Job Discussion Forums

[Schmeichs]

I've been looking to start my TEFL career for a little while now, I'm still trying to figure out the best place to get my TEFL cert., but in the meantime I can't help but think, am I going to suck at this??

Everytime I contact a potential TEFL course provider they always say anyone can teach TEFL, so long as you're a native English speaker. But I just don't buy it, I mean not EVERYONE can be good at this, right? I wonder if they just tell this to everyone so they can get our $$?

I have a 4-year BA in Broadcast Journalism, I'm a young (23), white female, and sure I've been speaking English my whole life, but I'm not so sure I could really explain why we say the things we say (we just do, right ?!). I've never taught a class in my life, but I am a very confident speaker and presenter. I am very interested in traveling and being immersed in several cultures and I thought this would be a good medium to do so. But with no previous teaching experience, is a 4-week course all I need? Will it adaquately prepare me?

For those of you who've got a lot of experience teaching TEFL, I'd love any advice and personal stories about how you started, if you had any previous experience or if you just dove in head first? Also, if you got a TEFL cert., how much did the course help you? Did it turn you into a teacher in 4 weeks? And how have you since adapted to teaching abroad?

Also, I worry about being a young, white, female in a lot of locations, safety wise, so any ladies out there with advice about good, safe locations where I don't have to worry too much about traveling alone, I'd appreciate that too!

Thanks everyone for your help and advice!

[Roger]

I wholeheartedly agree with you and your scepticism. The idea that native speakers have an innate lead over non-natives is ludicrous and clannish if not downright darwinist, and certainly not shared by professionals teaching one of the world's many other languages.
Someone who has mastered a second language is more likely to have the intuition and competence necessary to guide other learners to the vast territory of the English language. Bilingual teachers can better relate to the students' needs. Having studied a second tongue enables youto realistically judge your students' ability to absorb and to grow in their target language. You know what a teacher can do, and how much a student can or even must do in order to succeed.
Also, bilingual teachers tend to be more competent in their mother tongue as they learn to understand how language works by understanding how speakers of other languages communicate.
It should be a conditio sine qua non for English teachers to first acquire a sound basis in another language before teaching others.

[denise]

In terms of the requirements for jobs in some schools/countries, yes, just about anyone can do this job. In terms of actual teaching skill, no. There were a few people on my TEFL course who just couldn't seem to get over the jitters, plan an organized lesson (I recall a 30-or-so minute warm-up activity in a 40-minute lesson), etc. And then there were a few people who, after successfully passing the course, got homesick, realized they didn't like teaching, etc., and left after a couple of months. It's good that you're asking such questions--they show that you're aware that it's not always the exotic little adventure that people sometimes think it is. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if you're going to suck at it is to give it a try. If you enjoy public speaking, want to experience a new culture, and are willing to work at becoming a good teacher, I'd say you will do just fine.

I had no teaching experience before I did my TEFL course. I was also terribly shy. I spent about two years doing public speaking through Toastmasters to conquer my shyness. That plus the TEFL course did adequately prepare me to start teaching.

A four-week course will not allow you to master the art/skill of teaching. What it will do is enable you to get your foot in the door. It will qualify you for many jobs and it will prepare you for many situations. Beyond that, experience and further education and training will help you hone your skills if you choose to make a long-term run of it.

Oh, and I was a young (23) white single female when I started. I spent two years in Prague, and now I am in Japan. Both places are safe enough for single women.

d

[vochinch]

First, I would suggest that you find volunteer work at a local community center, assuming you have time before you leave. They frequently have positions available for assistant teachers, which would give you some idea of what it's like in the front of the classroom. I am currently a volunteer at a Korean-American adult ed program and teach ESL to various levels a few times a week. I have also taught several classes here on my own as a substitute. It's great experience that will give you at least some idea of whether you will "suck at this".
As far as a 4-week tefl course preparing you to teach overseas, I wouldn't bet the farm on it. I took a 3-month training program in the peace corps that did next to nothing to prepare me for the classroom. I learned the most from my fellow teachers and from face time in front of the students. Hope this helps.

[tom selleck]

The fact that you've taken the tommyrot with a degree of skepticism shows you'll probably do well. Your credentials sound great! I heard an experienced teacher offer this advice to a newby on the newby forum: to speak more clearly and slowly than you've ever spoken in your llfe.
Great advice, if you remember to use it.

When learners start to acquire L2, it's often too embarassing to continually say, "I don't understand, Can you say that again, but more slowly please?"

Time and time again, I've seen so-called experienced teachers talking in a rat-a-tat fashion, that even a native speaker would find himself asking, "What did you say?". How these teachers expect their charges to absorb the teacher's speech is beyond me.

Get accustomed to repeating yourself. "You know the bus. The big, blue bus."

Think of yourself as a salesman, not just a teacher. A salesman won't close the sale unless the prospect understands and agrees with the marketer's points.

You're not just teaching the English language, you're selling it. I always start my intermediate and higher classes with asking students to tell me why English is important. Later, when I encounter behavioural problems, I can say, "Xiao Zhang, you told me yourself English is important to get a job, right?"

[mandu]

when i 1st started teaching i was not very good and i started in 1999.the more you teach the better you get and the more ideas you get.
i dont have a tefl cert.

as long as you do your best you cant go wrong.

[Deconstructor]

[Deconstructor]