Tag: TEFL

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Learn

Language Learning is Really Underrated!!!

Soo….

You speak a language, just the 1, makes sense. Why bother with another language?

I mean seriously, with all of the technology out now, who needs to speak more than their mother tongue. I could point my phone camera at a sign and it would translate it for me. I could even leave my phone on a table and it would translate, aloud, what someone is saying to me. Brilliant.

Sure, that may be true and be enough for holidays, but with more and more people travelling, personally or for work, and even emigrating, the world is becoming a much smaller place.

Let me add a local point, especially for those with the English mother tongue. How many more jobs could you get if you spoke a second language, even at a basic conversation level. I would be willing to bet it doubles, yes DOUBLES.

“But that’s absurd” I hear you cry. …Why?

How many times have you been at an interview and not got the job despite having the exact same skills as everyone else. It comes down to personality and other “irrelevant” skills at that point. A language will be right at the top of the list even if there is no need for one.

…Why?

It shows you not only have a very difficult skill to attain but have a more extroverted personality with, being able to speak to people who don’t know your mother language, or perhaps struggle with it. You would be a perfect fit for any “human” based companies where you talk to clients or even internal staff members as someone who understands and has an interest in other people and cultures. It would put you in good standing as a leader or manager and not just “another grunt”.

Now, that might not be true for you, but that’s what it looks like on a CV, …just saying…

Anyway, on the more advanced side, a language shows that you have a very adaptive mind.

Languages are stranger than you think. There is plenty of research that shows how drastically your brain chemistry alters in comparison to a monolingual. You form new connection to the same ideas you already hold.

As a side note, what do I mean by ideas?

If I said the word "Book", you instantly know what I mean, but  why? The word has an association in your brain to your senses. That's why you get a feeling of nostalgia when you see or smell certain things. An old book smell could bring back a time of reading as a child or seeing a pebble reminds you of a holiday, these examples are more drastic associations of the idea you have of that specific thing, but back to words. Standard words like: dog, book, ocean, tree, will likely instantly give an image in your mind, not necessarily clear but you have a significant understanding of what it means.

That is where languages make things really interesting….

Take someone who speaks a Germanic language, such a English, and an Asian language, like Japanese. The way these languages function are so drastically different that your brain literally works differently when thinking in 1 language to another. This is down to the different pathways formed within your brain to be able to link different ideas in your mind.

Example:

English: I went shopping yesterday.

Japanese: 私は昨日買い物に行ってきまし

Romaji : Watashi wa kino kaimono ni ittekimashita.

The Japanese literal translation would be along the lines of:

I yesterday shopping went. With shopp’ing‘ and ‘went‘ being muddled together at the end. Logically, Japanese is a ‘simple-ish’ language to grasp, with specific rules for each thing.

to go (present/future)

(行きます)ikimasu

to do

(します)shimasu

not go (negative)

(行きません)ikimasen

not do

(しません) shimasen

went (past)

(行きました)ikimashita

did

(しました)shimashita

These are just some examples, how logical it is despite being complex. Basically, each word is the same, but a different ending changes the tense.

The syntax of the Germanic languages works completely differently to the Asian languages. The ideas people have in the mind for each word will be similar, but how they are connected to each other will be different.

This leads to a different way of thinking, and potentially, even a different personality depending on the language you use at that time.

This means that problems could be solved much more efficiently by a multilingual due to their brains being able to match similar ideas in different ways.

Think outside of your language limited box.

2 Languages means “3” times the amount of people

What?….How?……

Now, obviously this number is subjective. Logically, if you speak 1 language you can speak to anyone who speaks your mother tongue, yes? Therefore, speaking 2 languages means you can speak to twice the amount of people right, everyone who speaks either of the two languages you can, your mother tongue and their’s, following me?

Well, what about other multilinguals. Around 70% of the global populous are some degree of multilingual.

Hypothetically, let’s say you can speak English and Japanese. You can speak to someone who speaks either English or Japanese, yes? Including those who speak different combinations of languages. You can’t just converse with English and Japanese people, you could speak to anyone who knows either language, follow? What if you met a person from Brazil who speaks Portuguese and Japanese. This may seem fairly obvious but expand it a little more. You and your new friend become a translator for anyone who speaks English or Portuguese too, by using your common language, Japanese.

Now this might sound a little drastic but it goes to show just how wide your world can grow by simply knowing another language.

