Teaching English in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an exciting place to live and work. An efficient transport network and first-class infrastructure make it one of the most popular destinations in the region for those seeking an orderly and secure place in which to live. Teachers’ salaries in Hong Kong are often very attractive indeed. Unfortunately this is necessary because of the unbelievably high rental prices across the territory. Given that English is supposed to be a national language the level of spoken English in Hong Kong is actually fairly low. There are plenty of opportunities for experienced teachers but many employers prefer to employ those who already have Hong Kong residency as the process is much easier. Sadly a workaholic mentality pervades and stress levels can be high sometimes.  If you are looking for a laid-back place to live, then you should definitely give Hong Kong a pass.

Salaries typically start at around $1,500 USD a month and go upwards to $5,000 USD a month at some of the better international schools.  There are jobs throughout Hong Kong, with no particular area offering better jobs than another area.  Typically Hong Kong schools require a degree, preferably in English or TESOL and a TEFL certification.  Hong Kong has a very definite workaholic culture so don't be surprised if long hours and 6 or 7 days a week of working are required by your school.  Even if your contract does not call for these hours, you will be pressured to work additional hours well beyond your contractual hours.  Experienced teachers are advised to research the Primary or Secondary NET (Native English Teacher) scheme and apply well in advance at the appropriate time. Inexperienced teachers are advised to get some experience elsewhere first!

When searching for accommodation, make sure you negotiate with your agent or landlord. If they know you are a teacher with limited funds they may be willing to lessen their financial demands. Many agents seek two months rent as deposit and half a month as a fee. Given that accommodation is so expensive, this can be a huge sum in total.

If you have not been offered a job before you arrive in Hong Kong then not only will you face a rather tough search for a well-paid position but you will also have to wait many weeks for your work visa to be issued after you have signed a contract. Given that accommodation costs are so high, you will need some savings to help you through this lengthy period.  You are advised to secure a position before traveling to Hong Kong.  When your visa does arrive, you will normally take a ferry to Macau and back again the same day to re-enter with you work visa.

The cost of accommodations in Hong Kong is incredibly high. Unless you are sharing you will find it very difficult to live on Hong Kong island. The cheapest places to live are Lantau, Lamma and the furthest reaches of the New Territories. Thankfully, electricity, water and gas are all priced rather low. Transport is also very cheap – including taxis.  Eating in is cheap but eating and drinking out can be very expensive unless you know of special deals.

Income tax is paid on an annual basis and it is the employee’s responsibility. This means you need to budget and make sure you save enough over the year so you can pay off the hefty bill when it arrives. It also means you need to fill in a tax return form.  Don't even consider not paying your income taxes or not filing a tax form.  Failure to do so can mean at least deportation and at worst a hefty fine and lengthy jail time.  

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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!

Teaching English in Ecuador

Ecuador Overview

The level of demand for native speakers is rather low but most TEFL-qualified teachers can find jobs in the capital city. Unfortunately, TEFL salaries are relatively low and despite low living costs you certainly won’t be able to save much, if at all. TEFL in Ecuador is a fun experience for a short period of time but certainly not a serious career option.

Type of Institution	Typical salary (USD/month)	Typical hours	Typical annual leave
Language centres	600 – 1,200	Various split shifts and evenings and weekends	2 weeks plus national holidays
International schools and universities	2,500 upwards	9am – 4pm Monday to Friday plus some weekend work	10 weeks plus national holidays

Main places for jobs

Quito, Cuenca.

Typical requirements

Degree, TEFL, local interview preferred.

Tips

1. It is much better to find a job before arriving in Ecuador but in reality the vast majority of teachers arrive on tourist visas and remain on them due to the cost and bureaucracy and unwillingness of most employers to apply for proper work permits.

2. Given the low salaries, you may need to supplement your income with extra, private one-to-one tuition. Contacts are essential and found via word of mouth and through local adverts and websites.

3. American and Canadian teachers may be at a slight advantage. Those who can speak Spanish will find integration much easier.

Red tape

Your employer is responsible for obtaining your work permit. However, in reality, many work illegally. Despite the flexibility this allows, this is not recommended for obvious reasons. Top employers will actually go through the troublesome process of making your employment legal. Without this, you are always at risk of being deported.

Cost of living

The cost of living in Ecuador is low.

Tax and salary information

You should expect to be paid on a monthly basis. Make sure you actually have a contract or else you may have problems when it comes to payday.

References

http://worldoftefl.com/teaching-english-in-ecuador/

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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 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!

