TEFL Prague and Abroad

   There's a lot of half assed teachers out on the market and there's a lot of good ones. My philosophy in regards to everything that I do, is to try and do it well and develop a deep understanding for it. I mean why wouldn't you? If you are engaged in an activity for most of the day, it seems like a waste of time to not try your best and be the best you can be.    I had never thought that I would have a career in education or live abroad or develop a school or any of these things growing up. You never know what opportunities will come your way if you make the effort, take chances  and most of all try and be an expert in your field.  This is all beginning to sound really hacky so let's plow ahead. Here are some tips for your first year teaching abroad.       Tips For Teaching   Learn as much as you Possibly can    * The idea that proficiency in teaching or anything really is based on time and experi...

 We had this fun thing that we used to do (and still do at TLH TEFL www.thelanguagehouse.net ) which involved playing a poker style game in class. I always thought that fun punishments were a lot more motivating than giving out hacky rewards in the classroom. I'll probably have a separate page eventually about my thoughts on motivation, token economy and different reward systems later on. Here are some cute and funny videos that we made of the losing team(s). Basically if the team lost they had to go outside and yell "I LOVE TEFL" a certain number of times.  What made it the best though was that we did this during the first day of the course.  I've always thought that in teaching it's good to set the tone of your pace and style to your students right from the get go. Don't be afraid to push them a bit if you can. I loved that we do this during the first day and it usually creates a WTF moment for the students. I think overall everyone has a really good time ...

Living abroad and teaching abroad is intense and both demanding on your body and psyche. Most people have never really  Living abroad and teaching abroad is intense and both demanding on your body and psyche. Most people have never really had the experience before and they have no idea of how they will react towards it as the days becomes weeks and weeks become months abroad. Listen, staying in a hotel for a week while you visit various historical sights on a summer trip, being doted upon and having everything laid out for you is not the same as getting your own apartment, paying your own bills, dealing with a foreign culture, making new friends and being successful in a TEFL career. When you first enter a new country you're most likely going to love it. Realize though that this is simply the honeymoon stage of your experience and it's totally normal. Unfortunately, this stage might inevitably fade. TEFL is demanding. Living in a foreign country is demanding. Th...

  There's a lot of great information on TEFL jobs, locations and courses out there. Here are some of the ones that I find most useful. A good tip though is to find a local site in the country that you are interested in. Most countries and many times cities have specific sites for expats that help with everything from teaching to making friends to finding an apartment. For example www.expats.cz is a great site for expats living in Prague. While it doesn't have the same sheer volume of teaching information that a site like eslcafe.com does, it's got lot of specific info that would be invaluable for people living in Prague. Another specific site that I can think of like expats.cz is www.madridteacher.com. This is a great site for anyone that wants to work in Spain.  Here's a quick top 10 of general sites that I find useful 1. Eslcafe.com 2. Onestopenglish.com 3. Eslemployment.com 4. Eslbase.com 5.Teachabroad.com 6. TEFL.com and TEFL.net 7. Expats.cz ...

           A past graduate of The Language House TEFL taken in Spain   I get asked these questions all of the time, and it's pretty important to go over everything here. While I am clearly biased because I run The Language House TEFL in Prague, I'm going to keep this post as honest and as un-ad-like as a I can. The thing that I always tell people first is to NOT worry too much! I've met and talked to dozens of people that got so caught up in the course selection process that they never actually took a course at all and never taught abroad. Most courses do what they are supposed to do. If they are not doing that, they will be rated poorly on the internet. Whatever you do, do take the plunge (as long as you pass the crazy test see my previous post) and teach abroad.  If you really want my opinion on TEFL courses and what to take, I've listed everything for you below. 1. Should I even Take a TEFL Course? For the most part, yes you sh...

Tom, Kate and Skip. TEFL trainers, strong on their mountain.   We are jumping a bit ahead of ourselves with all of this talk about jobs so soon, but we might as well get part of this out of the way. I posted this article on a few forums a year ago to set the record straight on what it took to find work in Prague and it was pretty popular.  At TLH TEFL, the mass majority of grads do find work, but they find work because they are better trained and connected than a lot of other TEFL graduates and because they put in the effort. If you want to be successful abroad, you are going to have to work. If you don't have a solid work ethic, you most likely won't make it very far or stay very long abroad. That being said, enjoy the article in its original form. I figured I'd write my personal tips down and hopefully it will help a couple of new teachers make it in their new host country.       (Hey you! Like the blog? Sign up with your email (ri...