Teaching English after lockdown, exploring our options in a changing world
A big hello to my fellow teachers across the world wherever you may be. The TEFL.com forum has certainly been a godsend to me while we have all been in lockdown and your inspiring comments and messages have kept me going in this strange and unprecedented period, as many of us were abroad and facing the strangest situation some of us may have ever encountered. I don't think any of us could have predicted the speed...
Lemmings Online: The Great Leap Forward
After months of uncertainty, cancellations, and a frantic reorientation to online classes, IPT (In person teacher) jobs are once again being advertised. We will soon see whether the crisis really has permanently let the online learning 'genie out of the bottle'...
Online Teaching: Is the genie out of the bottle?
Two months ago, when we made the transition to online teaching in response to the pandemic, I was skeptical about the emergence of online as a serious long-term threat to conventional ESL classrooms. Now I’m not so sure. What has happened since then?
TEFLING UNDER LOCKDOWN - TEACHING IN ISOLATION
My name is Sarah Taylor, and I am TEFL teacher currently working in Sicily, Italy. I have been here for six months and have absolutely loved my time here, coming to life under the endless warm Sicilian sun, and teaching the kind and spirited people. I am on a sabbatical from my corporate job in the UK and have been enjoying it so much that I decided to stay another year because...
Uncertainty continues to overshadow China teaching
It has been more than a month since the epidemic started and, unfortunately, we still cannot see the end of it. The latest news can feel very confusing but luckily between the over-alarmists and the extreme optimists, a few international media seem to be balanced and objective. What is certain is that the problem is far from being solved. Whether, as some Chinese media are claiming, we have basically reached the turning point or, as the WHO recently reported, this is still the...
Return from Wuhan: One teacher's experience of China's coronavirus outbreak
It all started between the lines of a happy New Year message from our coordinator. Something similar to what a mother would say to her kids going out dressed too lightly: “Cover up and be careful because there is a new flu around”. Nobody really took the news too seriously and we all carried on with the New Year celebration. The same happened in one of my WeChat groups; a local girl informed us about this “new virus” and recommended not to go near a fish market that was destined to become very famous. Nevertheless, a few minutes later the conversation changed...
Online Teaching: The Digital Nomad
Adventure, new cultures, and our students, these are my favorite parts about being an EFL teacher. The opportunity to meet students from all cultures and engage with them in a way that most people don’t get to is by far what keeps me working in this exciting field. For me, becoming a foreign language teacher was to do just that, move to a foreign country learn about the culture and meet people. I had been a teacher in my own country, but the opportunity for some adventure was the greatest allure. Now, as I have started doing the majority of my teaching online, I often get asked – so can you teach from anywhere? And the short answer is yes. I can teach from anywhere, but there are some things...
Teaching English: Is it really a long-term career?
If you are still trying to weigh the pros and cons of becoming a teacher of English, doubt no more. When choosing a career we are usually guided either by what we love doing or by the financial benefits of a job. In my opinion teaching English can be the perfect combination of both - it is a fun job (you are guaranteed to never be bored) and there are plenty of opportunities to make good money. Another point in favour of choosing teaching English as a long-term career is that there are a lot of options to transition to from teaching per se to other areas within the TEFL industry: you can become a DOS, open your own language school, move into materials creation and...
Tools for your online classroom
Keeping students engaged is always important, whether we are working online or working in a traditional classroom. I believe that managing an online classroom requires several tools. In this article I will discuss some of the key points in designing your very own online classroom. Like any other classroom, you need to think about who you will be teaching. If it is children, then you will need to think about bright colours, characters, topics that will interest them. Teenagers, don’t want to be treated like children, you will need to bring a certain level of sophistication to your style, and of course adults who appreciate some serious and some more fun material as well. I am not going to specifically address IT or platforms in this article, for those of you wanting to know more about...
Rethinking ELT's Environmental Impact
Globalisation has resulted in many good things. To list just a few examples, it has eradicated diseases that used to be endemic, with most of the world’s human population enjoying rising standards of living and longer life expectancy than any generation before. Globalisation has also resulted in wonderful technological developments, giving us instant access to vast amounts of information. We can communicate in real time with people on the other side of the world, and can travel around it faster and more comfortably than our ancestors could ever have imagined. The spread of English and English language teaching (ELT) has gone hand in hand with these processes, and like globalisation...
Latest TEFL Blog Posts
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Teaching English after lockdown, exploring our options in a changing world
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Lemmings Online: The Great Leap Forward
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Online Teaching: Is the genie out of the bottle?
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TEFLING UNDER LOCKDOWN - TEACHING IN ISOLATION
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Working as a Summer School Director of Studies
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Summer School: Teaching between the Lines
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Uncertainty continues to overshadow China teaching
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Midsummer Madness - The realities of working at Summer Camp
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Return from Wuhan: One teacher's experience of China's coronavirus outbreak
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Online Teaching: The Digital Nomad
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Classroom to corporate - A giant leap?
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Teaching English: Is it really a long-term career?
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Getting to grips with your 2020 job search
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Discrimination and the Non-Native Teacher - An Insider's View
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Tools for your online classroom
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TEFL vs TESL vs TESOL - The pros and cons
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Rethinking ELT's Environmental Impact
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The LGBTQIA+ teacher abroad: Back to School, open your closet?
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Marketing yourself as an Online Teacher
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Language Teaching - the soft skills bonus
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Not over the hill at 70 - The benefits the older teacher can bring to the language class
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The Interview. Techniques for the ESL Teacher
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20 Things New TEFL Teachers Should Know
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CELTA, DELTA, MA? When is the best career moment for extra qualifications?
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Work-Life Balance in TEFL
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Are native teachers better? Non-native teachers and self-esteem
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Couples teaching abroad - is it possible?
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Transitioning from the in-person to the online classroom
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The LGBTQIA+ Teacher Abroad: Doing your research
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The Flexible ESL Teacher - Teaching to Students' Interests
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How Summer Teaching will help your Teaching Career
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The Surge to Online Teaching
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Handling Student Complaints
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Wandering Blindly into my Teaching Career - An American in Spain
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Freelance Teaching.. Is there an easy route?
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