Sure, languages are hard at first, but once you understand the logic behind them you can progress faster and faster as you are able to use it more and more. Watching movies, talking to new people, playing games. Not only do they allow you to do these things in other languages but expand the amount you can do; new games, new shows, new people.

The world is a much smaller place and it is getting smaller. You are far more likely to meet someone who doesn’t speak your language than ever before with everyone being able to explore everywhere.

Or are you?…..

With around 65%-75% of the global population being multilingual, monolinguals are a “dying breed”, you could even argue inferior, if you want to start getting cynical. You are less adaptive, more isolated, and with most businesses being international you would be unable to even have a conversation with a large proportion of those you “work with”.

Hmm, perhaps I should brush up on my languages.

Anyway, what do you think?

Am I being too harsh on monolinguals?

Are languages boring and pointless with technological developments?

Will Elon’s ‘neuralink‘ brain chip mean you won’t even have to speak?

Any questions or answers, please, Leave a Q!

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Teach

Teaching like a Sith Lord

So…

Having gained some experience of teaching first hand through “educating” many students ranging in ages and skill levels I have come to develop into something I like to refer to as…

A Palpatine Teacher

Bare with me here. I have noticed this, not only in myself, but also in may others within the TEFL field of education.

Fear not, it’s not a bad thing, per se, just a little…evil.

Now, I would like to propose an argument that, once you recognise, is an irrefutable FACT.

Darth Sidious, the creepy cloaked guy from that famous sci-fi movie series, was a truly incredible teacher and mentor. Sure, he was “evil” and “manipulative”…and an insurmountable dictator of indescribable power…but he wasn’t half bad as a teacher…

I realise this maybe falling apart a little but please bare with me.

As Palpatine he was a great friend to Anakin, guiding him into, quite literally, becoming THE CHOSEN ONE. He was a just leader and helped unite all the planets and nations of the galaxy.

Sure, this was all in a case to become the Emperor, but he hid it quite well and still, technically, did all those things for “good”.

As Darth Sidious he was a supreme being of unquestionable intelligence and strength, capable of raising and moulding Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one who will bring balance to the force, into a true “force” to be reckoned with (see what I did there), debatably more powerful than if he stayed with the Jedi order.

Now,…

What’s with all this nerd stuff?!?

You say

…well, with this in mind I have noticed that in a “Dr Jackal and Mr Hyde” fashion, teachers too, do have this form of mentality.

Just like The Sith Lord himself, we seem to seamlessly swap between a superior evil intelligence manipulating the minds for the future to come… to a wise old friend offering a guiding hand, forging a thirst for knowledge and truth.

…Hmm, sounded much less sinister in my head…anywho….

This is, in my interpretation, an excellent construct of a true teacher.

Why?

Teachers are foremost, placed in a position of power over blank humans. We are dedicated to moulding and sculpting the perfect beings through a pursuit and love of knowledge.

…Or…

Are teachers the friendly wise guide, helping those blank souls find their own path and push them forward into the best self they can be.

Darth Sidious or Senator Palpatine?

To be a true teacher you need to have a balance of both. You cannot be a friend as the respect is lost. Your guidance becomes less significant but expected, more of a suggestion than a direction.

Do not become the book of knowledge, but the map to its library.

Russell

A teacher needs to be the guiding hand to our young padawans, someone they can always rely upon, but not so forgiving as to allow them dependence upon us. How will they ever become the little “Sith Lords” we guide them towards, or make the decision for which path to take?

The underlying creed of the Sith is knowledge is power, no matter the source. This is true for teachers, too. Instilling a sense of gain, greed and gluttony towards knowledge is a good thing. It comes down to the Palpatine side for how to use that knowledge.

When it comes down to it, our very creed, as educators is not to spark the fire, but to fan the flames that keep a burning desire for knowledge. You will always get students who don’t wish to learn, but that is our burden to bare. We carry that weight for the day when they find something they are willing to learn for.

The day when our shoulders lighten will be the day our students no longer need us.

Will they use their new found knowledge to improve the world or will they “throw us over the rails”(episode 6 *wink wink nudge nudge*), be it more figuratively in our position than literally.

Anyway, that’s my rambling for another day. What do you think?

Am I onto something?

Do I watch too many movies?

Should I stop using a new line for each statement to make it seem more profound?

Please do let me know. Any questions please Leave a Q.

