TEFL Zorritos: October 2014

Friday 31 October 2014

A Successful EFL Teaching Adventure

So, your suitcase is packed, and you are ready for new adventures, ready for new challenges, ready to teach English abroad! Here's how to make the most out of your EFL teaching adventure:

1) Be open minded

The whole world is not a chain of McDonalds and Starbucks. Foreign countries are foreign! Unless you’re teaching in your home country, you will encounter many things that just seem strange. So, it’s important to keep an open mind. Remember that you’re there to experience an entirely new culture and way of doing things, not to impose your beliefs on your new home.

2) Take an accredited TEFL course

You might be able to speak English, but that doesn’t mean that you are able to teach it. A TEFL course gives you a really good grip on all the classroom essentials such as controlling your class, planning your lessons and corrected your students errors – so you’ll be a lot better prepared for life in the classroom. Plus with a TEFL qualification, you can usually earn more money and find jobs at more reputable schools.

3) Accept invitations

You’ll probably be inundated with invitations for everything from karaoke to weddings. When you first arrive in-country you might suffer from a bit of a culture shock and you might just want to lock yourself in your room and speak to your family and friends on Skype. As tempting as that is, though, don’t do it! Get yourself out there.. yes it may be really scary (e.g. going to a party on your own in a city you don’t know), but the locals will go out of their way to make you feel welcome so just enjoy yourself and make the most of it!

4) Remain calm and flexible

Life as an English teacher is amazing, but it can also be infuriating. Timetables change, contracts change, expectations change… you can have the world promised in your contract, only to turn up to find a tiny apartment with bad plumbing. That’s a worst case scenario, and many teachers don’t have any mishaps at all. But, it’s important to have low expectations before you arrive and to remain calm and flexible once you do get in-country. Don’t stress the little things.

5) Speak up!

Your school has invested a lot of money in hiring you and they’ll want to keep you happy so you finish your contract. They’re not mind readers though, so if you’re ever unhappy with anything, from your accommodation to your hours, say something ASAP (and not just to your friends and family, they can’t do anything about it but your school can)!

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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!

Thursday 30 October 2014

How To Find The Right TEFL Job For You

Everyone who wants to teach EFL, wants the "perfect" or "dream" TEFL job, so exactly how is the best way to accomplish this goal. Below are four key factors to ensure you get a great teaching job.

Adaptability:

One of the most common core skills tested in a TEFL interview is the ability to adapt when faced with something unexpected! Employers want to know that their new teacher won't go running for the hills within a week. Any travel experience is a great way to show adaptability, but if you don't have this, then how about succeeding in any new environment, like work or university.

Work Experience:

As most entry level TEFL jobs will include working with children, include any and all examples of this on your application. Do you have any childcare experience or perhaps you helped out at a school summer camp? If you've mentored young people, this will also help to put you at the top of the resume pile. The rule of thumb here is no matter how little experience you have – flaunt it.

Cultural Sensitivity:

One of the best things about living overseas is the opportunity it gives you to experience a country's culture first hand. Employers want to know that you'll be sensitive to their ways; whether that's unusual food or afternoon siesta (we're sure you could get used to that)! A great way to set yourself apart from other applicants is to talk about how much you want to live in that country. Do a little research about the country and sound extra excited by asking lots of questions about your role, the school and the students.

Accredited TEFL Course:

Not all TEFL courses are the same. Make sure the course you take is accredited by an international organization and that your certificate is accepted worldwide. It is critical that you have at least ten hours of observed teaching practice, so that you will know how to actually teach when you find your new job. Look for a TEFL program that not only provides you training, but also continuing support after you have obtained your certification.

If you completed your TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos, you will be prepared to start your teaching career and will have a guaranteed job waiting for you when you have completed our course.

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 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!

Wednesday 29 October 2014

How To Be An Effective EFL Teacher

Happy students make happy teachers! Here are some tips that will help you be an effective EFL teacher.

Speak clearly, slowly and distinctly.

