Discrimination and the Non-Native Teacher - An Insider's View

Everybody has heard of or even experienced some form of discrimination in their life be it racial, gender, age, sexual orientation, or any other type of discrimination. The world has been fighting discrimination for centuries, but despite the struggle for equal rights in our day and age, we still come across instances of discrimination.

In the TEFL industry, one possible reason for discrimination is the native language and the nationality of a teacher. If you were lucky enough to have been born in an English-speaking country, it seems all doors are wide open to you as an English teacher. You can get any job you like anywhere in the world and sometimes...

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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...

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20 Things New TEFL Teachers Should Know

Let’s begin by saying this is a wonderful career that will take you into new cultures, open your mind to new ways of doing things and new world views that even the adventurous traveler will not experience. You will become part of the school’s and the wider community’s social network if you wish to.  You will affect lives.  

I will tell you some hard learnt lessons which I consider to be ‘must dos’ in order to make life great in and out of the classroom in a foreign country.  I have broken down the advice into four sections: before you leave; upon arrival;workplace basics; and a tip for new ESL journeymen...

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Work-Life Balance in TEFL

It's hard to disagree that everything works best in equilibrium. The growing popularity of ideas such as slow living, mindfulness and hygge suggests that the world has finally woken up to the fact that one needs more in life than work. According to Alex Clark, a researcher from Edmond University in Canada “We need to stop seeing hobbies and work as zero-sum games”, a view that is supported by the findings of  the Corporate Executive Board in the USA, which show that “Employees who believe that they have a good work life balance are 21% more productive”. Clearly, achieving equilibrium between work and private life ought to be win-win for everyone. For a teacher this means having the energy and motivation to work, getting new ideas and being full of enthusiasm in class. This in turn gives students...

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Couples teaching abroad - is it possible?

Are you and your significant other both qualified teachers? Are you looking for a job abroad? Are you wondering whether it is a good idea to apply for jobs together? Read on and you will find the answers to your questions. When it comes to teaching abroad there are actually more advantages than disadvantages to working together. Let’s have a closer look at some of them...

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