Job Discussion Forums

[seanaway]

Hi All

My name's John and I've been involved in TEFL for the best part of 20 years (GULP!).

One of my earliest memories of TEFL was the annual migration back home for the 6-8 week stint teaching kids at various locations throughout Britain and Ireland.

Now I know it was fun most of the time but I hated packing everything up and heading away when what I would really have loved to do was say 'Well, that's another year's teaching done, time to relax on the beach!' and then do just that!!!

So, I've been spending some time lately looking at alternatives for TEFL teachers who feel they deserve an easier summer than the 'pack and go, only to pack and come back in three months' routine.

What I'd like to know is: Are there other teachers out there who feel the same and would like an option not to have to teach over the summer months?

Please take part in the poll and let me know if this is something worth reaching for.

If you'd like to know more, please email me at the address below. I'll reply in the near future to anyone interested .
I can be reached at
[email protected]

Looking forward to seeing if I'm just the odd one out.

[Chris_Crossley]

One alternative I would really like would be to study a foreign language where the foreign language is spoken for a few weeks. I have done Open University summer residential schools in French in France (two) and in German in Germany (one), but they were an integral (and compulsory) part of the courses in question.

Having said that, I have seen brochures (both online and in print) of private language schools that have headquarters in the U.K. but have connections with schools in France, Germany and a whole host of other countries. I will say that the one language I'd love to learn is Russian, so learning Russian would be the ideal excuse for me to spend two weeks to a month in Russia in the summer months! That, though, is just an example, as I could do more advanced French and German courses.

This year, though, such an adventure is not an option for me. Next year, perhaps. I could even encourage my Chinese wife to go for such a thing herself, with her starting French or German from scratch, say, provided that we have the money to afford such a holiday!

[seanaway]

I take it you will have to work this summer then? Same old problem for most EFL teachers. Hopefully, if the interest is there, I will be able to offer some help to teachers in the near future. Too late for this summer I know!

[Chris_Crossley]

I am seriously thinking of having a month's holiday and not having to earn a single jiao if it means that I can actually relax for a change, though I think that my wife would have something to say about this!

Further to my previous post, I believe that we are, for the purposes of this topic, supposed to be focusing on how to get an income during the summer months as opposed to spending whatever meagre resources we have remaining after our year of purgatory/hell (or even pleasant enough teaching!), so long as we do have at least a month away from our schools if they observe the traditional summer break (unlike private language mills which are open all year round except during national holidays).

If any expats are fortunate enough to be reasonably fluent in their Chinese, I guess that they could make some money doing something other than teaching English or their mother tongue (or any language that they themselves had learned as a second or foreign language).

A friend of my Chinese wife has opened some kind of cultural centre (as she calls it) with the idea that expats living in Wuhan can learn more about Chinese culture, including things like the language and calligraphy.

Maybe there can be a reciprocal kind of opportunity where enterprising expats can open some Western cultural centre, so that Chinese people can learn more about the cultures of the countries from which the expats come, including lectures, talks, presentations, shows, the screening of films rarely seen in the cinema or on Chinese television, and so on.

It could be open to all locals who might be curious to see some aspects of life outside China without necessarily being a student or in any classroom environment. If such a temporary venture turns out to be successful, one could view it as a business opportunity in the long-term!

[seanaway]

I like the idea! The problem is that for most teachers it would be a long term commitment to the location they are in now. Of course, if someone is settled where they are, no problem. As you say, it might even turn into a good long term investment and provide a nice retirement. I'm hoping to offer something flexible for teachers who want to stay or go at will;wherever they may be in the world. Capital for premises is something most teachers never build. (or maybe I just had the wrong jobs all these years )

[ls650]

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[moot point]

You are really advertising this little poll in other threads, but I can't figure out your point.

Perhaps you should have asked us how many of us seek a secondary income during the summer months? I surely don't, nor do most teachers I know in Japan. We're happy to have the holidays (in most cases paid) and use them to spend time with our family or pick a piece of the world to explore for a month or two.

[seanaway]

Good point. The reason I mentioned summer is because of the time of year and I thought it seasonal enough to get attention. In reality, I'm talking about a year round second income. It would be up to the teacher whether they want it as a stop gap or a long term souce. (And before anyone asks- No, it isn't Multi Level Marketing)
Look at it this way. the most any of us can make is the hourly rate multiplied by the maximum number of hours we can teach. That caps our income at X. I've done this long enough to know that the more you move around, the harder it is to:
a) Keep money aside and
b) Ensure there is a pension for later.

So I thought I'd look into what skills teachers employ in teaching, characteristics of a good teacher, and what it is about EFL that keeps us in it.
Once I'd looked at this I then started searching for areas where these factors would give teachers an edge.
Next step was to find how interested teachers would be in all of this. So here I am!!
If there's enough interest I'll send info to anyone who emails me .
Any takers??

[Gordon]

Sean,
What are you selling anyways? Don't be so cryptic.

[seanaway]

Ah! I was wondering when someone would get around to that question. At the moment - nothing is the honest answer. I've found a couple of ways of making life easier for myself and I'm tinkering with them to see how well I could adapt them for everyone in TEFL.

I know it sounds a bit cryptic but it isn't really. I just don't want to put a huge effort into building something that no-one has any interest in.

After all, how many of us would design a course for a group that hasn't confirmed they'll be taking lessons?

After this many years in TEFL I know too well the effort teachers put in and, in many cases, the not so great financial reward they get out. I honestly believe people do it because it's what they love. I have never woken thinking,'Oh no! not another day teaching!' , and that's worth anything. But, that feeling just won't pay the rent.
So how to have the feeling AND the money to really enjoy the teaching?
That's what I've been working on.

[moot point]

Still cryptic, mate. I think it is time to get to the point.

[Gordon]

[seanaway]

Let me put it another way. This is market research. I'm not going to list everything I have in mind
a) because I haven't decided exactly what to put up yet
and
b) because it wouldn't make sense to give away ideas developed through a lot of hard work. I've made more than one school owner a pretty penny with my ideas before now. I think it's only fair that I, and other teachers, get a fair slice of the pie.

I'm glad there is so much scepticism on this because it reflects my own experience and gives me more reason to persevere.

[Will.]

keep at it mate and keep it under YOUR hat. there are plenty of scoundrels who will "help" you but by the time you have been "helped" it is patented under their name.
Post it when your ready we will all be grateful.