Manage your class effectively. It’s important to establish and enforce classroom rules, but remember that it’s also important to have fun with your students. If you’re having fun, they’re having fun. My students are much more responsive and willing to participate when they are having a little bit of fun in class. Try not to be too strict and remember to smile.

Talk about yourself. Tell your students about your family and friends. Bring in photos from home. Share personal stories with them.

Be funny. Students will really enjoy your class if you make them laugh. Don’t be afraid to play the fool or make fun of yourself.

Use lots of energy when you’re teaching. Move around your classroom. Use gestures and noises to describe things. Make lots of faces and draw pictures. Why? Providing some light entertainment keeps their attention focused on you.

Games are always successful, even with older students. Never underestimate what you can teach with a simple game.

When you are giving instructions on how to play a game, repeat your instructions and demonstrate how to play.

Positive reinforcement is important to new language learners of every age. Compliment your students, even if they make mistakes.

Music makes learning interesting and fun. There are loads of activities you can use music with. I’ve captured and held the attention of all my classes with a little music. Music takes away feelings of self-consciousness and it encourages students to open their mouths and let loose.

Repetition is a key tool in the ESL classroom. There are lots of games and activities that you can use in the classroom to encourage students to speak out. Make sure you teach the answer to the entire class and have them repeat it out loud before asking each students separately.

Introduce and teach new vocabulary every lesson.

Use some favorite slang terms and sayings in the classroom. People get sick of hearing the same standard responses taught throughout the public school system. “How are you? and “I’m fine, thank you. And you?” are typical examples. I find that students who have had these responses drilled into them often sound dull, monotonous and insincere. If a student asks me, “What’s up?” or answers with, “I’m OK!” or “Not much,” I’m usually pretty happy about it.

Try to get every student in each class to speak. Remember that pronunciation is really important. Often, students get instruction from their public school English teachers, but these teachers generally lack the ability to teach pronunciation effectively because they aren't native English speakers.

Traditional school systems do not encourage students to ask questions. Encourage your students to ask you questions. Once they know it’s OK to ask or say they don’t understand, it makes for an easier learning environment.

Encourage your students to speak out as much as they can and never belittle their ability or correct their mistakes by saying, “You’re wrong.” Just correct the student by repeating the answer correctly. If the student is still struggling, teach it to the class again as a whole.

Pointing is rude. Extend your hand out with the palm up when asking a student to answer.

Make sure you know and understand your students learning ability.

Be adaptable. If a lesson or activity isn’t working, there’s nothing wrong with scrapping it quickly and trying something else.

Always have backup games and activities, especially if you’re introducing new material. Don’t be afraid to use your ‘tried and true golden oldies’ if you feel you’re bombing a lesson.

Remember that a good teacher also learns from his/her students. The lessons always work both ways.

When you complete your TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos, you will learn these effective EFL teacher tips and gain the confidence to be an effective EFL teacher! Also you will have a guaranteed job waiting for you when you have completed our course.

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

Monday 27 October 2014

Finding A Good TEFL Job In Country

Finding teaching work in country, when you are already living abroad is becoming more and more popular, and with more than 1 billion English learners worldwide it's certainly a viable option.

The Resume. Put together a professional resume before leaving and make lots of copies. You don't want to be printing out your resume on low grade paper in a new country's internet cafe if you can help it. In case you do run out, save a copy in your email folder for easy access. You'll also want your degree certificate (if you have one) and a print-out of professional references with contact details. If you don't have any teaching experience former employers and University professors make the best references. Finally, don't forget to make copies of your accredited TEFL Certificate. Most employers require a minimum level of 120 hours, that includes some classroom practice too. Also remember the more hours of training you have, the better chance you have of finding a quality job. Consider a course that offer 160 hours and some advanced certification as well as the basic TEFL certificate.

Dress to Impress! Just because your interview is in Peru, that doesn't mean that you should turn up in your joggers and a t-shirt that says 'Beer Chang'. If you're short on backpack space then a pair of black trousers and a smart long sleeved shirt should cover all bases.

