TEFL Educator

Fitting it all together Teaching job? Check. Class schedule? Check. Lesson Plan? Uh oh… If you find yourself ticking off items in the checklist above and groaning when you get to “lesson plan,” read on and relax. Lesson planning is an important part of being a good teacher, but it doesn’t have to be worrisome. Today I’m writing about the big picture of lesson planning—the what, why and how. The Wh...[Read More]

 Correcting Student Errors in the ESL Classroom Righting a “wrong” is not always easy.  To err is human, to correct… …is the teacher’s job. Right? Well, yes, but when and how should teachers of English as a Foreign Language correct their students’ mistakes? This is a major issue that plays out in classrooms every day, worldwide. Learners battle away at the intricacies of English, trying to communi...[Read More]

Do you want to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL), overseas?  Well, luckily for you, employers worldwide are eager to hire someone just like you. Newbie teachers are often amazed how easy it is to hook that first job offer. However, as with any line of work, it’s important to weigh your options and take the right position for you. If you take your time finding your first EFL job, you and yo...[Read More]

Don’t forget to smile during that demo lesson. I recently read a blog written specifically about what is wrong with PPP methodology.  And, sadly, the author stated: PPP means that teachers will first present a grammar point While I would agree that PPP has some limitations, I would never agree that PPP must be about teaching grammar.   And the writer would not think that if he had been in my train...[Read More]

Tips for Acing Demonstration Lessons Don’t forget to smile during that demo lesson. Multiple choice question: To get a job teaching English as a Foreign Language you will need to: a) do an interview b) submit references c) do a demonstration lesson d) possibly all of the above. Did you pick d? (Hint: you should have!) While interviews and references are normal parts of any hiring process, demonstr...[Read More]

Lights, Camera…TEACH! A question I hear a lot from new teachers of English who want to go abroad is, “How do I find a job?” The answer, of course, is the same for English teaching as it is for many other professions nowadays—you look for job listings on the Internet and through a network of contacts that you build up. But, there’s a larger dimension to this question that I’d like to address in thi...[Read More]

Do you have Skills in Food and Beverage or Hospitality Settings? This area of ESP is becoming more and more popular, so this is a good opportunity to address how to find those niche jobs. A lot of newbie TEFL teachers are former restaurant and or hospitality workers. They are much more qualified to teach in this area than the other teachers unfamiliar with the ‘service mind’ and those with no with...[Read More]

Don’t Become “The English (Teacher) Patient” The best advice for staying healthy is the same no matter where you’re living: Eat right, sleep well, and get enough exercise. However, when we’re thrown out of our natural element by going to live abroad, at first it might be tricky to maintain your rhythms in the new culture. For example, you may be used to eating dinner around 6 or 7 p.m., but your n...[Read More]

What Do You Know? Many teachers of English as a Second Language transition into teaching from a totally different line of work. Before I began teaching, I was a social worker. I know other people who were business people, stock brokers, marketing agents, scuba divers, military personnel and who held a whole range of other jobs before they decided to live the good life abroad as an English teacher....[Read More]

Teachers of English as a Foreign Language are always looking at ways they can perk up their lesson plans. Even the very best textbooks can get stale now and then, for the teacher even if not for the students, and a good way to inject pizzazz in your class is to bring in something new. Realia is a great way to do this, as is multimedia. But if you’re like most teachers, the very first place you’re ...[Read More]

This post fits in the Things they forgot to teach you at your TEFL training school category of TEFL. When new teachers of English as a foreign language imagine their first job posting, they may picture themselves teaching in all kinds of scenarios: Large university classes, one-to-one coaching sessions, and small groups. But they might not imagine that they’d have a partner teacher. Many jobs that...[Read More]

Give Back to go Forward. On the fence about whether or not you dare teach English abroad? Or, maybe, you’re saving up money to make sure you have a nest egg you can hatch later when you’re overseas. If, for whatever reason, you feel the desire to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) but can’t go abroad to do it right now, I’d like to offer you a great alternative for the meantime that will he...[Read More]