Oxford TEFL Teacher Training & Development Blog

A new year has begun, so perhaps now’s the time to jump into a new field of teaching: teaching online.

There are a plethora of websites which offer teachers the opportunity to make additional income teaching online, something which could provide an interesting alternative income stream for experienced teachers. And that’s always welcome in these tough economic times.

Did you know that Oxford TEFL offers a range of teacher development courses you can take online? Click here for more details.

Websites for teaching English online

I have taken a look at three websites that claim to offer teachers the opportunity to make bundles of cash without leaving their own home. Please note that in no way do I recommend or endorse any of the sites mentioned in this article.

LanguageSpirit.com

“Earn $1500 – $15,000+ Monthly”, and all “From the Comfort of Your Own Home!”. Apparently, being an online English teacher is “one of the hottest, highest paying jobs today!”. Wow! The only requirements they ask for is that their teachers are native speakers of English, and have an “interest in teaching English online”. Teachers are asked to choose between “Kids”, “Teens” and “Adults”. For some reason, it isn’t possible to choose all three.

The same limitation is presented for level – “beginner”, “intermediate”, or “advanced”. LanguageSpirit also limit the type of course their teachers can offer (speaking, writing, telephone English, etc.), to a maximum of four.

Once registered, Language Spirit provides “a fully interactive video and audio real-time online language learning platform”. Best of all, the site ” requires no enrollment fee, monthly fee, or textbook fee from either learners or trainers.” How, then, do they make their money? From advertisements which appear on the learning platform.

Verbal Planet

The site seems slightly more professional than Language Spirit, and offers teachers a place in an attractive “marketplace”, where they can offer their Skype-based lessons.

It’s important to keep in mind that this website, and many like it, acts solely as an intermediary between the teacher and the student, taking a “booking fee” from the student for each lesson arranged. Despite a statement on the application form that the website has “quality control procedures to ensure that only sufficiently qualified language teachers are listed”, it turns out that the website does not accept responsibility “for checking the validity of any individual registered tutor’s qualifications or background.” In other words, qualifications are self-declared, and not checked. From the teacher’s perspective, it’s important to note that the website will not get involved in disputes about payment or quality. In fact, all they really do is provide a platform to promote your services; but that’s no bad thing. One useful aspect of the site is that prices are fairly transparent, so it’s not difficult to set your price, based on what other teachers are charging (although there are discount schemes, which muddy the waters a bit).

English Income

This site looks like it was put together in an afternoon back in 1995. It’s difficult to work out exactly how this site operates, partly because the site owners “don’t believe in contracts or other ‘traps’”. They do offer “a unique virtual classroom”, and—interestingly—record all lessons “to ensure the highest teaching standards”, and so that teachers can play back the lesson as a means of developing their skills. One wonders who owns the rights to these recordings, though.

Read more

If you are interested in teaching online, there’s an excellent article on the teachingenglish website, which discusses what online teaching is (and isn’t), and gives some great advice for teachers and schools thinking about getting their feet wet.

Job o’ the Month

Regina

Work for the Mouse

Do you want to keep the kid in you alive even as an adult… then this job is for you!

Disney English Foreign Trainer

Develop your career in ELT with a TEFL Diploma at Oxford TEFL

We are all very proud of Oxford TEFL Cadiz tutor, Ceri Jones, whose blog, Close Up, has been nominated in the category Best Individual Blog at the 2011 Edublog Awards.

In her own words, Ceri’s blog is

“…a way to stay in touch, stay in tune, process random thoughts and reactions and stay in love – with teaching, learning and language… looking at “the little things”, hoping that every now and then the bigger picture shines through.”

You can vote for Ceri here.

Send us a photo and description of your best CertTESOL experience (in or out of the OxfordTEFL center) and get the chance to win a free online teacher development course that’s worth 225€ (Blended Learning)

Deadline: October 31^st, 2012

The winner will be chosen on Nov 1^st, 2012 and will be able to start the Blended Learning course when it best suits them, before the end of 2012.

