IA TEFL

TEFL is short for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. In most cases, you’ll need your TEFL certificate if you want to teach ESL (English as a Second Language).

But there are situations when you won’t need to be TEFL-certified to find a job as a teacher of English abroad. You could very well find a job as a teacher abroad (without a TEFL) when:

• You are highly experienced. In case you are already a well-experienced teacher, you may qualify even without a TEFL. If you have an interesting and impressive resume that’s full of great jobs and you have recommendations, degrees, certificates and a lot of experience as a teacher, some schools might not have a problem with hiring you.

• Other certifications. We know several certifications available for teaching ESL that may get you the job you’re looking for. Apart from the TEFL certificate, there is also the TESOL certification (which is more or less equivalent to the TEFL), and the CELTA and DELTA certificates, but these last two are more intensive. If you’re holding one of these qualifications, there’s no need for TEFL certifications on top of that.

• You’re holding a visa. Most ESL teachers abroad require a TEFL certificate to receive a working permit and a visa. However, if you already stay in a country on another visa, like a marriage or a retirement visa, you might well be able to teach without the need for the TEFL certification.

So in case one of the above categories apply to you, you may very well qualify to teach English as a Foreign Language abroad.

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TEACHING ENGLISH TO CHILDREN (TEC)

TEC advanced courses follow the TEFL Certificate Program or may be taken by any certified ESL teacher who wishes to expand his/her knowledge in how to teach English to Children. This part-time course will help the teacher learn the special needs of teaching children, including:

• special skills in classroom management
• positive discipline
• creative activities for children
• how to teach to a first-language learner

This course is mornings only for two weeks for a total of 30 hours of instruction.  Classroom observations and practice teaching are included in this course.

TEACHING BUSINESS ENGLISH (TBE)
Conducting business is developing enormously, making the use of English in business mandatory for many second language speakers.  Simply learning speaking skills and basic English grammar is not definitely enough these days for the executive who needs to do business internationally.

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In the United States, most politicized discussions of bilingual education policy have focused on language minority children. Frequently, their backgrounds in languages other than English are assumed to be the cause of their educational deficiencies. Title VII policies were largely predicated on this view, even though advocates of bilingual education tend to see minority languages as personal and societal resources rather than as detriments.

At best, the deficit view has tended to result in policies aimed only at accommodating children from home backgrounds in which languages other than English were spoken and lower expectations for their academic achievement were accepted. Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, there has been much fanfare regarding the need to promote higher expectations for all children.

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Recent articles in Issues have dedicated much attention to vocabulary and its retention. In this article, I would like to propose an approach for specialized word/term retention in teaching ESP which has proved to be highly effective with my secondary-level social sciences students.

A tendency for more narrowly tailored courses in adult English teaching has recently been observed and was forecast as a prominent new millennium ELT issue by Dave Allan: ‘There will be increased demand for specialist Englishes’, i.e. ESP.

Language teaching, on the whole, and ESP, in particular, has always been characterized by the use of methods that enable learners to acquire a sufficient amount of vocabulary, called a ‘working’ vocabulary. ‘Words are the basis of language, and thus the basis of communication’

But probably all foreign language teachers are aware of frustration when in an impromptu speech our students use more primitive words than we have just taught them. What should we do, in making a word pass from receptive to productive level and, at the same time, in fostering all other communicative language skills? Continue reading

Learning a foreign language can take a lifetime. Even if you lived in a country in which a foreign language was spoken it would still take you many years to fully understand the slang, jokes, and cultural differences. Even still, it is possible to learn a new language if you are willing to put in the effort.

First, look for a course that will help you to learn French online. Because it is easy to find free online resources that are both comprehensive and up to date, you can plan out your course of study quickly. In some cases, it may be a good idea to work with a native French instructor, however, you can still get a basic understanding on your own.

If you want to learn French quickly then it is best to speak it with other people that are learning. You can carry on casual conversations that will help you to challenge yourself. Using visual aids that will help you to trigger your memory will also assist you when you are unable to think of a particular word or phrase. As long as you are open to the idea of trying out different methods you will find that learning French is a joy and not a burden.

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With the continuing globalization, our world is coming closer every day. Quite a few nations across the world are becoming more connected every day and they depend on each other more and more. Consequently, it has become imperative to learn the language of one another.

This is so as connections are depending on interactions and interactions are demanding communication and communication is only possible by means of language. Therefore, getting to know each other’s languages is a necessary step if we want to develop relationships.

This not only makes you a highly valuable asset for the country but it also proffers countless perks to you as a person. So, in case of the dilemma of whether you should learn to speak and write a new language, absolutely go for it.

Realizing the importance of multi-lingual competencies, many countries have taken concrete steps towards that goal. At present, there are numerous educational institutions that proffer foreign language programs. This is also the case in America, where practically all top colleges and universities offer a number of language courses to their students.

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I am a physically disabled person. I have cerebral palsy and I am a wheelchair user. I graduated in English four years ago and when I entered college my idea was to work as a translator.

However, after some time I realized I did not fit in the profession. Therefore, I decided to become a teacher, in spite of all the difficulties I would have to overcome.

I have just started my career as an EFL teacher and in this article, I intend to share with you the challenges I faced in my first experience as a teacher. I additionally do some interesting work for students who follow an online course with Covcell.com to get their high school equivalency diploma, a job that suits me pretty well.

How I got the job

A friend of mine called and asked me if I would like to teach Basic English to a group of about 15 physically challenged learners at the Association for the disabled in Curitiba.

The aim of the course was to increase the students’ chances of getting better jobs. This project was sponsored by state government funds; the learners didn’t have to pay for the course and the course books were included. I liked the idea very much and accepted the job. Continue reading

The recent  TEFL Teachers’ Conference was an inspiring experience, now I’ve had time to reflect, these are my own personal highlights from what I learned.  As with any event, each person will take away their own snapshots and apply it to their own understanding and situation.

These are very personal reflections and I will try to refer to sources wherever possible – and apologize in advance if I portray what was said in a different way to how it was intended or if I get my references wrong.

There were 2 stand-out keynote speakers for me – lots of other very interesting keynotes too, but these were my learning highlights of the week. Listening to Professor Sugata Mitra talking about his Hole in the Wall project was thought-provoking, humbling and puts teachers in their place by putting children in theirs – in control of their learning.

Just take a look at this video where Professor Sugata Mitra speaks on another occasion, but similar to the EFL conference:

David Rogers reflected on this approach to teaching in his recent blog post here.  Like David, I found this approach by accident, when trying out new tools with the children and finding that sometimes when I take a step back, then they learn even more than when I am controlling every step of their learning experience!

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