Hot Topic: Socialising With Teachers Outside of Work

From viajejet.com

When teaching in a foreign country many times the first foreigners you meet will be those you work with. It seems natural to hang out together. After all, you're all foreigners in a  country where you might not know the local language, culture, or customs.

Mixing business with pleasure has its pros and cons. I'm not talking about dating co-workers, that's a whole different topic, I'm simply talking about hanging out, shopping, going to pubs, etc. Not dating.

Now that I got that out of the way, you have to realise that TEFL is a small world. What you say outside of work can easily come and bite you in the butt. TEFL teachers often ask what some people would be considered not politically correct questions, such as how much rent you're paying or what you charge for private classes. That's all fine and good, and most people don't have a problem with these questions.

However, you can run into problems if you're complaining about a work situation, such as a boss, student, other teachers, or admin. You also might want to be careful if you're teaching somewhere else or teaching private classes, since that might be illegal.

Hands down, I've met some great people at work and have kept in touch with them over the years. At the beginning you always have to be wary though and be careful about what you say. You may think there's no harm complaining a bit, but if you find out the person you're complaining to is best friends with the person you're complaining about, you could easily land yourself in hot water. Likewise you don't want to end up drunk and acting like a fool in front of co-workers. Or worse, hitting on them.

Have fun, but just keep in mind that word gets around fast in the TEFL community.

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The Best TEFL Jobs in Chad

Here's the information for Chad for The Best TEFL Jobs in the World. You might also want to look at The Best TEFL Jobs With Worldwide Employers.  

Chad doesn't have a lot of TEFL jobs. I only know of one good employer. If you know of any other good ones, please let me know by emailing me at naturegirl321@yahoo.com

1. TPL: They offer $75,000 and up as well as great benefits.

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Poll Results January 2014: Which is most important?

January's poll was "Which is most important?" Here are the results.

From rmsbunderblog.wordpress.com

• Money: 30% with 3 votes
• Prestige: 10% with 1 vote
• Lifestyle: 60% with 6 votes

I was a bit surprised that more people didn't choose money, but I guess money can't buy happiness. I know in Korea the salaries have stayed pretty much the same for years and years and cost of living has gone up, yet people stay! There are a lot of nice perks to living abroad, such as longer vacations, the ability to save, and being able to learn a foreign language.

Be sure to vote in this month's poll: "What's the average number of students you have per class?"

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How to Use Songs in Your EFL Classes

More likely than not your students will like songs, so why not use them to teach English? Here are a couple ways to use songs in your ESL and EFL classes. You can find more idea here.

Gap Fill
A common activity is to take out words and have students listen and fill in the gap.

Translation
I know, I know. Many teachers are against translation. However, it can be a useful tool and it will allow your students to understand the lyrics.

Invent Lyrics
Find songs without words or ones that have words in a foreign language that they don't know. Then have them invent the lyrics. As an added bonus, see if your students will sing them.

Idioms and Slang
Students always want to learn real English, the English they hear on tv, at the movies, or in songs. So here's your chance to explain it to them. Just be sure to look over the lyrics very carefully beforehand and see if they're appropriate. A good activity to use with idioms and slang is matching.

Rhyming Words / Pronunciation
Many songs use words that rhyme. This is especially useful if the spelling is different, but they still rhyme. It's easy to see that words like "cat" and "hat" rhyme. However, it's more difficult to see that "mac" and "coming back" rhyme. You can tie in lessons with spelling and pronunciation.

Synonyms
There are two ways I like to use synonyms in class. The first is pretty straight forward; students have to think of another word to explain a word I choose (usually in bold). The second is a bit more challenging. You can take out words, similar to a gap fill, and have students guess what could go in the blank. You'll have to find a song that students don't know in order for this to work. It's fun to compare what students have chosen to put in the blanks.

Ordering
You can order the stanzas, sentences within the stanzas, or words within the sentence. Again, it works best with songs that students don't know. When I have students order stanzas, I cut the song into strips. For ordering sentences or words within sentences, I put the mixed up sentences / words on one paper.

Grammar
Ok, songs might not have the best grammar out there, but there are some good ones for teaching tenses.  Take a look at these to get some ideas: ESL HQ and TEFL dot net and TEFL tunes. Looking for more tips on teaching grammar? Check out this article I wrote about grammar.

Discussion topics
There are many things that you could use songs to talk about. Things like money, customs, culture, education, fashion, history, relationships, politics, and science are just a couple of ideas.  TEFL tunes has a good list.

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Self Employment Visas

Updated 12 November 2014

If you'd like to be your own boss then getting a self-employment visa might be the best option for you. There are a number of good guides out there about how to become self-employed. Below you can find some countries that have easy self-employment visas. 30 Days to Move Abroad has some good tips that will help make your move go smoothly.

You might also be interested in retirement visas. Many of them don't have age limits either, but rather ask for proof of funds.

Denmark has a green card programme available for those who fulfill the requirements. If you're current self-employed and make enough money you can apply.


Germany also allows non-EU passport holders to get freelance visas. However, they require that you have German-approved health insurance (you can find info on Toy Town Germany as well as How to Germany, and there's more info at the bottom of this page) as well as at least two offers of freelance employment. and enough money in the bank to support yourself. It also helps if you speak German a little bit to help you deal with the people at the immigration and tax offices. The book Painlessly Relocate to Germany also has some good tips.


Japan has self sponsored visas. Here's more information about self sponsorship and  the requirements. You will have to be in Japan in order to apply for this visa.


Mexico has FM3s. Rules have changed though. Now you can't get this visa unless you already have another visa, such as a work or marriage one. Here's what Guy Courchesne has to say. Basically, you need your passport, about 2000 pesos, a degree, the application, and a letter written in Spanish outlining what you plan to do and why you are qualified to do it. If you have a TEFL cert that will probably help your application. Speaking Spanish will make the application process a lot easier. After you get the independent FM3 visa you'll need to get a tax number to be able to write up receipts for students or companies if you plan to go that route.


Paraguay allows you to become a permanent resident quite easily. You'll need a criminal background check and your birth certificate apostillised. Then you submit them to the nearest Paraguayan embassy or consulate. Finally you go to Paraguay and start the process. You have to deposit $5000 into a Paraguayan bank and wait a few months. The total time start to finish is about 1 year. 3 years after you get permanent residency you can apply for citizenship. You don't lose the $5000. You can withdraw it once you prove solvency to the government. International Man has more info.


Singapore has been voted one of the best places to start your own business. Find out more in this article. 



Switzerland allows those from EU countries to get a self-employment visa or an independent visa. If you're not from the EU, then you can get an investor visa.

In the United Kingdom you used to be able to go the HSMW visa.
Edit: the HSMW programme has been stopped. I've kept the info up for reference. The Highly Skilled Migrant Worker Programme (Tier 1)gives points based on age, experience, education, etc. Here's how to apply. This is the main UK immigration website.

More Information
You might try taking a look at the following articles for more information about becoming self-employed.

• How to Get Private Students and Teaching Private Classes
• Supplementing Your Teaching Salary
• Teaching Online and Earning Money Online

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