Get a free online teacher development course worth 225€ just by recommending us!
Recommend a friend to sign up for one of our CertTESOL courses during 2011 or 2012 in any of our centers. When they fill out their application, have them specify your name and mention the name of the promotion (“Oxford TEFL opens doors in the TEFL world”) in the part of the application labelled How did you find out about the courses at Oxford TEFL? Once they’ve made full payment for the course we will notify you so that you can let us know the course you’d be interested in doing for free! You’ll be able to choose from the following 4 courses:

• Teaching Business English
• Teaching Young Learners
• Teaching Pronunciation
• Blended Learning

A nice video by Anthony Gaughan. He argues that paper-based lessons planning appeals to our need to feel secure, rather than actually making us any more secure. He also calls for teachers and trainers to focus more on preparing for opportunities, rather than potential problems. Interesting take on the issue. However, I feel paper-based lesson planning provides trainees with a structure to think through the coming lesson. Of course, their focus shouldn’t be just on problems, but this should certainly come into the planning process.

Country Information

The Czech Republic is a small country in central Europe (and the Czechs prefer “central” as a description to “eastern”) sharing borders with Germany to the west, Poland to the north and Slovakia and Austria to the south. It is famous for its beer and the fascinating capital city Prague, a major centre of culture, business and tourism. However, there is plenty more to discover: mountains and rivers, beautiful countryside, medieval castles and spa towns, vineyards, weird rock formations …

The Czechs are sometimes perceived by foreigners as a little reserved at first, and service with a smile is not always guaranteed. However, beyond that initial reserve they are friendly and hospitable, and keen to interact with foreigners. As well as beer and sausages, sports and outdoor activities are very popular, especially volley ball, hockey, skiing, hiking, cycling, swimming and canoeing.

TEACHING ENGLISH

There is a well-established TEFL market. Most foreigners choose to work in Prague for a wide range of employers from large private schools who will help with visa applications and accommodation to one-person agencies who pay cash, and everything in between. There is a lot of work for those wishing to teach young learners, students and others requiring general English, but the majority of work is in-company and, as with most other places, this means your timetable is likely to include early morning and evening classes, often with little in between, and require you to travel around a bit.

There is a general preference for native speaker teachers, so non-native speakers have to be a bit more determined to find work. Teaching a language other than English can be a way in, then making sure everyone knows you are willing to teach English as well – be prepared to do last minute substitutions and wow the students until your employer finally realises that you are much better than most so-called ‘native speakers’!

Another option is to teach in a state school. These jobs are a little harder to come by. They require a BA in English or Applied Linguistics and applications need to be received before the end of April. It is not unusual to be working in tandem with a Czech teacher e.g. he or she may teach grammar while you focus on speaking and other skills.

In smaller towns and cities free or subsidised accommodation, travel, Czech lessons and other assistance is often provided. The smaller the town, the less likely you are to able to get by on English alone (and the more likely you are to learn Czech!).

Czech students tend to be motivated, like a bit of a challenge and have a good (occasionally somewhat dark) sense of humour and fun. Many teachers socialise with and become friends with their students and other locals.

HOURS AND PAY

New teachers can get a full timetable, especially if they work for one of the larger schools, but it is also common to have a few hours at one school, a few at another and so on. Try to keep the number of employers low, so you don’t drown in paperwork. Pay in Prague is around 200 – 250 Czech koruna (see www.xe.com for current exchange rates) per hour. By ‘hour’, I mean 60 minutes; often the unit quoted is 45 minutes or 90 minutes, so when you have a job interview, make sure it’s spelled out exactly what rate you’re getting. Typically you’ll earn around 15-20,000 CZK a month which, after rent (probably around 7000 for a shared flat at the time of writing) and tax (around 25%), does not leave you a whole lot of disposable income – enough to live reasonably comfortably, especially if you like beer which is high quality and very cheap, and to go on an occasional trip. If you are entrepreneurially minded and prepared to put yourself about a bit, you can pick up private classes and other work to supplement your income. Work like writing and proof-reading can be quite lucrative.