Get Connected. Let's say you come across a school that's hiring. You make a great impression and leave your resume for them to get back in touch with you. The next thing you're going to need is a contact number. Save yourself some effort by picking up a 'cheap pay as you go' model back home and buying a local SIM in country.

Keep Smiling. Always be cheerful and show enthusiasm. Particularly in smaller cities it's surprising how often TEFL teachers are offered a position on the spot, in someone's Auntie's friends' English school.

Consider Private Tuition. In countries without an established TEFL scene you can often find opportunities teaching private students. This type of teaching can be really rewarding as you get to choose how much you work and what sort of students you want to teach. Generally the highest paying tuition gigs tend to be skills based; 'Ski Lessons in English anyone?' or Business English.

Job Offer Time. Just because you're accepting a job in country, you should still review your contract carefully. Things to think about include:

How many hours you are willing to teach -make sure you factor in time for lesson planning.
Whether your employer will sponsor your working visa.
Your accommodation – can your school help out with this?

And….once you've got the job…Congratulations! Got any more questions? Give us a shout!

If you completed your TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos, you will be prepared to start your teaching career and will have a guaranteed job waiting for you when you have completed our course.

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

Sunday 26 October 2014

Don't Live A Boring Life!

Life doesn't have to be boring! If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut with everything in your life: work, home life and anything else, there is a way out! Due to the massive worldwide demand for native English speakers, it’s really easy to find paid work as an English teacher with just a TEFL certificate. You can get a TEFL certificate in just a four weeks, after which you can start your exciting new life wherever you want. Want to know why it’ll be more exciting than life back home? Simply read on:

1) New surroundings

A change is as good as a rest, right? Well if that’s the case, a change to the other side of the globe will do you a world of good. Wake up wherever in the world you choose, you can be sure that it’ll be different and so much more exciting!

2) New challenges

Teaching English abroad isn’t a stroll in the park: even if you do loads of TEFL training, you’ll find you can spend months planning your first lesson but it may or may not actually go to plan. But if everything was easy, getting the hang of it wouldn’t be half as satisfying, right? Once you start understanding life in the classroom, teaching is incredibly rewarding and, because you’ll probably be a conversation teacher tasked with games rather than grammar, pretty fun too.

3) New people

When you head overseas to teach English, one of the mains worries will be whether you’ll meet any friends. Relax. Unless you’re heading to a remote village in outer Mongolia, you’ll most likely end up in a town/city with lots of other foreigners, who usually end up as a close-knit community. Plus, with your new-found English skills will come new-found popularity with local teachers at the school, who will certainly be eager to make you feel welcome so they can improve their English.

4) New experiences

When you think of having lots of money, it’s not the money that counts, it’s the experiences it buys – so what if you could start having those once-in-a-lifetime experiences without shelling out lots of money? That’s what living abroad enables you to do – teaching overseas gives you a shortcut to thousands of incredible experiences. And you’re getting paid to live there.

Want to find out more? To learn more about teaching abroad and whether it’s the escape route for you, please contact TEFL Zorritos and we will give you all the information you need to have a great career teaching EFL abroad.

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

Saturday 25 October 2014

Do I Really Need a TEFL Certification?

If you have been considering teaching English abroad and done a little research, especially on some of the online forums, you may be wondering if you really need a TEFL certificate? Probably a better question to ask yourself would be: Why would I not want a TEFL certificate?

You can always just start teaching without any preparation and see how well you do. But that’s a pretty scary thought isn’t it? Without a TEFL course how will you know if what you’re doing is right? And just imagine walking into a classroom full of students and having nothing to say – it’d be like that nightmare where you turn up at school naked!

Some hopeful teachers just dismiss it as a really steep learning curve. But remember, it’s difficult to learn from the other teachers if you can’t watch them in action. You’ll certainly learn from your mistakes, but how many will you have to make to equal 160 hours of focused TEFL training?

Perhaps more importantly, starting to teach without TEFL training really isn’t fair on your class. They deserve the best teaching possible and if you aren’t prepared, if you don’t know what to expect, they simply won’t get it. Even if you’re planning to travel to a country that doesn’t demand a TEFL qualification, you should seriously consider getting one.