Categories
Teach

TEFL Online Teaching – Where to Start

ESL – TEFL – TESOL – Online Teacher

Whatever you want to call it its about “imparting wisdom” to others through the magic of the internet and, most importantly, it’s super easy to get started.

Step 1 – What to teacher

Languages – Skills – Etc

What ever you want, simple.

Yes, you can literally teach anything. If there is something you are good at, there is someone willing to pay for you to teach it to them. If you’re a computer wiz, have a degree in something interesting or even just good at playing an instrument, people will pay to see how you do it. Places such as Udemy and Skillshare are a prime example of this.

For me, I happen to be better than 80% of the global populous at the English language, and that’s not arrogance as only 20% of people actually speak English, so we’re off to a great start already.

Languages are also something that are in very high demand as the world becomes a much smaller place through the use of web based meetings and even faster and simpler travel. People want to learn another language for work or travel and English being the Business Language of the World does make a great starting place.

Step 2 – What Do I need.

Internet – Computer – Headset

Depending where you look at working this list may be a little shorter or longer but these 3 are the average. You need a decent internet connection if you are to teach face to face lessons, for obvious reasons, students won’t stick with you for long if they can’t see you clearly or you keep dropping out of class.

Companies such as EF, and Whales English have their own standard set curriculum so it’s as easy as “reading off a PowerPoint with a smile on your face“.

Most companies have the option to teach children or adults so you decide which is best for you.

If you have gone a longer way into teaching then you may decide to look for a higher earner. These will require you to produce your own curriculum.

Qualifications are much more helpful than not. Don’t worry, this can be done online, too through companies such as tefl.org and i-to-i. Find a reputable service and purchase a course. They can be a little pricy but do your research. I would recommend a 120hr course. This will be enough for any school and, if you wanted, this will also be enough for those with degrees to try their luck abroad, too. Some companies however, only require a 40hr course or even just a good knowledge of English.

If English isn’t for you then might I recommend a camera. You can try out recording your own lessons and uploading them to places such as the fore mentioned Udemy and Skillshare and have a steady income as people purchase your course. Be warned, you will need a full curriculum. Might I suggest breaking your skill down into bite-sized chunks.

Step 3 – Where to teach it.

Online – World wide

Now, depending on your nationality this can be different(ish). You can teach with no problems online through hundreds of different companies big and small. However, some do have some requirements such as location with companies like Qkids and Magic Ears needing North American teachers or others like EF-kids needing someone who doesn’t travel.

I would recommended perusing through the well known companies that are super easy to find with a basic search and seeing what you actually want. What has a bigger influence on your choices; money, 1 to 1 lessons, group lessons, adults, children, hours or even curriculum.

Check out my brief of things to think about in a TEFL job.

Step 4 – Money!

Experience – Money – More Money

Job Jobbed. All sorted. That’s it. Simple, no.

Well let me tell you what I did on my first time.

I looked at several different companies including EF, Qkids, Magic Ears, Whales English, etc and decided what I wanted to do. I was comparatively young so I thought teaching kids would be better, some adults don’t like having a teacher younger than them and companies like someone who is energetic for children, so I’ll have a better chance there.

Money was important, obviously, but not as important as being able to actually do the job. I chose a company with a fully set curriculum so I wouldn’t have to worry about planning until I had more experience.

I wanted a steady time schedule, which actually most do have now so, no issues there. That in mind I did choose a company with a minimum hours per week, my logic being that if they have a minimum hours per week they must have a larger number of students with teachers being in high demand, meaning more work…and more money!

Any who, I sent in my application and the next day I received an email asking me to book a slot for an interview in an ‘online timetable thingy‘ that every company uses nowadays. I booked a slot for the next day where I chatted to the interviewer, they didn’t ask me too much on teaching as most are expecting lesser experienced people. We just talked about my interests and had a general conversation. Don’t let this throw you, it’s a simple but effective technique to see how enthusiastic you are in unknown or mundane situations. Are you enjoyable to speak to and easy to understand.

When I say general conversation I mean we chatted for 20 minutes about different movies we liked because I added ‘movies’ as a hobby, easy no.

I had to do only a small “test” to see if I could actually teach a lesson and how I deliver the information. Be enthusiastic with lots of praise and you will have no problems at all. Others I have done simply want to understand what you would do and why. Lots do however, want you to do a full lesson, with the interviewer as the student, even as a child which can feel weird let me tell you. But, they are very supportive and give you very good and obvious points to pick them up on.

