date books, motivation is unsurprisingly lacking. It is certainly a challenge holding the attention of children who are too young to appreciate the opportunities they have, and would rather be playing.

Finally, there are extension courses at the university. Open to all, teenagers, students or professionals, they charge only a token amount, as universities are largely state funded. There are limited teaching hours available, but by far the best wages in town. Although lower levels follow books, at more advanced levels there isn't a strict syllabus and you are free to create your own exams based on what you have done. I was lucky enough to become the first native speaker to teach there and it is a highly recommended institution, both for students and teachers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Friday 25 October 2013

TEFL Success Stories - Part 13

Part 1

I started teaching here in 1996 at an English First school and I was very nervous because it was my first teaching job. I soon realised that my students were even more nervous than I was because Indonesians have a strange sort of respect for foreigners. The educational system here is rather old-fashioned and learning 'by rote' is still the accepted method. I found that all my students knew about the irregular verbs and what we know as the infinitive, past simple and past participle are know here as verbs 1,2 & 3. This actually helps a lot.

School in Indonesia is still a privilege. It costs money to send your children to school and many kids don't make it beyond the elementary level. This doesn't have to be a disadvantage as the former President Suharto left school after completing just his elementary education and he went on to be one of the most corrupt dictators the world has ever known and made a huge fortune.

I worked for just over four years in Jakarta and finished as a Director of Studies in a large school in West Jakarta. This sort of position is what prospective teachers should be aiming for, as the salaries can be very rewarding. $2,000 a month may not sound like much but in Indonesia, it is a lot of money and you will be regarded as a wealthy person.

In a language school, you can expect many of your students to be from upper-middle class families and many of them will be Chinese Indonesians as these are the people with the money. Others will be the children of Government officials whose salaries are very small but, because of the rampant corruption, they are enormously wealthy.

The education system in Indonesia is very old-fashioned and the official curriculum is much the same as it was in western countries in the 50's. As a teacher of English here, you will have to break through barriers but it is not difficult.

After working in Jakarta for over 4 years, I felt I had had enough of the big dirty city so I moved to Bali. I had, by this time, formed my own company specialising in language services via the internet, so I was able to work from wherever I happened to be.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the last two and a half years, I have been living in Bali and I make a living from a little 'in-house' teaching, writing articles for magazines, copyediting other peoples' articles and writing for CD Roms.

I don't say that I have achieved everything I set out to achieve but I have done reasonably well so there is no reason for other people not being able to do the same thing. I am really quite lethargic and I don't push myself too much but I still make a good living.

I have learned a lot in the past 8 years so if you want to ask me for advice on living and working in Indonesia, I will be happy to give it.

Good luck to all of you.

Part 2

A few months ago, I wrote about teaching in Indonesia and I hope that what I said at that time was useful to some of you who are regular readers.

I told you about my experiences in Jakarta as a newly recruited teacher and went on to talk about how I ended up as a Director of Studies and then moved to Bali to start my own business.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, a lot has changed since 12 October when a couple of bombs stole the lives of over 200 young people in Kuta and I would now like to write about the prospects for teaching in Bali in the future .

I am very fortunate in that none of my personal friends were killed or injured in the bomb blasts but, as a community, we all feel very sad about the useless loss of so many lives.

As a result of this tragedy, the number of tourists coming to Bali has plummeted so any schools which depended upon 'in-house' training are really suffering losses of work. My own private teaching work was orientated to the tourist trade and it all stopped a couple of weeks ago.

Despite dire warnings from many governments, I don't know of any ESL teachers who have left Bali. We are all hoping that there will be a recovery very soon and that the work will return. My writing work has actually increased since the atrocity occurred but that may be coincidental. It does accentuate the fact, however, that if you are thinking of living and working in a developing country, it pays to diversify.

We expatriates in Bali, together with the local people, are very positive about Bali 's future so, if you are offered a job here, don't be too worried. It is a fabulous place to live and work in and no more dangerous than any other place in the world, I have recently been approached by some General Managers of hotels saying that maybe while their staff are not so busy, this could be a good time to start an English Language course. You see, there is still optimism here.

If you would like any information or advice about working in Bali see below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY TEFL COURSE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3

I receive so many enquiries about living and working in Bali that I have decided to put some of my thoughts together in this document.

The majority of questions I receive are about teaching English in Indonesia and I have to say that at the present time, this is a bit of a problem as very few schools are recruiting new teachers. The demand for jobs currently far exceeds the availability so schools are able to be very particular about whom they employ.

To work as a teacher of English in Indonesia, the Government requires that you are a national of the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada or the U.S.A. No other nationalities are accepted so if you hold an Irish, Nigerian or Indian passport for example, there is no chance.

