Friday 24 February 2012

My Favourite TEFL Tips Posts

Over the years I've written a lot of articles about teaching but I have my favourites which I update the most often. Here are my favorite posts in no particular order.
  • Is a degree necessary to teach English abroad?: This question comes up so often on TEFL forums. While it would be ideal that everyone had a degree, university is so expensive nowadays that not everyone does. This article tells you which countries you can legally teach in without a degree and also lists some specific employers that will hire you. It also tells you how you can get your degree online from legit universities as well as explains ways to fast-track your college career via testing out of classes, using work experience, and more.
  • Choosing a TEFL course: There are tons of TEFL courses out there it's hard for a newbie to know which ones are worth the money. This article will compare and contrast the advantages of doing an online TEFL course vs. an on-site TEFL course. It also tells you about the top 3 TEFL courses, what good TEFL courses should have, as well as provides resources (such as the Peace Corps) for you to find out about TEFLing for free if you can't afford a course at the moment. 
  • How to write a TEFL CV: Having gotten hundreds of CVs over the years I'm always surprised at how many people can't write a good CV. Your CV is how you sell yourself to an employer and you should put a decent amount of time and effort into writing it. CVs for teaching jobs overseas are a lot different from those back home, for example, you'd probably include a photo as well as your birthday and other personal information. This article will tell you what you should include and gives you tips on how to write a good CV (such as looking at teaching job adverts to find out about key phrases).
  • How to write a TEFL cover letter: Just like CVs, it's amazing how many people don't put a lot of effort into their cover letters. This article will tell you what you should and shouldn't include in a cover letter as well as provide a cover letter template. Most people know that they should be personalised, but few actually do it. Some people are even guilty of emailing a cover letter addressed to the wrong person. 
  • What's the best country to teach English in?: This article will tell you which countries are the best for saving money, for living well, a mix of both, teaching in Europe, and teaching in international schools. You'll find out about the most popular countries for TEFLing and why people go there.
  • Europe without an EU passport: Some people wrongly believe that they can't legally live, work, or teach in Europe without an EU passport, but there are programmes that will allow you to do so. For example, France and Spain's Ministries of Education have special  teaching assistant programmes for native speakers that provide them with a visa, stipend, and on occasion: housing. This article also discusses citizenship, residency, has country specific info for Europe, and a whole lot more. At 3,000 words this is one of the longest articles I've written.
  • TEFL job sites: Not so much an article as a list of places to look for teaching jobs, this post breaks job sites down into categories such as chain schools and recruiters, higher education job sites, international school job sites, general TEFL job sites, and a whole lot more.
  • TEFL interview and demo lesson: Interviews can be stressful and demo lessons can be especially nerve-wracking. This article gives you interview tips, suggested answers, tips for asking the interviewer questions, as well as links to other teaching job interview sites. The demo lesson section will tell you how to prepare, what to expect, and more. This article will provide you with tips so that you can ace your next teaching interview and demo lesson.
  • Sites for lesson planning: tons of links that will help you plan your lessons and make them fun and exciting. From beginners to advanced as well as specialised classes, you'll find tons of links here.  
  • Furthering your education: TEFL certificates, diplomas, master degrees, and PhDs: This article explains about some of the most popular TEFL certificates and diplomas. You'll also find a comprehensive list of master degree programmes related to teaching, TEFL, and linguistics around the world that can be done entirely online or only require a minimum amount of time on campus.
  • Working holiday visas and short-term jobs: While most jobs last for a year, this article will discuss WHV (working holiday visas) and short-term jobs. You'll find out what type of jobs offer short term contracts, how to get a WHV, specific employers that offer shorter contracts, and which countries often have short-term teaching contracts.
  • FAQ for Latin America: This article has FAQ for many countries in Latin America. Find out about visas, salaries, how to get work, border hopping, and who the best employers are. I've complied info from teachers who have lived in this counties and put them into one easy-to-read article. At 5,000 words this is one of the longest articles I've put together.
  • International schools: Some of the better jobs are at international schools. Find out what the requirements to teach at international schools are, recruiting fairs, how to get a good job, how to become a licensed teacher, and more. You'll also learn where to look for jobs, about international school recruiters, as well as where to look to find out if an international school is good or bad.
  • Saving for retirement and where to retire: Many TEFL teachers spend so much time abroad that it's only logical that they retire overseas. This article will list some of the most popular countries around the world, tell you what their requirements are, and explain where you can get more information about their retirement visas.

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