Outside Prague pay is lower, but so is the cost of living. Also, you are more likely to be housed, fed, driven around, clasped to the bosom of the family and so on. It is not unusual for teachers to be relatively better off on a lower salary outside Prague.

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation is not usually difficult to find, but the initial outlay can be substantial, especially if you find it through an agency who will require a fee in addition to the usual one month’s security deposit and one month’s rent in advance. Places outside the main tourist centres will typically provide accommodation, and some schools in the major cities (Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Plzen, Liberec, Olomouc and Hradec Kralove) will also go to some lengths to help you.

BEST TIMES TO LOOK FOR WORK

September and January are the main hiring times. Large schools start recruiting as early as April for September. There is something of a hiatus in August, but less so than in many other European countries, and there are jobs in summer camps. There is a fairly high turnover of teachers and, in Prague at least, it is usually possible to find a job at almost any time of year.

RED TAPE

Established schools help with work and residence permits. There are a lot of teachers in Prague so to some extent this affects how far the employer is willing to go to help you out, but there is also competition for the best new prospects, so it’s worth shopping around a bit if you’re lucky enough to be coveted by several schools. Similarly, schools outside the capital may be willing to work harder on your behalf simply because their need is greater.

Getting legal is easiest for EU citizens, and next easiest, in approximate order, for US, Canadian and Australian nationals. The process is bureaucratic and usually requires you to supply your birth certificate, an original copy of your qualifications, criminal registry extract and other documentation. It is relatively straightforward for EU citizens. For non-EU citizens the most reliable route is to secure employment with a school which will guide you through the process. Established schools will have staff and procedures in place for this. In the first week of the course, we include a presentation on how to obtain a visa and the possibility of professional consultation.

At present, due to the economic climate, applying for a business license is not recommended as the Czech government is reluctant to grant them.

America jobs websites

Here are some useful links for finding jobs in America. There are job search sites and teaching organisations.  One way to find work in a particular destination is to search as if you were a student and then contact schools directly enclosing your CV.

http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=420&DID=2248

This is an organization of TESOL and you can find links to schools and organization in destinations all over North America

http://www.eslemployment.com/esl-jobs/north-america/

This is an international job search site with jobs advertised in North America.

http://www.aaiep.org/

This is an organisation that teaches English and you can contact them to see if they need teachers even if not advertising.

www.tefl.com

This is an international job search site and has some jobs in north America

New York

Check out NYs own tesol page:

http://www.nystesol.org/

http://www.eslmarketing.com/ESL_Schools_NYC.htm

Craigslist

http://newyork.craigslist.org/edu

ESL Employment:

http://www.eslemployment.com/job-seekers/job-search2.php?JobCategory=Other&sm=and&kw=&state=New+York&country=219&submit=Search&in=web

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-english+teacher/l-new+york,+ny

Los Angeles

List of schools:

http://www.esl-guide.com/dir/california-los-angeles

http://www.englishinusa.com/California.html

Might be helpful:

http://esl.adultinstruction.org

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-esl+instructor+part-time/l-los+angeles,+ca

Graduate Comment 

Hello  Oxford - this is Melissa and I am in Buffalo, New York.

As noted below – some students have questions about applying to community colleges and language schools upon return to the USA.   I currently teach TESOL at the English Language Institute at the University at Buffalo.

How did I get the job?  I just simply applied.   I returned to the States last year around this time.   I sent in my cover letter and resume to the Institute.

I made sure to highlight my overseas experience – 1. Completion of Oxford/Trinity course to teach TESOL and my year of teaching ESL in Barcelona.    I also mentioned the study abroad programs I completed.   In your cover letter – be sure to stress/highlight your travel experiences, cultural sensitivity and your teaching experience.

