Is Teaching EFL Right For Me?

So you have been seriously thinking about starting a new life abroad as an EFL teacher – one filled with exciting new experiences, new friends and weekends relaxing on the beach. Before you make the leap here is the type of person who is most successful at teaching EFL:

Willing to try new things

The people who have the best time when teaching abroad are those who never turn down an invitation. You’re there to experience a new culture, so embrace the unexpected and the unusual!

Patient & Calm

Teaching English abroad, especially if you’re teaching kids, can be pretty frustrating at times. Wherever in the world you are, kids are kids, and can lose interest and start playing very quickly. The good news is that a calm and orderly teacher usually makes for calm and orderly students. So as long as you can keep calm and carry on you’ll be fine! 

Open-minded

When you start teaching English, you won’t just be starting a new job, you’ll probably have just arrived in a totally new, alien country too. It’s important to keep an open mind about any cultural differences you encounter, including crazy new foods, initially strange-seeming etiquette and nonsensical bureaucracy.

Willing to make mistakes

Good teaching is all about trial and error – no one gets it right the first time! So, even if you’ve done loads of TEFL study, when you first start teaching lots of your classes will feel like total disasters. Don’t be disheartened – you’ll soon find that for every couple of activities or lessons that flop, you’ll hit on one that’s a rip-roaring success. And once you’ve got a good idea of what flops and what flies, you’ll be set.

Enthusiastic

You do need to be enthusiastic about the idea of teaching and ready to get stuck in and start helping your students, otherwise you’ll soon find your time abroad feels very long indeed.

A good listener

Being a good listener separates a mediocre teacher from a fantastic one – a good teacher will keep an ear out for the mistakes his/her students make and work out how they can correct them in subsequent classes. A bad one will just ignore their students’ efforts to talk – which do you want to be?

Flexible

No matter where you’re teaching, things in the TEFL world have a pesky habit of changing at the last minute: working hours changing and timetables being overhauled are just some of the most common issues, while schools dropping contracts at the last minute are at the more irritating end of the spectrum. As a teacher there’s not much you can do to avoid these last-minute changes, so it’s important to be flexible and embrace the unpredictability of things!

Friendly and approachable

No one wants a grumpy teacher – while it’s important to maintain a degree of professional distance between yourself and your students, you’ll find them much more willing to cooperate in class if you’re fair, friendly and approachable.

So, you’re cut out for the world of teaching EFL – if you haven’t started one already, your next step is an accredited TEFL course.

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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!

Improve Your Life And See The World

Teaching English as a Foreign Language can improve your life and give you many transferable skills that are in demand in the domestic jobs market. So, even if you’re not thinking of teaching as a long-term career, spending time teaching abroad can be really beneficial to your future career.

Improve your communication skills

When you teach abroad you’ll spend much of your time standing in front of a class or preparing lessons. This will improve your communication skills and your confidence in presenting to a group, both of which are really useful in all forms of business. And because you’ll probably be teaching in a non-English speaking country, you’ll also learn to communicate effectively with people who don’t speak your language.

A challenge you want forget

From the second you step off your outbound flight until the moment you say a tearful goodbye to your students, you’ll be challenged almost constantly. You’ll need to learn how to function in a foreign country, how to navigate your way around a new city, how to build new working relationships and how to function outside of your comfort zone. If you write your resume properly, future employers can’t help but be impressed.

International networking

While you’re overseas you’ll cross paths with people from all walks of life: from foreign tourists and backpackers to local businessmen and university professors to government officials. If you make the effort to stay in touch, there’s every possibility that something may come of it. Life throws up all sorts of opportunities, it’s just a question of recognizing them and using them to your advantage.

Open new doors and broaden your horizons

Many people head off to teach for six months or a year and never come back: they find new opportunities and follow a new path in life. You never know where TEFL may take you until you take that all important first step!

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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!

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!

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! 

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.

1. Speak clearly, slowly and distinctly.

2. 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.

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

4. 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.

5. 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.

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

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

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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. Introduce and teach new vocabulary every lesson.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

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

17. Make sure you know and understand your students learning ability.

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

19. 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.