Many reputable language schools simply won’t employ you without a TEFL qualification. This may mean that you have to accept a job from a less reliable institution – something not really recommended. In more developed countries, finding TEFL jobs without a qualification can be extremely difficult and you’ll probably spend weeks searching for work once you’ve arrived, with no chance of organizing your position before you travel.

A TEFL course ticks important boxes. You’ll get more opportunities to convince schools to hire you and you’ll know exactly what to do during telephone interviews. So even though a TEFL course may not be essential, it is important.

What’s more, a TEFL course will make you stand out from the crowd. Language schools might not ask for them, but you can bet that applicants with a TEFL qualification go in one pile, while those without go in another.

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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 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!

Friday 24 October 2014

EFL Teachers & Learning The Local Language

Do I Need to Speak the Language of the Country Where I Will Be an EFL Teacher?

The short answer is no. You really don’t need to have a full grasp of the local language to be an EFL teacher. In fact it’s actually frowned upon for English teachers to speak the local language when they’re in the classroom. Since you’ll probably be working in a language school or institute, there will be lots of people around who speak English. However, your experience will be greatly enhanced by being able to order a meal or booking a train ticket in the local language and will make your time overseas a lot easier and a lot more rewarding.

So while you don’t need to know the language to be a teacher, you’ll get more out of the experience if you can master a few basics. There will be loads of language schools in the country you go to, so it might be an idea get there a few days early and book yourself in for a beginner’s course.

It's at least a good idea to know a few basic words, so that you can communicate and of course request help in an emergency situation. Basically the more of the local language you learn the better your experience will be while working abroad.

So pick up a small phrase book and learn a few basics before arriving. You will be glad you did and have a much happier lifestyle in your home away from home.

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

Thursday 23 October 2014

Culture Shock When Teaching EFL

Teaching EFL abroad is a great opportunity to see the world and expand your horizons. But being away from home, family, living in a different culture and always being surrounded by the unfamiliar – well that can take its toll. You might be suffering from culture shock.

It starts with euphoria

The first thing you’ll feel when you get off the plane is euphoria. You’re in a new country, surrounded by new things and it’s simply amazing. But this natural high has its drawbacks – after all, what goes up, must come down.

The full force of culture shock

Everyone’s different and some lucky people don’t even suffer from culture shock. But those who do have reported feelings of unease, negativity and a strong desire to shy away from anything new.

How to deal with it

Dealing with culture shock isn’t as difficult as you’d think. There are just a few simple steps you can take, which can make a big difference:

Be prepared
Knowing what to expect goes a long way to helping you deal with new cultures and experiences. So research the country you’re going to be heading to before you go.
Be yourself
It sounds obvious doesn’t it? But you’d be surprised how many people travel to a new country and try to become a completely different person at the same time. There’s no denying the fact that taking on a totally new career in a totally new country will change you. Just let it happen naturally, because if you don’t, you’ll feel even more lost.
Take one day at a time
If you’re teaching abroad, you’re probably going to be away for a long time. But imagining a whole year in this new, scary place can be overwhelming. So stay focused on the now and take one day at a time.
Make friends
One of the things you’ll miss the most when you’re working abroad is your friends, so make new ones. So if you’re feeling down, tell someone about it – they’ll probably be feeling the same way.
Explore
Getting to know your destination will help make it more familiar. And that’s the ultimate cure for culture shock. Start by looking for similarities between this new culture and your own.
Stay in touch
When you’re feeling homesick, there’s nothing better than talking to someone from home. So make sure you keep in close contact with everyone you’ve left behind to go on your travels.
Learn the language
The language barrier can put a real strain on you while you’re abroad. So you might find it useful to take a course before you go or while you’re there. Alternatively, ask the school you’re working for to set up some language lessons for you.

Just remember, your trip will be whole lot better if you embrace new cultures, instead of clashing with them. So if all else fails, just go with the flow.