Once the interview was over I received an email with an offer. I then booked an appointment for a short orientation on how the companies teaching portal worked. Other companies do the orientation and interview in one, easy.

Step 5 – Let me know

Interested – Nervous – Unsure

I hope this was even remotely helpful to someone. Please, do drop a comment here, on Facebook or Twitter and let me know how it went or if you are interested in TEFL.

Good luck. Any questions then Leave a Q.

Categories
Teach

TEFL or not TEFL – Good Question

ESL 2020

2020 has been an interesting year to say the least, but have no fear the teacher is here. Despite the pun yes, now is a good time to get into online teaching. People have been loosing their lively hoods left right and centre and yet I have had no problem with walking straight into a job as a Kids Online English Teacher, why?

“With zero experience and the right attitude you can go anywhere, everyone has to start somewhere.”

Russell 2020

Teaching isn’t for everyone. Sitting in front of a screen for several hours per day explaining a dreaded school subject to someone who doesn’t speak your language can be daunting to say the least, but it does have its little rewards. When you suddenly recognise your students improvement as they answer a question you never thought they could in perfect English… using your accent. Absolute gold.

ESL now?

There is some debate over whether it’s a thriving industry right now. With an international super plague encompassing the Earth, lot’s of smaller businesses are struggling to keep staff and students alike. The good thing, is for the bigger companies with their well established online presence. These companies are actually expanding and actively hiring to meet the demand. With each small business that closes, hundreds of new students are looking for teachers from the more well developed companies.

Now don’t get me wrong, the pay isn’t perfect, you will likely be earning around £10 an hour plus incentives, especially if you have just started. But this is more down to a choice than a restriction. I am of the mind that you should learn the ropes before earning the money. I went for a company that gives you all of the help you need as a beginner, with zero lesson preparation. Once you have gotten used to the lesson styles and layouts you can increase your wages, most do his by 6 month reviews or simply by changing companies.

To be honest there are lots of businesses out there, each already have their own curriculum that you literally just need to ‘read of the powerpoint’ to be able to complete the lesson. However, that’s not really teaching is it. You will find that you quickly develop your own separate mannerisms and techniques for delivering the lesson to different students, be it someone who struggles or an English language prodigy.

Do I need another language?

The single most terrifying thing that I remember, and get asked regularly, is how do you teach a child who doesn’t speak your language. Well, first things first, that’s kind of the point of ESL in the first place. I find it actually benefits you if you don’t speak the same language. You learn how to adapt to not being able to say an explanation and the child develops quickly by being “forced” to learn and understand more. Ignoring this, there is no need to worry at all, the lessons are specifically designed to slowly develop an understanding of the language and be built upon. There really is no need to worry.

Hours

The best thing I have found with teaching English is the time difference. For me being in the UK, I get up and start work at 8:00 a.m. but finish at 1:00 p.m. This means it leaves me the whole day to do as I please.

I am also not bound to any set schedule. I can choose my working hours, meaning if I don’t want to work a specific day or time, I don’t. I book time off when I wish, as long as I give some time in advance, and I can also pick up more lessons if I am free. If my plans fall through and I get the day free, no problem, I’ll do some teaching for extra money, win win.

Anywhere

Finally a great factor for online teaching is something you can’t do with teaching in class. I can work from anywhere in the world, as long as I have a good Internet connection. This will depend on the company that you work for and their eligibility requirements. Some more strict companies will allow you to work in a foreign country if you are going to a set location for an extended period and can prove your connection is good. This means travelling is still perfectly on the table, as long as you account for the time differences for the students you teach of course.

Personally I would recommend a company that teaches in China, purely for the times and remuneration. The country’s sheer size means there are literally hundreds of companies to choose from, all wanting teachers, leaving you with a better wage per demand and if you live in the UK, the time difference is near perfect.

Not online

If online ESL isn’t for you but you would love to travel for a while then try a physical school location. An excellent part of these ESL schools is that you are not the students only teacher. Each student goes to an in country physical class to learn, you are the local English teaches native assistant. The students come to you to practice what they have learnt with a truly fluent speaker, meaning most of your students will already know the material if not more. You could choose, if you wish, to go to one of these school on yearly contracts where they will help you to set up your life for living abroad whilst you can travel the country from a home base and live in the culture. This is one of the routes I am considering taking myself.

