Hi everyone, I'm teaching an intensive summer course class starting tomorrow at a language center (beginners, just about A1 or below) and the first 4 days is mainly focused on giving them confidence to speak English as much as possible.

2 classes back to back, 2 hours each. The students are new to me so no problem with killing time at the beginning getting to know each other, break the ice, intros, etc...we won't be using the curriculum for the first 4 days so I'm looking for some ideas, exercises, games, videos, anything really to fill those 2 hours.

Can probably waste about 15-20 minutes just chit chatting, talking about themselves, their hobbies and interests, but would love to get some ideas from you guys on some things I can use (internet available) to engage everyone in speaking exercises and games for the duration of the class.

Will gain access to the center's teaching hub any time today, which contains some exercises and games, but feel free to give me anything you think is great for killing time and keeping the class engaged in speaking and sharing thoughts and ideas in general.

Looking forward to hear from you guys

Hi all.

I've been wanting to take a CELTA course for some time now, there are no centers near where I live so I recognize the fact that I'm basically going to have to live in a different city for a month in order to take the course. I live in the US and have determined that it would actually be the same price if not cheaper to do the course in a different country, as in the plane ticket + sublease rent + course cost is cheaper abroad than sublease rent + course cost domestically. In particular I've been considering taking the course in the UK but Spain and Latin America are also options.

I had a friend point out to me however that if I took the course in the UK I'd be essentially be studying the teaching of UK english which would put me at a disadvantage in the class. Wondering how much of a hurdle that would actually be or if there are any other reasons taking a celta course abroad is a bad idea. Also I know its a heavy workload, I don't plan on doing much touristing while im there.

Hello Reddit,

I am in a bit of a pickle, I got accepted to work at Apollo back in March and was under the impression I would start working in July like the contract stated, I started the training and they included a test that (sadly I failed) and for super dumb reasons as well. There was another teacher who I made friends with who did a fantastic job but also failed for very unreasonable reasons. Now this post is a warning for people who are applying to the Apollo Active program, they have test before they give you the job / don’t be like me thinking everything is fine, I would still keep applying

as well as trying to figure out what to do next. I would like to stay here in Da Nang but I’m struggling to figure out where to look, I am open to moving to another country as I have my TESOL and diploma now. Is there any advice for what I should do? I was looking at jobs and it look like China would be a good fit but I am worried about getting the visa and moving with my dog that I got here. Please anything will help. I am open to working in other Asian countries.

My goal is to teach ELL in the United States with the potential to go internationally later in life. My bachelors is unrelated, but I have been tutoring both online and in person for two decades, love teaching, and would like to do it well.

I would need to become a licensed teacher, and I would like to get a Masters (preferably M. Ed.) from a reputable school. Has anyone done this or have any recommendations? I've searched through this group and on r/teachers but most were old recommendations or were for licensed teachers.

As in the title, I'll soon start teaching a group of learners who enrolled with a school and simply told them "we want to start from the beginning".

They're a bunch of middle schoolers with 1 high schooler.

In my country, pupils study English in middle school (3rd language) so I imagine they know basics.

I asked the school why they didn't test them they said the students already stated they were beginners.

How is the lesson going to be like? I'm used to administering a placement test then teaching.

I'm thinking about preparing something for A1 but not from the very beginning. What do you think?

Hey there. I'm an ESL teacher in southeast asia for the last ten years or so. Even though throughout all these years I've had proposals from some parents to spend my time with their kids privately on a 1 on 1 tutoring session, I truly hate it, since not only it makes me bored, but also there are loads of group activities that can't be used, which is something I enjoy doing. Now the thing is: one of my student's mom asked me to spend one hour a day with her kid, focusing ONLY on conversation. I really like the kid and I want to help, but he can't speak much more than the basic, which makes me believe that one hour a day, approaching the most trivial subjects will not last long and will affect the dynamics of the tutoring session, since his vocabulary is still quite limited. The question I wanna ask is, must I be honest to his mom and advise her to wait at least one more school year, or anyone here have any idea how I can make this interesting and productive to everyone involved? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I've got a job as an IELTS teacher starting in September. I would welcome any advice or any tips on how to spend these next two months preparing for this new role.

Hello, I'm planning on teaching abroad sometime in the near future. The places I'm interested in going in Europe are about ~1000 Euros/month, which covers housing and basic cost of living. however ideally I would like additional income so that I have extra $ for saving and additional responsibilities like my car loan. I know that a lot of people teach online in addition to their TEFL jobs, but has anyone else had other jobs/sources of income outside of their teaching job?

Hi,

I have taught in Japan and Vietnam on the CELTA/Bachelor's combo, and am looking to eventually teach at the university level in Vietnam (and possibly other countries), or get into IELTS coaching/test prep, or working for the British Council. I'm not interested in long-term teaching K-12. I'm not interested in working at an international school. I'm considering Master's in TESOL. I'm also open to Applied Linguistics, but would like to really improve on teaching skills.

