TEFL Job Tips - Making a Video Demo Lesson

If you've been teaching in one country for a while and want to make the move to another country, especially a country where the competition between TEFL teachers is high, I recommend making a demo video of one of your lessons. This is great way for you to showcase your skills in the classroom, and it will even out the negative of you not being able to interview in person.

Most high paying schools want to see you teach. Simply conducting a phone interview can't really achieve this. What usually happens is that the school will hire, if they can, a local teacher instead. If you can make a quick 5-10 minute video of you teaching, you can get around this. To get this done, you'll need one of your current classes that doesn't mind being videoed, a camera man, and a great lesson to show off what you know. Camera work, technology and editing software/options are cheap and accessible today. Most smart phones can even shoot in HD and can be used if you don't have a proper camera. Shoot the entire lesson, or at least the main parts, and then edit it down to something watchable. Post it on Youtube, and when you are applying for jobs abroad, send the school the link. Having something like this will give you a serious edge over any TEFL teacher who doesn't have one.

Here's some links to two of my own demo lessons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue4-8y2MfQw&feature=g-all-u

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWPFsSRahRw

Cheers,

Chris Westergaard
The Language House TEFL

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