20. 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. 

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! 

Finding A Good EFL 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.  

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! 

Pregnancy in Peru

This is the story of Anastasia, a Russian lady who fell pregnant and gave birth in Lima.  Ellie has helped her to share her story with our readers.

This is my story about becoming a mother. I am originally from  Russia and after living in Lima for a year on a tourist visa, without work or insurance, I fell pregnant for the first time. I would like to share the decisions I made based on my own situation and beliefs, please do not take it literally as guide to follow, it was simply my personal experience.

A year ago I went to my local Inkafarma with a Google translation of how to ask for a pregnancy test and in fifteen minutes realized I was unexpectedly, but very happily pregnant. My world didn’t quite turn upside down until the next morning when I paid seventy soles for a blood test. There was no doubt about it, so my brain started to switch between yes and no algorithms, a no to having an abortion and a yes to staying in Peru with the baby’s father.

Once the decision was made I felt like the only thing I could do was completely trust in my body. I felt so stressed without the support I would have received back home, no fixed salary, no understanding of the health system, poor Spanish, a tourist visa and topped off by living in a noisy expensive apartment. All I could do was let go and enjoy the simple things; walking next to the ocean, sleeping a lot, eating tasty food and reading for hours and hours about what was happening inside my body.

From reading so widely and feeling lost in the health system here, I literally became my own doctor. I controlled my blood tests and ultrasounds according to what I had read on the internet and I also sent scans to my previous gynecologist in Russia.  So the most important advice would be to try to keep in touch with your own doctor in your country of origin. I also realized later that your mental state plays an important role in overall health, so I worked hard to stay informed, relaxed and positive.

Everything was perfect right up until we needed to decide where to deliver the baby. I needed to find an English speaking doctor in a hospital in San Isidro, and so the search began.

In the first hospital we tried the gynecologist was always busy, with her cell phone in one hand and telling me that I needed to stay in hospital from that point on as I was at high risk, as was the life of my baby. This was her diagnosis despite my tests being ok, despite having swum my daily kilometer just before the appointment and despite showing no signs of ill health. I didn’t accept her diagnosis and was then asked to submit to a huge list of tests in the same hospital which would cost around five hundred dollars. Needless to say, I never returned to the gynecologist or the hospital, as not only did I feel worried but I also felt like I was being taken advantage of.

So be prepared to have to make the important decisions regardless of what a medical professional tells you and always ask for a second, independent opinion. This is exactly what I did in another hospital; it cost me another three hundred soles (paid under the table of course), however it was was worth it as the doctor confirmed that I was totally fine and wouldn’t need further assistance until the labour.

These trips from doctor to doctor, answering the same questions, having the same tests taken because they don’t trust tests from other hospitals and want to make more money, was the worst part of the pregnancy.

The final decision of which doctor would deliver the baby was made easily as it ended up being a friend of a friend, a very Latin American situation in the narrow world of San Isidro. Despite there being an element of friendship, I still needed to re-take my tests, be billed again and appointments were always delayed with no excuse and the exact cost of the  delivery was never clear. These inconveniences are just facts of life here so be ready to always have extra time and money on hand.

The more contact I had with the doctor the more pressure I felt to go into labour. Although I was fine I had passed my delivery date so the doctor started giving me times that were convenient for him; not on a weekend, nor the first of May or any other day when he was busy. I was asked to come the next day at a set time to be induced, however in my country a baby comes when it’s ready to, and not when the doctor has free time. So I had to be strong and make the decision myself, to spend the next few days at home waiting for the miracle to come, which of course it did.

I was called a crazy European so many times, however I don’t regret any decision I made, as I worked hard to do what was best for me and my baby, when we were both ready. Saying that though, I wouldn’t deliver a baby in Peru again.

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About the author: Ellie Ryan is an Aussie expat working and living in Peru. She is the Founder of TEFL Zorritos, a TEFL training institute which trains people to become English language teachers and places them in positions in Peru and abroad. This was originally published on the Living in Peru website as part of the "Expat Ellie" blog series. 

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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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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!

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 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!

EFL Teachers - Speaking The Native Language

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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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!