TEFL About TEFL
Find out what TEFL is all about and what all these terms like TESOL, TESL and TEFL mean.
Are You An EFL Expert?
Can your relative “green-ness” as an English language teacher ever be an advantage? According to a recent article in the New York Times – yes.
This article discusses the theory that as people become more “expert” in their fields, it is harder for them to imagine not knowing what they do know. They may use jargon and more importantly, have trouble relating and explaining to those who don’t have their expert knowledge. They get things done the way they “should” be done, meaning the way they have been done in the past, and innovation is “stifled”.
To some extent, I think that people tend to do things in a certain way because it is effective, and I believe it is a skill to know when to break from tradition and when to trust it – especially as a new teacher. But I do think there is something to this argument that there are times when it can be a disadvantage to have extensive experience.
I remember how unpleasant I found my symbolic logic class taught by a full professor in college, and how much I preferred the TA-taught class.
Date: January 15th, 2008 |
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No More Under The Table Jobs
Writing about the recent visa changes in Korea, I brought up the topic of “illegal teachers” working under the table jobs. Actually I promised to return to the topic of: what would work, as far as reducing the number of undocumented workers in the context of EFL?
I should start by saying – I don’t know! This is a blog, though, not a public policy journal, so here’s my possibly-freakish opinion.
The dynamics of undocumented EFL work are not unlike the dynamics of undocumented work in, say the US. Complicated. I think the idea that there is a law that would “fix” the problem - without creating all sorts of other unwanted consequences – is just not correct. I suspect it is rare for person to be working illegally without the employer being aware of it at some level, and without the employer benefiting in at least some sense.
Consequences for both the teacher and the employer might go a long way here. Making it harder to enter the country as a tourist? Maybe. But I’ve also wondered - why it sometimes seems so easy not to follow the rules.
I started thinking about it more after I asked a class: how do you feel – or what do you do – when someone cuts in line?
“Annoyed” was the vocab word I was going for, but they didn’t say that.
Date: December 12th, 2007 |
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A TEFL Documentary, Courtesy Of TEFL.net
British filmmaker Daniel Emmerson is currently filming a 60-minute documentary film about EFL – to be released on DVD in Spring 2008 to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of sponsor Tefl.net (hat tip to TESall.com). Based on a quote from Tefl.net founder Josef Essberger, it sounds like the film will include parts of both native speakers and local teachers and in a variety of countries. Apparently the director has been in Krakow filming teacher training courses and will soon move on to South East Asia.
I am probably swayed by my immersion in the online world of EFL, but it is surprising that there is not more out there about this field, which I like to think of as filled with adventure and intrigue. Indiana Jones and the Korean Hagwon Crusade and such. For feature films, there is The English Teacher (made by a friend of EFL Geek) with an EFL teacher in Korea as the protagonist.
I will find it interesting to see how they portray all that is EFL – and I hope the fact that the director is at least in some capacity working with Tefl.net will mean that a good variety of locations, types of jobs (university, kindergarten, etc.), and teachers are included. I think it surprises many TEFL newbies and other uninitiated folk that a) it is actually a job, and b) it is very different from language classes at home.
I will be looking forward to seeing on the screen experiences in different countries. Different jobs in the same country differ, of course, so I think even those who have worked in different countries have a hard time comparing all that is out there.
If Daniel Emmerson would like any suggestions on what to incorporate, here’s what I’d like to see:
Date: November 29th, 2007 |
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You’re Invited to the BootsnAll Holiday Party
Learning to teach English as a second language is, for many people, about more than just teaching - it’s about having a ticket to live and support yourself all over the world. So, if you’re in the Pacific Northwest this December and you want to chat with people about something other than verb conjugations, come to the BootsnAll holiday party!
WHAT: BootsnAll Holiday Party
WHEN: Saturday, December 1, 2007 from 7pm until 11pm
WHERE: Lucky Labrador Beer Hall, 1945 NW Quimby St., Portland OR 97209
The annual BootsnAll party is a great chance to meet up with like-minded travel enthusiasts who always love sharing …
Date: October 25th, 2007 |
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Avoiding Reality By Means Of TEFL
My excitement stemmed from anticipation. I knew that in a few short days I would engage in an act capable of producing the ultimate traveler’s high: I’d be leaving India.
Actually, leaving India would probably be the second-best high. The more intoxicating fact was that we’d be entering a new country. A new land promised fresh cities, different sightseeing, and new culture…It was a classic case of running from the real problem, but who cared? Wasn’t that what this whole trip was about? When you can’t find what you’re looking for at home, look abroad. And when you can’t find it in one country, try another.
Pigs in the Toilet is back from vacation and EFL-teacher-turned-traveler Jeff has now left India.
It does not escape my attention that many would draw an analogy to TEFL and say that by picking up and leaving every year, many teachers - especially those who have more than a few countries under their respective belts, like me! – are avoiding problems that they would otherwise have to deal with.