For warning

When choosing an ESL company there are many, many schools to choose from, take reviews of these companies with a pinch of salt. I spent weeks looking for companies and kept swaying due to former employees reviews. When I joined a company I realised something important, you are wanted in this field. Thats not to say you are irreplaceable, but they know what to expect from a beginner and will generally make allowances when you first start.

Reviews

If you don’t like where you are at, just leave and go to another company. I personally have never experienced any of the issues that I have read about, even for the company I work for. Some of the issues were even things that, now I have been in the situations, I recognise as, honestly, the employees fault not the company. I think every business will get disgruntled employees. That’s not saying that at times the company isn’t to blame, these do happen too, just like everywhere else, but things can be blow out of proportion. Does anyone ever review something unless they had a terrible experience and want to hurt them back, just food for thought. But as I said, just leave, it is very easy to walk into another ESL job, especially now. And if you really don’t like it, go back to what you were doing with the experience you have in that field, simple. You can even work both, get your feet wet so to speak. Most of the companies now have removed any minimum weekly hour requirements so trying it out is perfectly fine, even for 1 lesson a week.

Any who…

Long story short, don’t spend too much time overthinking everything like I did. I believe this to be the best decision I have made as of my journeys so far. I earn as much money as I did previously, working less hours and at sociable times. I spend the rest of my time learning new skills that will be useful for travelling.

What do you think, is this something you would be interested in trying? A change of pace from the daily grind or perhaps even a career change. I hope this helped anyone who was on the fence or has, at least, made some of you think more about this less spoken job sector.

If you have any further questions feel free to Leave a Q.

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Uncategorized

Hello World!

Hello big, wide, cosy world and welcome to the last blog you’ll ever read. This blog is all about my, eventual, travels and potential development of an English language company.

With any luck, you will be able to follow my travels around the world and look on as I make a fool of my self, learning the ways of the world. If you keep an open mind, you too will be able to make all the same mistakes I will, but surely that’s half the fun. How do you learn without first making mistakes.

Thomas Edison supposedly said –

“I have not failed 700times to make a light bulb, I have found 700 ways how not to make a light bulb.”

Thomas Edison

Poetic but he has a point.”

Other’s follow the philosophy of Bismarck –

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Otto von Bismarck

Well…

Make the same mistake twice. That’s half the fun.”

Russell

Reading is great, but why read it from a book or watch it on the tele when you can be in it, see the colours, smell the flowers, hear the music. History should remind you of the mistakes and successes we made along the way. How can we be wise without learning the wrong answers first.

No answer is wrong, just just used incorrectly. There is a difference between knowing the answer, and knowing how to use it.

Wow, I thought this was clever, off the top of my head.

I come from a small rural town where I have to drive everywhere of interest. But, I can walk 5 minutes and be in the middle of nowhere. A rather surreal idea that I never truly appreciated until I went to university and lived in a big city. I genuinely began to miss the green trees that I would wake up to every morning. It’s funny to me now thinking that I would whinge about going for walks in the woods as a child, it’s called being lazy.

My house mates had seen trees before, obviously, but never really experienced a truly rural lifestyle. The idea that shops aren’t just down the road, or a deer in your garden and a boar walking down the main road being is an everyday occurrence. I want to see what life is like in the rural areas of other countries. Cities are great, but the real life and culture is found in the small homes and towns where the locals live as they always have, only mildly affected by the progressing country at large.

I want to see all the wonderful places and meet all the fascinating people, starting with Asia and work my way west.

This all being the case with the removal of the international travel ban, once all is fixed of course.

I love to imagine what life would be like had I grown up in a different country. Is there a young man in rural Japan thinking ‘what is it like to live in rural England?’. These are the questions I want to answer.

I also have some rather lofty goals of trying to remove the barrier of culture and language around the world. As an ESL teacher I plan to start my own ESL school, curriculum(I didn’t use autocorrect for that I swear..) and application to make learning languages easier, starting with the only language I actually know, English. Making the world a smaller place means accepting everyone, despite there flaws, and improving ourselves. Moving the world forward so that we can all see hover cars before it ends. I believe combining each nation’s cultures can only improve each others, and make our lives far more interesting.

Every now and again I will be posting about interesting topics, things I think people should know more about or even answer questions that you ask. Please feel free.

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