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

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Too Old To Be An EFL Teacher?

If you have wanted to be an EFL teacher, but just thought maybe you were too old, well here are some reasons you might want to reconsider.

Opportunity to Travel

Your 9-5 days are over and you have always wanted to travel, well teaching EFL is a great way to enjoy traveling while supplementing your income. Best of all with demand for EFL teachers global, you can pretty much choose your teaching destination.

Work Experience

In many locations, mature experienced EFL teachers are highly desired. Most employers appreciate someone who can demonstrate professionalism, have maturity in the workplace and lots of real life experience.

Family Experience

By far the biggest market in the EFL world is teaching children. If you have raised a family you will have lots of experience working with children and this is a highly sought out skill in EFL teaching.

So what are you waiting for? Select a great TEFL course, update your resume and start a new career as an EFL Teacher.

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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 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!

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Before Registering For A TEFL Course

3 Questions to Ask Before Registering for a TEFL Course

Before you spend your hard earned money on a TEFL course, do your research, check the schools accreditation, talk to graduates of the course and ask these 3 questions.

What is the length of the course?

If you have no previous EFL teaching experience, then you need an onsite course that is at least 120 hours. In general the more hours the course offers, the better for you. If you can get a course with 160 hours then even better. Also make sure the course includes actual observed teaching practice. Hands on practice teaching of local students will be extremely valuable in your preparation to be a good teacher. In fact most schools will not hire teachers with a TEFL certificate that does not include at least 6 hours of practice teaching, and they actually prefer if you have 10 or more hours of practice teaching.

Is your course accredited and by whom?

TEFL courses are not uniform in either content or quality. Any person or institution can offer a TEFL training program without regulation or standardization. Thus one of the best ways to know that you are enrolling in a respectable TEFL course is to check that the institution is externally validated by a reputable accrediting agency.

What is the maximum class size?

A course which I saw a video of recently seemed perfectly happy to show the trainer standing in front of a hundred people with a microphone for their one week “Advanced TEFL Certificate”. Reputable courses will have no more than 12 trainees on one course. A course with too many students will result in some or all of the students "lost in the crowd" and you will not get the personalized attention you need to be a good teacher. Make sure the TEFL course focuses on the needs of the students and is not just a TEFL mill that cares only about profits.

Of course this is not an exhaustive list of questions, so don't be shy if you have any questions, be sure and ask them. The TEFL course you are considering should welcome your questions and should make it easy for you to contact them and should provide you with timely answers to your questions.

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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 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 20 October 2014

TEFL Success Stories - Part 54

Vicky - USA

Wednesday Evening - ESOL class at a local library in Burlington, Vermont, USA.

Today I arrived in the old annexe room to find a nice new whiteboard in place of the shoddy old thing that was all scratched to pieces and the size of a postage stamp. It was almost too large to fit into the corner where the old one precariously perched on its ailing metal legs. I am both delighted and horrified. Whilst doing my TEFL qualification, my 'whiteboard management' was always on my list of action points. I could never seem to stick to my plan, and the carefully considered use of different coloured markers was beyond me. My whiteboard, plain and simple was messy. So when I began teaching at the library I was filled with unusual joy to see their paltry version of a whiteboard and had breathed a sigh of relief that my weakness would not be exposed. Now the large, snowy white, smooth as silk whiteboard blinds me with its newness. Filled slightly with dread, I ponder what to do, what to do?

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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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I had planned to do a lesson on what was needed if my students were stranded on a desert island. You know the type of thing, what luxuries you would like, what essentials you would need. Lots of group work to come to a consensus. I decided to draw a desert island tableau on my virgin board. Now let me explain that drawing is up there with my whiteboard management, pretty bad. I cannot draw, have never been able to draw. So I set about practicing some palm trees, and seagulls, some blue sea and a sun on some scrap paper. After 10 minutes I realised that I could do my nice new whiteboard justice and I drew a rather fetching rendition of the bog standard desert island scene.