My concern is about the quality of online programs. Here's some questions:

1. Which program did you attend?
2. How was the variety of online courses? Did you notice on-campus students having more course options?
3. Are these pre-recorded classes or is their a live faculty member? Were there several faculty members? Or were there only a couple of people teaching all the courses?
4. I'm looking for a program where I'm actually learning how to teach. Although I have the basics, I feel I have room for improvement. I'm willing to pay a bit more if the quality is better. How effective was your program in imparting this knowledge?
5. How was the overall quality of your program? Any gripes?
6. Have you found solid opportunities in your home country with this degree?
7. Is it feasible to work 30+ hours a week and do well in these programs?

I'm looking to do an online TEFL course and I found TeacherRecord.com that offers a free 120-hour course that's certified and recognised internationally. It seems too good to be true, and I'm just wondering if anyone here has done the course or knows anything about the site? Thanks in advance for your help! Xx

As the above question asks, is this a good offer for Beijing to move to China now? They will pay for my flight out. This also includes housing allowance which is about half the salary.

Thanks!

I teach English at a kindergarten.

I am teaching basic sentences to kids aged between four and six, with the aid of flashcards.

When I ask the question, the majority of the kids understand and answer the question perfectly, while one or two might need a reminder or help. So I assume they know and understand the questions/answers and move on to the next topic/sentence. I will come back to the question for review weekly.

But when they go home and are asked the questions by their parents, or asked the questions by my work colleagues, it's like their brain has been wiped and they forgot everything. I get asked why they don't know any sentences?

Is this normal? Any suggestions?

I'm thinking of applying to ve an online English teacher with Berlitz. The money they offer is not that good and I can get more elsewhere, however I've heard they offer free language lessons if you work for them? This would be very beneficial for me as I live in Colombia and don't speak much Spanish. Has anyone worked for them and knows that this is true and if it is what the terms of it are?

I want to get a degree to pursue a career in TEFL, does it matter where I get my degree from? I’m from the uk but I don’t want to go university here as I can’t take an interest based loan as a Muslim so I plan to get a degree abroad either from a country that offers it for free or cheap enough for me to pay off straight away.

I got a question here. I am considering to teach ESL in Vietnam again after 5 years. For large cram schools, are there still enough ESL classes to go around or has these classes been reduced by the economic slump?

Are there still a lot of public school job openings? Or has this too been impacted negatively by the economy?

Heya,

I don't have a degree but I have a TEFL and a Business Cert to teach English, an Electrical licence and a Gas Licence and lots of practical experience. I speak "tourist Indonesian" and am taking lessons as I want to become fluent. My question is:-

• If I become proficient, with my practical experience what could i expect $ per month?

• Would I need to live in Jakarta or would other cities work too?

I guess I'm asking if there's any openings for 'experience v theory' with English in Indonesia, or if a degree is the only option.

Thankx

Hello,

I was offered a part time position at Binh Duong location at VUS for Gross 470,000 dong part time 15 to 18 hours. Even though I was interested in full time. Is this a good offer at all knowing I will get taxed 20 percent and will I be able to get full time somehow? I just don’t want to accept an offer if I’m not going to get enough working hours to live.

Thank you.

Next year I'm planning to teach English in (probably) Korea but I'm also thinking of Taiwan. I've heard that Taiwan is a lot more relaxed than other Asian countries (when in comes to work culture). Do you find this to be true?

I'm wondering how difficult it is to teach at a buxiban and if it gives you enough time yo explore Taiwan and enjoy your life there. Do you have to work long, hard hours and is the job itself quote difficult?

Sorry for writing so many questions, but I just want to know the general situation in Taiwan when it comes to teaching and how difficult it is.

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies :)

hi everyone! i'm thinking getting my TEFL. i'll spare you all the details of why and get into my question: i've read a lot in the sub that says for americans with a bachelor's and a TEFL but no experience, many asian countries are the best places for someone to get a placement.

my only issue: i have an anaphylactic peanut and tree nut allergy. from my knowledge of a lot of cuisine from countries mentioned a lot in this sub (vietnam, china, thailand) use nuts. this can be a problem, and then more of a problem when it comes to a language barrier and the lack of prevalence or knowledge of food allergies in certain parts of the world. i know there are countries i would have less trouble in than others, but i've heard of nut allergy sufferers having issues in korea too.

i've accepted i'll be unable to eat desert anywhere in the world so that's okay 😅 but meals and snacks are important

i guess im just wondering if anyone has any recommendations to share on good 'starting countries' that don't use a lot of nuts in their cuisine and/or are accommodating to food allergy sufferers. i hold no special desire to start in any particular area, so anywhere in the world an american wouldn't have to fight to the death against a preferred passport sounds great to me.

if the answer is i have to give up on the idea, make my own food, or die, pls be honest.

i'm also willing to get a CELTA, if that changes anything.

I’m just wondering how difficult it is to obtain a job teaching English as a foreign language with a TEFL certificate but no experience? I’m curious how other people do it because obviously you have to start somewhere? Note I don’t have my TEFL certificate yet but plan to and I do hold a bachelors degree in English.