It turned out that the Institute was looking for an ESL Instructor – and I was hired.  So my advice is – just send out your cover letter and resume.  After a few days – call the contact person to see if they received it – then ask if “any action has been taken on my cover letter and resume”.  This question almost “forces them” to take a look at your paperwork. Good luck!  If anyone has any questions, I am here to help. My email is Never127@aol.com.

The employment situation can be quite uncertain for newcomers to Greece and therefore many people choose to try teaching English as a foreign language, on a full or part-time basis. It can bring in a good income whether it is your preferred career choice, or you wish to do it short-term until another career choice pans out.

Qualifications and Experience

There are many language schools or frontistiria in Athens and all over Greece, to which you could apply for work. In order to get a job in one of these schools, it is still not strictly necessary to have a formal teaching qualification such as TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Often all that is required is a university degree (in any subject) from a UK or US university. That said, if you are uncertain about your ability to teach English and want to ensure that you start off in this line of work with the necessary skills, a course would be useful. It would provide you with some teaching theory, knowledge of English grammar (let’s face it, many of us have never formally studied English grammar in any great depth, even though we speak and write English everyday) and give you some valuable experience of teaching in a classroom, since this is included in most courses. When applying for jobs, you will find vacancies that specify that previous teaching experience is required and others for which no experience is necessary.

It does not matter if you do not speak a lot of Greek. Native English speakers are often valued for other reasons such as having what is seen as a “proper” accent. Many people also swear by the approach of not speaking your students’ language, so that they hear only English being spoken for the duration of the lesson. You will find ways to make yourself understood. In my experience of language teaching, it can even be counter-productive if your students know that you speak their language well, because they may be too easily tempted to speak to you in Greek when they find it hard going.

Finding work

Teaching English as a foreign language jobs are widely advertised in newspapers and on the Internet all year round and most often from August to October. As well as applying before in Greece, you can also go to door-to-door around the frontistiria with your CV, again in the August to October period. If you are visiting them in person, it is not recommended that you spend time doing this any earlier than August because the schools often do not consider their recruitment needs much before the beginning of the academic year.

Pay and working conditions

Pay and conditions offered by language schools will vary enormously, so it is important to check these out in detail first before accepting a contract. If time is on your side, it may be worth speaking to several schools rather than taking the first job you are offered. Also, if you work in a frontistirio it is quite likely that you will be working mainly in the afternoons and evenings, since this is when children and adults are free to take their lessons.

Making some extra money

Many people who teach English as a foreign language in a school, also do private English on the side and this can become a lucrative activity in itself. Working in a language school for a few months is a good way to meet students and advertise the fact that you do private English lessons, on a one-to-one basis. It can be difficult to get the first few, but then through word of mouth, you’ll get more if you do a good job – that great social network of mums and dads on the school run can work wonders! The University of Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) exam system seems to be the most widely known and respected in Greece, many people who want to be taught privately are preparing to sit a Cambridge exam or some other type of test. It is worth familiarising yourself with the system – there is an enormous amount of free information on the Internet, including lesson plans, tips, exam practice etc. The exams which are most commonly sat by students are the “First Certificate in English” (which many people still refer to by its old name: “Lower”), “Certificate of Proficiency in English” (known as “Proficiency”), and “Certificate in Advanced English” (commonly referred to as “Advanced”). More information is available from the Cambridge ESOL web site (www.cambridgeesol.org).

What private students will want from you varies a great deal. Some may just want a conversation class, others may just be starting on the Cambridge examinations path and there will be some who are already at a very high level and may need detailed coaching on specific grammar points or on vocabulary for a particular purpose e.g. business English. And given these differences, the amount of preparation required on your part and the fee per hour you are able to charge will probably vary too. I will finish with a word on advertising. My experience has been that I have paid out money for two newspaper ads, which got back zero replies! What has worked well for me is local advertising – you need to use your imagination. I put a card in local shops and a small notice in the back window of my car and you can see people reading it at every traffic light! Just beware of getting calls on your mobile phone while you’re driving – not good! As I said before, word of mouth should kick in too once you have your first couple of lessons.

