TEFL Prague and Abroad

Dressing up/taking on roles is a great way to increase motivation   The concept of motivation and motivating your students is really TEFL 101, but we should nevertheless go over it briefly. It's really easy for everyone to nod their heads and say 'yes motivating students is important', but actually doing it and doing it consistently and effectively is a different matter. let's begin... There are Two main types of motivation and  an additional two that are specific for language learning. Motivation for Language Learning Instrumental/Integrative Instrumental meaning that the students are using the language to perform an outside task or duty. Perhaps they need to improve their language to complete a test for university or for their job or because they need have to travel somewhere. Integrative involves them learning the language because they have an affinity for the culture or people of that language and want to be more involved with it. What does this mea...

See, even Robin Williams gets it - wait he's bipoloar What makes a good teacher? It's a question that gets asked lot by students of The Language House TEFL/TESOL and university students that I connect with who are interested in teaching abroad. While the question is vague and definitely a bit subjective, it's not that hard to answer. Here's a list of what I think is important from my own experience in the field and watching literally thousands of lessons from other teachers. These aren't in any particular order but I have added an asterisk on some that I think are really important. 1. Creativity* Creative people will obviously have an easier time being creative in the classroom. Such a needed skill for making your lessons interesting and finding new and dynamic ways of presenting material. The props you use, the interactions you create, the role-plays you design will greatly help you in the classroom. Note - a lot of more analytical minded teachers will make...

   Most of my training experience comes on a face to face basis and I've never really had to write in depth my teaching techniques and how I really get it to all work in the classroom. It's pretty easy to list a bunch of tips, and they do help a bit, but without depth behind them, they really won't be of much use. Most of the previous posts have dealt with deciding to take a TEFL course and how to get the most out of it. What happens after that though? How do you actually teach well? It's going to be a daunting task, but I'm planning on making the next few dozens posts related specifically to getting better in the classroom. I'll try to keep all of the posts systematic and have a logical progression. That being said, don't shoot me if I jump around a bit. TEFL Prague Courses  The Language House  http://www.thelanguagehouse.net

   I gotta give a hand to all of the great graduates that let us have fun on the course. If it wasn't for them, the course just wouldn't be the same. That being said, I love making these videos. Here's a compilation video of a game we play on the first day. Thanks again everyone. TEFL Prague Courses The Language House http://www.thelanguagehouse.net

    Living in Prague for nearly a decade has given me a unique skill set that only other Prague Expats can truly achieve. The city will hone your body over the years and give you nearly superhuman attributes leaving friends and strangers back home in wonder and awe. Remember people, with greater power comes greater responsibility. If you decide to live abroad for a number of years, you too will gain these powers.  I couldn't possibly list them all, but here are the main ones. Tram Grip Strength (Raw Power): From years of riding Prague trams and giving my seat up to the elderly, my tram grip strength borders on the level of being superhuman. Nothing can break it. Whether it's holding onto a tree branch to survive a deadly tsunami or riding a bull, my tram grip strength will never fail me.  Support my efforts - Follow the blog by clicking the button on the Right or add your email here ------> Bagging Skills (Blinding Dexterity): In P...

     Challenging Higher Education in Education Many times as educators gain more experience and qualifications, the teaching game becomes less about skill work and more of an intellectual pursuit. Regardless of what advanced degree you get in TEFL or really any field of education, there is change from skill work to theory and research.  We start out as brand new teachers knowing nothing. Our TTT is horrible. We have no classroom presence. We can't lesson plan. We have zero understanding of error correction. This list could go on and on. When we start our first training in TEFL we learn some skills. I think these days probably a majority of ELT teachers begin with some form of TEFL course. These skills are great and we start practicing. We bomb our first lesson, but over the course of the training we keep improving. We practice our TEFL skills from concept check questioning, to graded language, to effective monitoring...etc. We get better, and by the end of the co...

   I posted the question to some graduates living and teaching in Prague on what they felt were the 5 best things about living in the city (with negatives as well)  Courtney:   Likes: the ex-pat circuit is close and like family. public transportation is fantastic (until they're striking). Opportunities for entertainment and fun social experiences abound. Parks! Michelle: Likes: lots of paid holiday -- although that might not be typical for teachers. Indigo Likes: 1). Ease of travel around the city and around Europe! 2.) Its a safe city, overall if you are wise to the night freaks. 3.) Lots of culture and tons of festivals- architecture, music, dancing, opera, theater, literature - in many languages. 4.) Great beer and breweries to visit, and great places to drink said beer all over the country. 5.) Not only are you in a big city, but you also have the nature. Plenty of huge parks and forests in and out of the city. Many places to do outd...

       I posted a question to a bunch of Language House TEFL graduates asking them to list their 5 favorite and least favorite things about working in Korea. Here's what they posted   Heather L. T he Good 1. People compliment you in the streets, good self-esteem booster.    2. Awesome food, if you love spicy food.  3. Drinking in the streets is legal.  4. Noraebongs are actually fun entertainment.  5. Strange dancing girls,   or mimes, or men on stilts performing things to advertise a company on random street corners.   The Bad 1. Pollution, gray skies nearly every day, which leave a strange smell that takes awhile to get used to.  2. Lack of organization in many hagwons and you`re expected to change your plans to meet the new classes or meetings.  3. Asian style expectation that westerners should work as hard as they do....which is all day every day.  4. Illness - caused by Koreans feeling the need ...

    How to Prepare for your TEFL Course Internet forums are always abuzz with future TEFL students asking what they can do to prepare for their course. Here are some of my tips on what you can do to make sure you have an edge over your classmates and help make the transition into teaching and living abroad  easier. I. Things to Improve your Teaching  Pre-Course  1. Learn your own Language  - You need come into your course with some kind of grammatical base. It will make everything easier. Know the tenses, perfect tenses, continuous vs simple forms, structures and functions...etc. Know at least the basic kinds of verbs and parts of speech. The more the better if you ask me. There is a plethora of websites and books out there dealing with grammar. Start learning it. If you don't know where to start, ask your TEFL provider for some assistance. If they can't give you a sheet or anything to help you learn the grammar, you've picked the wrong program. At...

 Making the decision to teach abroad is an important one. Wherever you end up, there are going to be positives and negatives to look out for. Each country is different, but a lot of the experience of teaching abroad can be applied to different locations. My speciality is obviously TEFL in Prague, Czech Republic, so let's start there. Perhaps later on I can get some graduates who I know to offer their experiences of teaching in Asia or other parts of the world.  Let's start out with the positives  9:30 am or 9:30 pm, it don't matter 1. You'll Most Likely Have a lot of fun (A LOT of fun during the first year) Sure life is about work, but it's also about having a good time. My first year in Prague in 2002 was probably one of the most fun years of my life. The city has a great nightlife and if you are into staying up late and having Hangoveresque experiences, then Prague is a great stomping ground for you. Life can't and isn't always be about partyi...