Hi is there anyone who finished the whole capstone project and sent the portfolio to review how the process are they watching all the videos we have filmed in detail

Even after having a CELTA it is very difficult to find a job as an English teacher, because everyone wants a native.

If this is redundant I apologize , I’m not super Reddit fluent.

Hoping I can get a reality check or at least some good info on here. I’ve been approved for voc rehab with the Va , and will be obtaining my bachelors ( if anyone has degrees suggestions please feel free to offer that info ) Ideally what I’d like to do is to teach English in 3 month ish contracts once a year for the future. The time of year doesn’t matter really , with Asia being my most wanted location but not necessary. I’d just like to leave to teach for a semester ish time frame every year , and not have to sign for a year contact every time. Is it possible to find contracts like this. I’m new to the idea of doing this and starting my research. My question is, if this is a feasible goal. I’m not worried about the money really. Just the feasibility of actually being able to do this before I commit my benifits towards training for something like this. Thank you in advance and I apologize if this has been asked before, Google searching has only showed me paid advertisements.

I'm looking at teaching jobs in SE Asia, and I noticed many of the job postings ask for a CV. Do other countries say "CV" to mean the same thing as a resume in the US?

I'm from the US, and from my understanding, a CV is a long list of every single job and accomplishment you've completed, can be several pages long, and is predominately used in academia when applying to graduate degree programs.

A resume, on the other hand, only lists your relevant work experience, and is usually limited to one page.

So for jobs in SE Asia (Vietnam and maybe China after gaining some experience), do they want the long list of every job and task I've ever done--no matter the relevance? Or do they want the shorter, more-relevant "resume" version when they ask for a "CV"?

I don't want to make assumptions and end up offending the employers or hurt my job prospects in any way. So I'd hate to give them a shorter "resume" when they were asking for a longer list of accomplishments, but I'd also hate to send them a long lost of irrelevant jobs dating back to my first job at Wendy's in 2011 lol

Recently became certified in TEFL last month, completed a 120hr course. Already have a Bachelors in English Lit, double minor in Educational Policy and Writing.

I read a lot of posts about teaching in China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea but nothing about South America, and specifically Costa Rica. I plan to move there one day with my goal to teach English.

Does anyone have any idea how wages are in Costa Rica, what the schools are like, or just any experience whatsoever teaching in Costa Rica? Would love to see what other people have experienced, thanks.

Basically I’m fully aware that public schools in Shenzhen do not, across the board, pay as much as kindergarten, etc. However, I’m relatively happy with the offer as it stands: 18,000 rmb including housing. If I wanna make more bank in future, I can hang around in China and move to a kindergarten.

The downside is that the contracted end date is when the school closes for the summer holiday which presumably means no summer hols money for me 🥲

So, what do you guys think? Is it worth shopping around a bit more? Can I a get a similar position at a public school in Shenzhen which will provide a summer holiday payment?

Hi all, can anyone recommend me a few websites that have lots of resources for teaching IELTS? Mostly speaking and listening, preferably including lesson plans too.

I don't mind paying for it. I know about the one on the British Council`s website.

Hello

I was wondering is it worth teaching English in Vietnam in 2024? It seems there are a lot of mixed feelings regarding working there at the moment.

Thank you.

Niche question I know but really curious what sort of spaces any of you have like mine.

I work in two public Taiwanese schools and it's really wild to me just how much of what we have is just abandoned. In my first school we have an entire gym building with four stories, at least three offices and a basement full of classrooms just laying empty and gathering dust. I went in there one time and the school has been using it this wild place to hoard discarded tech and records going back 50 years. They have computers from 20 years ago, projectors from 30 years ago and even test results for kids from 50+ years ago. According to the teacher who let me check the building out it's been in increasing active disuse for the past ten years.

In my second school we have two subterranean gyms/dining halls. The underground gym is still used but the dining hall/assembly hall has been left unused for at least 15 years. I went under there once after asking the principal if it was alright and was met with a really odd space. Lots of tables and desks properly laid out with a raised area for speeches and presentations. I later found out from a teacher who worked there 20+ years that a vice principal had hung themselves there, I wonder if that's why they stopped using this underground assembly hall/lunch room?

Anyways, would love to hear about the odd and/or abandoned areas you've witnessed in your schools over the years, best!

I recently graduated with a bachelors in computer science. My wife has a bachelors degree in education, but she can’t come join me in the USA for another 1.5 years due to visa processing wait, so we want to go live in another country and teach English. Do I need to get a TEFL cert to be hired, and if so is a cheap online one gone? And is her bachelors in education enough to get hired or would she also need some cert?

We both have a little part time teaching experience, and plan to do a bit of online teaching on some app prior to moving. Is one of Thailand/vietnam/japan better for both of us being able to get a visa and work in the same area? My wife has a preference for Thailand. Any advice is greatly appreciated