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My TEFL Journey
Growing up we are constantly being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I always answered this question with, “I want to be happy when I grow up.” I thought this was an appropriate response until I began to understand that I am supposed to respond with the job title that I want. As if this job title will define my adult self and who I will one day become. I never would have answered this question with, “I want to be a TEFL teacher when I grow up.” Simply because I never knew this job existed and honestly never even thought about becoming a teacher…
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5 Activities for a Kindergarten ESL Zoom Class
Regardless of if you teach online with VIPKID or another online teaching company, teaching classes via Zoom is TOUGH — ESPECIALLY when your teaching ESL to Kindergarten kiddos. Teaching ESL to Kindergarten aged children is difficult enough in person, so doing it through Zoom can almost feel impossible. I am still teaching all of my Kindergarten ESL classes in-person in Portugal, but there is always the possibility of schools closing with the recent second wave of the Coronavirus currently hitting Europe. I have also just begun teaching private Zoom lessons to one of my Kindergarten students who has chosen to stay home from school this year. So, I am in…
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Pros and Cons of Teaching English Abroad
Let me start off this post by saying anyone who tells you that teaching English abroad is a walk in the park is LYING. Yes, it is the most rewarding job that I have ever had — but it is also one of the most challenging jobs as well. Like any job, there are going to be pros and cons to teaching English abroad. For me, the pros absolutely outweigh the cons. However, there are a lot of cons that you probably aren’t aware of that I have discovered after two years of teaching English abroad. Of course, everyone will have a different experience, but these are the main pros…
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5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving Abroad
Moving abroad is one of the best life experiences that anyone can have — it’s also hella scary. It isn’t as simple as packing your bags, hopping on a one-way flight, and then you will automatically begin living your best life. There are a lot of things you need to consider beforehand and questions that you need to ask yourself. If you are seriously planning on moving abroad, here are 5 questions you need to ask yourself before you buy that plane ticket: What do I want that my own country can’t provide? There is a reason you want to move to another country instead of simply moving to another…
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How To Find Apartments In Spain
Your flight is booked, your bags are packed, and you are counting down the days until you land in Spain! There is just one minor detail that you now need to stress over, where are you going to live? Whether you are looking to rent a whole apartment or an individual room, don’t fret — you have options! Many people want to have their accommodation booked before they land in order to have some peace of mind. However, I urge you not to book anything long-term before you arrive at your destination in Spain. Simply book an Airbnb for 2 weeks in order to settle into your new home and…
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6 Hard Truths About Life As An Expat
The term “expat” is short for “expatriate”, someone that has moved from their native country to another country permanently or for an extended period of time — thank you dictionary.com. It seems like these days everybody is some sort of “content creator” or “digital nomad”, which allows them to hop from one country to the next while working online and becoming expats wherever they choose. They post these beautiful photos that fill your Instagram feed with gorgeous Mediterranean sunsets from an infinity pool and captions along the lines of “Today’s work views! #digitalnomadlife”. We’ve all seen it and we’ve all envied it. But as we know, life isn’t always what…
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8 Activities For Your First TEFL Preschool Class
When I first got my TEFL certification I never imagined myself running after 4-year-olds in a Preschool classroom pretending to be a hungry shark on the hunt. I knew I wanted to teach children, but I didn’t know that you could even teach English to Kindergarten or Preschool aged kids. Eager to begin my TEFL career, I began teaching English to Elementary-aged children in China online through the company VIPKID but was dreaming of the in-person experience of working in a school. I was living in Barcelona at the time and wanted to stay there, so I applied to become an English Language Assistant through the Meddeas Program. When I…
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10 Tips for Your First TEFL Class
Congrats! You received your TEFL certification and got hired to teach your first class, wherever in the world that may be! Teaching for the first time is both scary and extremely exciting. I’ll never forget my first time teaching in front of a class in Barcelona. I spent about a week planning the perfect first lesson and barely slept the night before. I was absolutely terrified of failing my students who I hadn’t even met yet. Looking back on my first TEFL class, I realize now there was no reason to be so stressed out about it — and you shouldn’t be either! You were hired over other candidates for…
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5 Things To Consider Before Teaching English Abroad
Teaching English abroad will probably be the best life experience you ever have. From immersing yourself into a new culture to having the rewarding job of helping your students improve their English everyday, there really is no other experience like it – so of course you want to do it! But before you pack your bags, there are a few questions you should ask yourself: 1. How will I get a job? This is obviously the biggest question to ask yourself if you haven’t already figured it out yet. There are a number of programs in Spain that you can participate in which will secure a teaching job for you…
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How to Become a Meddeas Language Assistant
So you reviewed all of the different language assistant programs that Spain has to offer and like me, you found that the Meddeas program was the best for you. Now you just shoot them an email that you’d like to join their program, kick back, relax and book your flight to Spain – yea? Not exactly. Meddeas has been around for a while and is one of the tougher programs to be accepted to. They also have one of the most in-depth application processes (if not the most in-depth, as I have applied to quite a few of the language assistant programs), which can be both daunting and nerve-racking at…