Schools in Greece

http://www.eslbase.com/schools/greece

Other information 

http://www.anglo-hellenic.com/vacancies/vacanciesindex.htm

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0201/eslteachinggreece.shtml

http://www.eslbase.com/advice/greece.asp

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-jobs/greece.html

http://www.eslemployment.com/esl-articles/teach-english-in-greece.htm

 Others 

http://www.teachabroad.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/3753  

Graduate Comment

The best way to find work in Greece is through an agent. The only one I recommend is “Cambridge Teachers Recruitment” – details are on tefl.com. The guy running it does interviews every year in London and Athens, and most contracts are from October to May. Most of the jobs are for islands and cities/towns except Athens and Thessaloniki (the 2 biggest cities). Usually the only way to get jobs in these cities is to go door-to-door with a resume around September, as most schools don’t advertise and won’t consider teachers who they haven’t seen in person.

Karen

G’day! Teaching Down Under by Christopher Lotinga

When I came back to Australia with my Oxford House Trinity CertTESOL back in 2004 I had a plan. I was confident, eager and ready to teach somewhere, anywhere, out in the big wide world and I did at first, scoring a job with EF (Education First) in Indonesia. At the end of my contract I came home to sunny Brisbane, Queensland, to take a quick breather before setting off for another exotic destination. I was in the process of searching for my next overseas job when I noticed that an EF school had opened in my suburb.  I popped in to see them, showed them my Trinity CertTESOL and started work soon after.

Australia really is a wonderful place to work; the weather is amazing and it has some of the most stunning destinations in the world. It also has one of the best regulated TESOL industries in the world, divided into separate Private and State sectors. The Private (ELICOS) sector is dominated by almost 200 language schools. Also many Australian universities have their own ELICOS departments. Add to this the climate and laid-back lifestyle – and you have a very appealing combination.

The schools are well organized and the people are really helpful. Teaching contracts can be 1 year, you can get p/t contracts for a couple of months at a time or be employed on a casual basis – you have to ask each individual school. To get a good job, however, you need a decent qualification. I found my Trinity CertTESOL invaluable in helping me to get a job with EF, as it is highly regarded here. CELTA and TESOL qualifications are the most recognized qualifications in the Private ELICOS sector, while TESOL degrees and diplomas (from an Australian university) are particularly relevant in the State sector.

Class sizes vary with each school, but we mainly teach Asian students from Japan, South Korea and China during the winter months and summer sees an influx of Europeans and South Americans. In fact Australia and New Zealand has become the main destination for Asian students willing to learn English.

So what are you waiting for? Slip on some sunscreen, slap on a hat and chuck another prawn on the barbie!

I asked the teachers at Oxford House to share their favourite Online resources. The list below has been split into three categories to make it easier to navigate. Please add your own favourite websites below. Try to include a brief description, thanks!

Websites for teaching kids

http://www.cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com - a large compliation iof websites for kids and teens of all levels.

http://www.bogglesworld.com - great flash cards.

http://dltk-kids.com printable activities.

http://kizclub.com

http://english-4kids.com

Websites for teaching teens

http://xtranormal.com - create your own animations to perform dialogues. Make sure to create your own account before using this in a lesson. Be aware there is a limited number of videos each free account can create.

http://www.stripgenerator.com  – create your own cartoon strips.

Websites for teaching adults

http://www.ted.com - for video. Wide range of interesting talks with subtitles. Good for higher levels.

http://www.elpais.com/misc/herald/herald.pdf - English verson of the Spanish newspaper El Pais, PDF format.

www.breakingnewsenglish.com 

www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/