TEFL
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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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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…
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What is a TEFL Certification and Do I Need It?
So you’ve thought about quitting your job, selling all your things, and moving abroad for a while now. You know you want a change but you don’t know the exact logistics of actually being able to support yourself abroad. You have heard of people teaching English overseas before and it always seemed like something a little too off-the-beaten-track for you. You never considered it as a “real” job as you wouldn’t be spending your days inside a corporate office chained to a desk, which is what we have have been trained our whole lives to achieve. Sound somewhat familiar? This is the exact predicament I found myself in a year…
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How to Apply to VIPKID 2020
Like working with kids? Enjoy flexible work hours? Dream of working from home? Want to decide when and where you work? Love being goofy every now and then? If yes (and if you meet the requirements) then becoming an English as Second Language (ESL) teacher with the online company VIPKID is the perfect gig for you! I began teaching with VIPKID in March 2019 and have loved working for them ever since. VIPKID is always changing how they hire teachers and there is a new 2020 VIPKID hiring process. The hiring process can be a bit lengthy and there are some key factors you should know before you apply, so…
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How to Teach English in Spain
Teaching English in a foreign country is a great idea for native-level speakers who would like to immerse themselves in another culture. However, when you get down to the nitty-gritty of exactly how to live and teach in the said country legally, your options can be limited. As it can be very difficult to obtain a work visa in Spain, there are a number of programs in Spain that provide native-level English speakers the opportunity to teach English in the Spanish school system legally through a student visa. Luckily for you, I’ve interviewed with more than half of the programs this past spring. I did a lot of research on…