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Our TEFL Certificate course is held at the gorgeous Sunset Club in Zorritos. Sunset Club is a private club and hotel where you will study surrounded by palm trees and overlooking their stunning private beach. Our training site is located within metres of the ocean which provides a lovely breeze and a breathtaking view. The club has various swimming pools, bars, a restaurant, tennis courts, a soccer pitch and a playground.

Included in your TEFL course fee is lunch daily at Sunset Club for the duration of the course, as well as a private taxi twice daily from your accommodation to the club, as it is located approximately 15 minutes from the centre of Zorritos. You can also choose to stay at the club for the duration of course, which we offer in our Course Packages.

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When my students arrived, I excitedly drew their attention to the new acquisition and then started to elicit the names of the items I had drawn. Palm trees, sea, seagulls and sun were all correctly identified. I was delighted, not with their vocabulary knowledge, which I knew was pretty advanced, but with my drawings being recognized and identified for what they were. Maybe this was the start of a beautiful relationship with my new whiteboard, and next week I could begin to do some neat and tidy, colour coordinated written work as well.

So what luxuries did the students wish to take with them to this perfectly realised desert island? There was a huge push for liquor of any kind, though Baileys Irish Cream and Heineken beer seemed to be the most popular. Ice cream was another favourite. And one young man felt that without marijuana and Playboy, he simply would not be able to survive. After much hilarity and teasing, this led to our oldest student, a Russian lady who is the strict but nurturing grandmother of the group, saying the most perfectly pronounced English word that I have ever heard her say. And the word? Playboy. I don't know how useful this word will be to her here in the USA, but I couldn't help but praise her flawless pronunciation.

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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 guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

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

Saturday 18 October 2014

TEFL Success Stories - Part 53

Simon - China

I think it is too easy to lump kids into separate camps of 'good' and 'evil'. Remnants of a former foreign teachers' reign may give you some indication as to which way the child sways e.g. finding out a child's English 'name' is 'Tinker' or 'Satan spawn'. But I also think this divide comes down to a teacher's failure to isolate talent. As a teacher it is your job to identify and then nurture (exploit) a child's talent. By adopting this mode of thought even the most migraine-inducing child can become a veritable asset to the class.

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Take Sam, for instance. Sam belonged to the worst behaved class in the school, my Thursday-morning class. It was not a rarity to see my assistant teacher weeping quietly into her green tea by 9.30am. There seemed to be absolutely no means of subduing them long enough to teach them anything. After an unusually successful game of 'Simon says...' I was enjoying the momentary silence that is 'Simon says be quiet', when there was a loud gnawing sound. As I strained my neck to locate the source, I saw Sam bent down under his desk chewing the table leg. His metal table leg.

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It was early one morning as I was watching Sam repetitively educate one of the other kids in the ways of sharing your stationary, that it suddenly dawned on me what Sam's special talent was. Seizing the moment I announced to the class that I needed a 'helper' and asked for volunteers. To everyone's surprise I chose Sam. Placing his seat at the front of the class facing everyone else, I explained to Sam and the rest of the class what his role would be. His role was to sit and watch his friends - if they were talking or messing around while I was talking, Sam would have a word with them. If it happened a second time Sam would take them to the back of the classroom.

There was no arguing with Sam's decision. I told him to write his name down on the board under the title of helper and to take his seat at the front of the class, all the while talking to him as I would the assistant teacher. Now, and this is the important part, if any of the class started acting-up, it was Sam who would receive the punishment along with the warning "Sam - control your class!".

I've often wondered how the Gestapo worked ... My worst class rapidly became my best class using a careful rotation system of fear i.e. allowing Sam to pick next week's helper (inevitably a Tinker or Satan spawn). I left my classes with a giddy sense of well being. Had my assistant teacher not still had the delights of child birth still fresh in her mind I dare say she would have asked me to be the father of her next child. Unfortunately, she failed to see that a successful class was due to the appropriate application of talent rather than the 'helper' system itself. By choosing children whose talents lay in listening and being attentive, she reopened the world of pain Sam's talent had previously laid to waste.

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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 guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

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