Certainly a year is a short time to establish any roots, and in TEFL it is fairly practical, if not exactly easy, to just keep starting over. We’ve all heard that you can’t run away from your problems (“wherever you go, there they are”), but it sure seems possible to keep putting them off by moving to a new country.
I realize that people may very well see me fitting into this mold. Do I?
Date: September 11th, 2007 |
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These Are A Few (More) Of My Favorite Things
It’s that time of year again, and before I get too caught up in the nitty gritty details of it all, I’d like to wish my readers and fellow bloggers a happy holiday season. Probably feeling that I’d overdosed on cynicism, I compiled the initial report on my favorite things about teaching. For all that I didn’t cover there, here are a few of my favorite things about teaching and blogging…
Teaching:
While you will probably not be revered for being a native English speaker, if you give off a vibe that you are interested in your students as people and their country and culture, people tend to respond to that.
You get to live overseas, and generally speaking, have a chance to really muck in. For better or worse, you are mostly left to your own devices.
There are a variety of entry-level opportunities, and while you do need training, it’s not as hard as most people expect to start teaching English as a foreign language. You can decide to go for it and, within a few months, have a job.
You can talk to your students about all sorts of interesting subjects, as long as you frame it within a wider theme (life experiences) and goal (fluency practice).
Thinking about your own language analytically can give you some neat insight about something you usually take for granted, and so can looking at your own culture once you’ve been outside it for a while.
Compared to other jobs which take you overseas, or even traveling, you really get some of the best interaction with people as individuals through EFL. I know that EFL is not for everyone, and it is even not “for” some teachers already doing it, but I do believe that if more people had the experience of TEFL or another like it, the world would be a better place.
Blogging:
Date: December 17th, 2007 |
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Foreign Language Schizophrenia
Do you and your students feel “different” when you speak a foreign language?
In a practical sense, it could make for an interesting class discussion not only about language, but also about how your students perceive themselves when speaking English. On a personal level…I’m just curious. I’d be interested to hear what different students say and informally compare it to their personality and level.
As the author of the post points out, the extent of your ability to express yourself in that foreign language makes a difference. It’s probably quite common for lower level learners – like me - just to feel “different” speaking a language because they can’t express themselves as well as they can in their own language. But this doesn’t reveal some “real difference” when speaking a second language, it is just a function of not having the words to express yourself well.
My answer: that above. It is hard to feel any real difference when what I can express is so much less than in English. Would it be different if I spoke the language better – would I have a bigger vocabulary but still feel “different”? Maybe, but I doubt it. One thing that has surprised me though is that I do feel some kind of “Bosnian / other Slavic language kinship” in some circumstances, and I don’t think I’d feel an “English language kinship” in a roughly parallel situation.
Date: November 30th, 2007 |
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Top 5 Ways To Turn Your TEFL Experience Into Travel Writing Success
Bootsnall Travel Network has a few new “logues” in the works – and if you’ve been looking for an opportunity to shine by sharing your inside info of the location you’re in, check out LogueIt.com to find out more. For some destination-based guide examples, visit the newly-launched Amsterdam Logue and also Caribbean, Belize, Greece and Croatia Logues.
A Bootsnall Logue is one way to get your foot in the travel writing door, but not the only way. Some people go it alone … and succeed!
If you’ve been following Pigs in the Toilet, you’ll no doubt be familiar with former EFL teacher Jeff, who turned a year long trip through China, India, Turkey and Europe into a serialized travelogue. I’m pleased to report that you can now find his story Kidnapped by Syrian Hospitality published in the recently released Encounters with the Middle East: True Stories of People and Culture that Help You Understand the Region. I have yet to preview the book, but have seen a related piece and the gist is that traveling to an out of the way place (or finding yourself there teaching) can change your perception of the world. If you’ve ever had the feeling that people have a wrong impression of a place you’ve come to know and love, check out this story.
Date: November 22nd, 2007 |
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Ideal EFL Teacher: Cast Your Vote (…And See What Others Say)
Randall’s ESL Blog held a vote for the most important quality in the ideal language teacher – head on over there for the results. I decided to come up with my own “alternative list”. Do you agree?
Empathy, or the ability to see things from different perspectives; specifically, to think about your own language as a learner might, or in different ways, as learners with different learning styles need.
Ability to multi-task, for example to be able to listen and respond to content while observing grammatical accuracy. This is a lot harder than it sounds.
Date: September 29th, 2007 |
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The Ultimate TEFL Blog List
I’m a firm believer that the best way to find out if something is for you is to walk a mile, or 1.6 kilometers, in the shoes of someone already doing that. So, of course, if you want to know if teaching is for you, take a tour of some TEFL blogs.
Find reviews of some of the blogs I follow in the TEFL Logue Review section, and for additional regional-specific blogs, have a look at the links section of the Daily Kimchi (Korea) and Cairogal’s blog (several of the harder-to-find Middle East teacher blogs)
Also check out …
Date: August 20th, 2007 |
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