If you qualify on nationality, you will also need to have a valid qualification as an English teacher and this means something such as a CELTA from the University of Cambridge and the Royal Society of Arts. Some schools accept a TESOL certificate but this is regarded as a very basic qualification. Experience is also a good point in your favour so if you can prove that you have been teaching for some time elsewhere and can provide good references, this will help you.

For people particularly interested in Bali, I have to say that my comments may seem rather negative. The economy of Bali was very dependent upon tourism but the bombing last October, the war in Iraq and the current worry about SARS means that the number of tourists here has dropped significantly. Many language schools here depended on 'in house courses' in hotels etc. but, with so few guests, many of the hotels have cancelled their arrangements.

Bali is a wonderful place to live in if you can afford the lifestyle but if you have no money, it can be a very bleak prospect.

My advice to anyone wanting to come and work in Bali is to forget it at the present time. As the situation improves, hopefully soon, we will update our company website ~ www.fullproof.org. For information on what is happening in Indonesia and a host of useful links, please bookmark our site.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Wednesday 23 October 2013

TEFL Success Stories - Part 12

France - Erin

I've spent the last year teaching English in France in two different areas: general English in a public high school and business English to company employees. Of all the countries in Europe, France unfortunately ranks as one of the worst in foreign language learning. The Ministry of Education has only recently awakened to the realization that speaking and listening skills are a necessary component of a foreign language, but they still play a secondary role to reading and writing. As a result, a French student studies English for 7 years without really being able to communicate in it.

I first served as a teaching assistant in the countryside, brought over by the French government to encourage the students to speak English and to make it fun. Basically, the teacher was responsible for the curriculum and grammar - and then I worked with individual groups of students every week to help them take the grammar and vocabulary that they'd been learning in class and make them use it orally. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the students did too because they got to relate English to their lives. Plus, they discovered that if they wanted to hear about the United States from a real American, they had to figure out a way to put a sentence together - it was a motivator.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In general, the teaching style in France is fairly strict and rigid. Teachers scold their students if they get an answer wrong and most classes are conducted lecture-style where the teacher speaks and the students take notes. If a student speaks, it's usually to answer a question, give a summary of an article, or give a description of a picture - and topics remain intellectual. There are few roleplays, pairwork or games. So the students loved having a change of pace and the chance to do something 'non-intellectual' because they were after all high school kids. The problem really is the way teachers are trained to teach, which is influenced by a curriculum that places heavy emphasis on writing and reading.

The particular program that I did, the 'teaching assistantship' program. This is one that I highly recommend for people who want to live in France for seven months without the painful process of trying to find a job in France (which I'll get to later), or who want to get their feet wet in teaching. It requires no prior teaching experience and only a moderate level in French.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to wing it on your own in France, you're in for a challenge. Unless you're an EU citizen, you'll face a very tough time getting a school or a company to sponsor you for a work permit. Currently France has something like a 10% unemployment rate, and it legally has to give priority for any job to an EU citizen. Basically, if the government sees any justifiable reason why an EU citizen can do the job you want, you'll probably be denied a work permit. That is, if you can find an organization to sponsor this permit, which costs them money. (As an EU citizen, you'll have your pick of private language schools or you can do freelance work without having to worry about residency issues.)

Having said that, it is possible to get a teaching job in France as a non-EU citizen, just very, very hard and it takes dedication. What I did to find my current job teaching in a financial consulting company was to convince the Chairman of the company that he needed in-house English instruction. This will obviously work better with companies that are international or planning to go international in the near future. The other alternative is to try to find a private language school to hire you (in which case they'll definitely require some kind of certification and/or experience). The third option, to work as a full-time teacher in a public school, generally takes years of education in the French system and is off-limits to non-EU citizens.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY TEFL COURSE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In terms of the differences between teaching high school students and employees in their 20s, I found it much easier to teach adults. There is a difference in level obviously, but the biggest difference is in motivation. Employees in a company generally realize that they need English in their jobs and so they make an effort to speak and ask questions and do their homework. Right now I'm teaching a range of employees, from financial consultants to salespeople, and even if they don't use English in their daily jobs, they recognize that being able to speak English will help them land future jobs.

I would recommend France as a place to spend a couple of months teaching, if you want to try it out through the assistantship program. Otherwise, you'll need a certification and/or experience (and some persistence if you're not European) to get something more permanent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

TEFL Success Stories - Part 11

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY TEFL COURSE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

TEFL Success Stories - Part 10

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY TEFL COURSE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Thursday 17 October 2013

TEFL Success Stories - Part 9

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos GUARANTEED JOB UPON COMPLETION OF OUR TEFL COURSE and FREE SURF CLASSES WITH EVERY 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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