Welcome to TEFL Logue - the ultimate guide to TEFL'ing. We'll help you with everything you need from getting your TEFL certificate to building your curriculum and living abroad while teaching English.
For many people, making the decision to work as a teacher in another country isn’t an easy thing. Sure, there are definite perks to doing it - experiencing another culture and maybe even getting paid to do it - but as with most things, there’s a not-so-rosy side to teaching abroad that not everyone knows about before they sign up. So it’s not only good to research places where you can teach, but also hear from people who have gone before you to see what their experiences have been. Toward that end, let us introduce you to the Teaching Abroad Guide on the newly renovated Traveler’s Toolkit from BootsnAll.
The Traveler’s Toolkit has been around for awhile, but it’s recently gotten a facelift and it’s much easier to navigate. Which is good, because it’s full of all kinds of great information that all travelers of any experience level can use. For those interested in teaching abroad in particular, the Teaching Abroad Guide has excellent articles detailing first-hand experiences from people who have done it. Their teaching gigs may not be exactly like the ones you are looking at, but it’s always good to hear from anyone who’s already done something you’re contemplating.
For instance, from the wise folks who’ve contributed to the Teaching Abroad Guide, you can learn how to choose your TEFL certification program (or whether you want to go with a certification program at all), find out about TEFL teaching from the teacher’s perspective (with one teacher’s breakdown of the two categories teachers fall into), and even read about one person’s experience teaching English illegally. There’s lots more to be found in the Teaching Abroad Guide, so click around and check it out - and if you’ve got great tips to share, you can contribute your own article, too!
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As we continue to provide useful information about the world of TEFL, we’ve just come across a company that does online TEFL courses that look very interesting. They are currently offering discounts for new customers as well as a free trial program, so it looks like it would be a good place to start for someone who is considering jumping in to this fascinating career and lifestyle.
It appears they also have in-person weekend classes, as well as a placement service, so this could be a really nice resource for some people. Check …
[more]I will be entering early blogging retirement…as of this post. The TEFL Logue itself will remain here, but I will no longer be posting.
I’m not out of ideas. I still enjoy writing and have a lot to say about TEFL, but there comes a point in many pursuits where the cons just outweigh the pros. I have written a lot here – just over 1000 posts and 7 “pages” (see above) in about 17 months. My experience and knowledge are not that extensive, but I’ve worked hard to make posts that I felt were more than just …
[more]Thinking of teaching English in Spain? Finding it hard to sort through all the info out there? Pain in Spain is one TEFL blog which is long overdue for a TEFL Logue review.
I first mentioned the site in a post about TEFL courses, where Pain in Spain blogger takes a pragmatic look at the value of a TEFL certificate. From what I can gather about the blogger/s – not all that much, but that’s okay – s/he is from the US and has been working in Spain for several years, mainly teaching one to one students and small groups in company. For the first period of work, s/he was working under the table, and so can share information on that experience, including how to become legal in Spain.
I haven’t worked in Spain, but I find the blog very straightforward. It is honest about the frustrations and challenges of EFL, particularly in Spain and in the bloggers particular context, without being overly cynical. There is advice on finding ESL jobs in Spain…
[more]With experience I get better, but I don’t get perfect. What do you do when a lesson starts to go sour? This could mean that students really don’t catch on to the task or language point, or just don’t like the activity.
If students seem not to get it, it could be that my instructions weren’t clear or I didn’t clarify something well. Even if that is the problem, I’m still faced with the same dilemma: what to do when I realize that in class?
[more]Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
ESL Café: none of our old regulars!
If you’ve been noticing a distinct lack of new posts at the ESL Café, it could be because a whole lot of the regular members have found a new neighborhood hangout: the forums at David’s ELT World. Tesall.com’s recent Top 10 list alerted me to the presence of this site.
David is an EFL teacher in Turkey, and started the site as his contribution towards making EFL a better “place” for teachers. In an interview with TEFL News, he mentioned that he makes it a priority not to suspend members because they make unfavorable comments towards companies which pay to advertise on his site. There is an innovative solution to threads that get a bit out of hand – threads which might be closed or deleted elsewhere – and that is the Fight Club. In this corner of the site, those who are so inclined can argue to their hearts’ content. Making top bill at the Fight Club are a thread on Been banned from ESL Cafe and the Emerging story about TEFL International.
The general discussion forum is the busiest at the moment. Contributors I “recognize” from ESL Café keep the discussion going, and there is room for questions and new contributors on the destination-specific forums.
It does raise an interesting question: how much do advertisers influence what is posted online these days? Are TEFL sites responsible for bad jobs?
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