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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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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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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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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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!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 52

Saul - Russia

If I tell you that the biggest news of the week is that Bananarama are coming to do a concert in St. Petersburg, part of an eighties throwback thing that is currently plaguing Russia, you'll get the idea that this has been a quiet week. The city hasn't seen anything quite like it since the Pet Shop Boys were here in 1997 (I'm not including the vastly overpriced Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston concerts of last year), and it will probably be some time before the residents of St. Petersburg are lucky enough to see something quite so special again.

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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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Oh yes, I almost forgot, on Wednesday a teacher fell on the ice and broke a bone in his wrist. Better than the week before when three teachers were robbed; things seem to be calming down. The teacher in question can carry on working and will be out of plaster within a few weeks, and I count myself lucky that he's the hardy type who wants to carry on – I'm sure other people, including me, would have been looking to get the first plane back home in the event of such inconveniences as a broken bone.

Apart from these two piece of news the only other thing that springs to mind is that I've forgotten how to teach teenagers. As a spoiled DoS who chooses his own timetable and groups, last August I automatically gave myself the groups I knew I would get along best with and whose courses seemed the most interesting (and demanding) to me. In doing this I have improved my grammar teaching, my techniques for introducing advanced vocabulary and my general understanding of the CAE exam, but in bettering myself in these ways I have become blind, or at least immune, to one of the biggest problems my staff face on a daily basis – getting teenagers interested in English.

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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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I'm sure Russia is no different to most other countries when it comes to teenage groups. There are always one or two well-motivated (and sometimes very pedantic) students in teenage groups, but the rest have far more interest in impressing their peers or playing with their mobile phones than the future perfect.

On Thursday I trekked to the very south-eastern end of the city to deliver one of our open advert lessons to a group of teenagers. Things started off badly when I realised that I was on my own (the lady who does the advertising at such events didn't turn up, hence it ended up as not much of an advert lesson), but got a little better when I entered the classroom to see only twenty students. Over the past few weeks teachers have been shoe-horned into classes of forty and fifty-seven students for open lessons, though there is still a way to go to beat last year's record of eighty one.

Open lessons are only forty-five minutes, but I'm sure the clock was going backwards as they devoured every task, ignoring the educational value of the process and instead looking for the quickest result, leaving me not really knowing what to do next. 'They want to ask you about England', hinted their regular teacher, so I gave them the chance to ask me. Silence - nobody had any questions. However, once the bell had (thankfully) rung for end of the lesson they suddenly found their tongues, and as they circled round me I was asked whether I am married, where my wife was and what my favourite football team is. One boy even took a photo of me with the camera he'd been playing with all lesson.

It worries me not that they were asking where my wife was or that they seemed to know nothing about Leicester City, but that they waited until after the lesson to ask. The atmosphere in the lesson was all wrong. It's obviously difficult to build up a rapport with a group of people in such a short space of time, but it's not impossible.

Time for a refresher course for me on teenagers; in doing this lesson I completely forgot the basics when it comes to teaching them – show them some respect and that their opinions count, make it interesting by doing tasks relevant to their age group and if they don't like an activity lose it and start on something else.

To make things worse, a fight started on the trolleybus on the way back to the office. I turned my back on the brawlers and pulled my woolly hat tighter over my head to block out the grey day. Sometimes it can be quite depressing to live in St. Petersburg…

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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!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 51

Melissa - Switzerland

A busy day online today. I start at 8.00am, still in my pyjamas and not yet woken up. Thank God webcams aren't obligatory yet – our kitten is clawing her way up my back and going for my headset. I have 6 hours online today: three 45- minute classes this morning and three from 1.00pm. I must try and complete the reports immediately – I always leave them a day or two and end up with 18 to do and a nasty email from admin.

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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 students are regulars today, all Japanese, aside from the French bank personnel straight after lunch. I don't enjoy that one…it's taken weeks for the majority to 'learn' how to greet me. ''How are you Gilbert?'' I say, ''I'm fine'' Gilbert says. Silence. Every week the same. ''I'm fine thanks'' I shout into the mike but the French don't do irony – or perhaps Gilbert's not even listening. Hard to tell with online classes. No problems today – no connection problems, no sound problems. Still, I'm glad when I turn the pc off. Gives me a headache sometimes and I swear I'm going boss-eyed.

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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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I take a nap – can't get through the day without one - then prepare my next class. At 5.00pm, I stroll round the corner to my private student for an hour or so. He only lives 3 minutes away and his parents pay me cash. If only there were more classes like this one. They're worried about his grades – since the teacher changed his grades have slipped apparently. This new teacher seems fond of worksheets with lists of phrasal verbs. And tests. Seems to love tests. My student wants a lot of speaking practice – he does precious little at school and it shows: at times I haven't got a clue what he's saying. Nice kid though and seems to relish the opportunity to express himself. His face always lights up when I take out a bunch of cards or a game – and it's been while since I had such an effect on an 18-year-old boy.

