Online Resource: The British Council

The British Council, which is registered as a charity or non-profit organization and has offices in 109 countries, explains its purpose as “to build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and other countries and to increase appreciation of the UK’s creative ideas and achievements.” I’d say it like this: they offer English classes and English libraries throughout the world and have a lot of useful information and links on their site.

The website has resources for students (how to find courses, register and prepare for exams, study in the UK, etc.) and teachers.

For teachers, the job page explains the minimum hiring requirements, has a link to vacancies in the organization, and goes into detail about the recruitement policy. There is a training section which has information on the first qualification teachers are likely to get (the CELTA or equivalent) as well as further ones (DETLA or MA), and there is a link to teachingenglish.org.uk with a number of activities and ideas to use in class.

British Council offices abroad often - but not always - offer English classes, and are quite likely to have a Learning Centre (aka library) which has both popular culture books and teaching resources, free internet access, and employees who speak English well. To take advantage of these benefits (well, the English-speaking employees are available to non-members), you will need to become a member, which usually only involves a small fee – I paid about $20 a few weeks ago. The sole precaution I can offer is this: be aware that the DVD and book sections contain materials that have some British connection…so the selection may not be as wide as you expect. This is a great opportunity though to get your fill of Absolutely Fabulous, Fawlty Towers, and Mr.Bean.