At 7.30pm it's off to the first evening class after the long summer break. It's still warm here during the day and not yet dark when I arrive at the school. There's the usual huddle of cigarette-puffing teenagers outside here for their first aid course - obligatory for all those after their driving licence. They glare at me as I pass and I smile, thinking of them on their knees, jeans straining against large backsides, cheeks reddening as they resuscitate that plastic dummy. They know how silly they look which makes me feel even better. Thankfully my students will be a little older and we get to keep out dignity this evening. I like this building, 19th century, a bit tired in places, wooden floors and relatively light and airy in the best Swiss tradition. In front there's a huge fountain, the noise of running water can be heard from all of the classrooms. At first I thought it was raining every night. I wave at the centre manager but she is surrounded by new students signing up for their courses, money and books changing hands. She seems flustered.

No teenagers now but older people, looking stressed. Some of these people haven't learnt anything for ages – though some are perpetual students and they'll do a course in anything. I hope I don't get too many of those in my class. They often lack drive and take courses simply to have something to do. I go downstairs to the staff-room – a smelly, dark room with a photocopier and a kettle. Smelly because there seems to be a problem with the drains in the basement and dark because there's rarely anyone in it and the light is switched off. Tonight is no different. It looks like I'm the only English course tonight. This seems to be the one place in Europe where people apparently don't want to learn English. There is no reason for me to hang around down here, there is nothing to photocopy and nobody to speak to, so after checking my cubby hole [ never anything in it] I head upstairs to room 7, facing the fountain, to meet my new beginners. The register says tonight there are seven students. A good size and a shame that half won't last the month. I'm starting to feel hungry and not a little tired: I'll be glad to get to bed tonight. Still, it's always nice to be teaching students I can see and touch.

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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!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 50

Lynda - Cambodia

I arrived in Siem Reap three weeks ago with the temperature during the day reaching too close to a humid 40°C for comfort. I, along with all the other volunteers here, thought I would be assisting local teachers and monks to teach English to orphans and vulnerable children.

In reality, there are no local teachers or monks, and the volunteers (some of whom have no previous teaching experience) are the teachers. Classrooms are very basic – some in bamboo huts with no electricity, some without basic desks or benches to sit on. To maximize the number of children who have access to English lessons, 40–60 minute sessions are repeated several times a day, Monday to Friday. The routine is interrupted occasionally by tropical rain storms which flood the mud roads and make it impossible for some of the children to travel from surrounding villages to reach class. The resources available are white boards, exercise books and pencils.

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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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Much is left to the initiative of the volunteers, and several of my colleagues have been involved in delousing sessions and transporting children to the opticians, as it doesn't take any teacher training to recognize when a child can't see the board! The eye tests, the spectacles when required and transport via a tuk-tuk (a two-wheeled carriage attached to a motorbike) were paid for by volunteers. It's difficult to even attempt to describe the enthusiasm and determination these children have to study even though they live in such poverty. The broad smiles of absolute delight when lessons begin would be alien to the majority of harassed teachers in the tougher schools back home.

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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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As volunteers, we could choose to plod along and work with the disorganization in which we find ourselves. However the children do not deserve anything less than our best and many of the volunteers, who are only here for two weeks, would benefit from a much more structured approach to lesson planning. The standard of the volunteers is very high and there is no lack of enthusiasm but when one person moves on, no official handover takes place with the new person coming in. The result is that the children are either being taught the same thing over and over again or there is a huge gap in the level of English taught from one volunteer to the next. Also the local teachers who should be learning how to teach English alongside the volunteers, are feeling isolated because of the lack of continuity.

As part of my contribution while I am here I have decided to put together teaching folders with lesson plans and resource references which will be available for the local teachers and the volunteers to use. Each class has five English language lessons per week. In primary school, this is 40–50 minutes per lesson and in secondary school (to 16 years old) it's 60 minutes.

I would welcome suggestions for any websites or books which could speed up the production of this resource. Although the book shop in Bangkok is very good, many of the books have the CDs missing. This type of resource would be of enormous benefit to Khmer teachers who are learning the language while teaching it. Any suggestions for how to access audio teaching materials without me having to spend the whole of my savings at the start of my trip would also be appreciated.

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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!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 49

Laura - Czech Republic

I hear it while I'm taking attendance: the muted beep followed by rapid clicking. Technically, class doesn't start for three minutes so I let it slide, but I decide to say something before I start teaching.

"OK, guys," I say, emphasizing the first syllable to get their attention. The chatter drops off, but persists in a murmur too low to identify the source. I decide to ignore it. You have to choose your battles carefully when you work with teenagers. I plow on, slowly, making sure they all understand: "Please, please, please turn off your cell phones before class starts. It drives me crazy when my lesson gets interrupted by a phone." Sheepish grins. Raised eyebrows. I see a few hands dig into bags, and hear a scattering of beeps as my students comply.

I gave them the cell phone lecture on the first day of class – all of my classes got it. But as the semester progresses, mobile phones have been interrupting my lessons with increasing frequency, particularly in this class.

Post-secondary intermediate English (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) is the only class I have to discipline. Part of it is the nature of the course: Post-secondary classes are full of students who completed high school but failed to pass their college entrance exams. Many of them are taking the course as an alternative to working -- in other words, not a highly motivated classroom. Most of the students are nineteen or twenty years old, which is a disciplinary problem in and of itself. And with nineteen, it's my largest class.

Every other course I teach is exam preparation, FCE and CAE. And while I love these classes (motivated and mature students, well-designed curriculum, clear goals), I appreciate the variety and challenges that my P2 classes provide. Really. And if I repeat it enough, it starts to sound true.

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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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No, no, I'm just joking. Kind of. These classes are a lot of fun, and I do appreciate the challenge. It's just that some days I open my mouth and suddenly find that I've turned into that humorless teacher I used to make fun of back in high school. The one who said things like, "Is there something outrageously funny about this lesson? No? Then I'd appreciate it if you'd stop laughing and pay attention to what I'm saying." At twenty-three, I'm a little young to be a member of the adult establishment, and yet here I am: the target of their rebellious impulses and the only disciplinary authority in the room.

Class starts well. They write news articles about UFOs, based on a speaking activity we did yesterday. They like the topic, and as I walk behind them I can see a lot of creative ideas: headlines, photographs with captions, quotes, descriptions. They are completely engrossed, and (rare blessing that it is) ten minutes pass without my hearing a word of Czech.

Every day is a battle against a verbal Czech invasion. "In English!" is my catchphrase, and I find myself repeating it like a broken toy. I mutter, holler, hiss and shout the words a dozen times every lesson, ruefully thinking of my high school and university teachers. How many times was I subject of the same command: "En francais! En espanol!" And did I really think they didn't know what I was doing when I lowered my voice? But today I've been granted a respite. We're halfway through class and I haven't once had to yell, "In English means in English, not quieter in Czech!" Peer evaluations are a little more vocal, but I let it slide, hoping they're giving each other feedback and not commenting on my shirt.

And here, I suppose, is the real issue at hand. The trouble with teaching students who challenge your authority is that you begin to question that authority yourself. And if you are only three years older than your students, one year out of college with minimal teaching experience, your confidence will occasionally wobble. Every good class validates your self-confidence. You are a fabulous teacher, an authoritative disciplinarian, a creative and inspirational human being. Bad classes, of course, justify every doubt you've been harbouring about yourself since high school. You're dull, uninspired, out of the loop. You command neither respect nor admiration. The only thing you inspire from your students is scorn – for your weak classes, your unfashionable clothing and your horribly flawed personality.

Fortunately for me, this is a good day. They liked the alien articles, and there's been minimal rebellion. If they're speaking in Czech, they're too quiet for me to hear. During the second hour we focus on transportation: vocabulary building and a reading activity. Once again, they're completely engrossed. Together we brainstorm modes of transportation, then make a word web for "cars." I break them into groups and assign a different mode of transportation to each one. As a class we review the vocabulary and I prepare them for the reading activity.

They're attentive today, obedient and interested. As I pass out the reading, the narcissist within uncorks a bottle of champagne. And it is at this moment, as I'm smugly congratulating myself on my success, that I hear the cell phone.  It's a distinctive ring, and I instantly identify the culprit. Me. I dash to my desk pursued by giggles and raised eyebrows, which quickly drop when I turn around again. Their lips are twitching. I know they're dying to say it, but none of them have the nerve while I'm in the room: Laura, it drives us crazy when your lessons get interrupted by a phone.

There's a moment where I hover between my two roles: authoritative teacher and ordinary human being. I'm mildly panicked and extremely embarrassed, but I can't deny the irony of the situation. Moral authority in shambles, lesson disrupted, I have to laugh.

"OK guys," I say, and I hold up my hands. "I'm a terrible human being. Let's look at activity two." They laugh then, and -- even better -- they look at activity two.

So the champagne's a little flat today. It's not a perfect lesson, and I'm not a perfect teacher. But we all learned something in class. And as I circle their desks, listening to them discuss the article in pairs ("Remember to use your opinion phrases.") I don't hear a word of Czech. Perhaps I've retained a scrap of authority after all.

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