The Ical Tefl Guide v1 1

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the ICAL TEFL guide, version 1.1 - Copyright 2010 2011 ICAL,www.icalweb.com

The ICAL how-to guide to teaching English overseas.

The ICAL TEFL Guide is a free, easy to use guide all about how to teach English

overseas.

Its about how to get qualified, what you need to know, where you can go and what you

need to do once you get there.

Are you interested in travelling the world teaching English? Then this is the guide for

you!

Note, The I CAL TEFL Gui de is an ongoing proj ect fr om I CAL. To make sure you have

the m ost up-t o-date information, please visit thisl ink to download thelatest versionfo rfree.

I CAL is a leading prov ider of online TEFL Cert ificates; for m ore infor mat ion please visit

www.icalweb.com.

If you have any suggestions, amendments or comments on this e-book, please contact

us [email protected].
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Contents

The ICAL how-to guide to teaching English overseas. ................................................. 2Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5

What is it all About? ............................................................................................ 5Who is this e-Book for? ....................................................................................... 5Using this e-book ............................................................................................... 5A Quick Word on Acronyms .................................................................................. 6

Qualifications ........................................................................................................ 7Introduction ....................................................................................................... 7Speaking the Local Language ............................................................................... 7No Qualifications at All ........................................................................................ 8An Undergraduate University Degree (BA, BSc) ...................................................... 9

A Note on TEFL Degrees ................................................................................... 9A Degree and a TEFL Certificate ........................................................................... 9No Degree but a TEFL Certificate ........................................................................ 10

TEFL Certificates ................................................................................................. 11Who Awards the TEFL Certificate? ....................................................................... 11Types of Courses .............................................................................................. 12

An in-house course nearby ............................................................................. 12An in-house course in another location ............................................................. 12An online course ............................................................................................ 12

Choosing a Good Course ................................................................................... 12Where to Teach ................................................................................................... 14

Europe ............................................................................................................ 14The UK and Ireland ........................................................................................ 14Austria, France and Germany .......................................................................... 14Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus ......................................................... 14

Asia ................................................................................................................ 15China & Hong Kong ........................................................................................ 15South Korea .................................................................................................. 15Japan ........................................................................................................... 15

The Middle East ................................................................................................ 15Central America and South America .................................................................... 15
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Deciding Where to Teach ................................................................................... 16How to Find Work ................................................................................................ 17

Make Yourself Employable ................................................................................. 17Advertisements ................................................................................................ 17Agents ............................................................................................................ 18Emailing On Spec ............................................................................................. 18In Person ........................................................................................................ 18

Applying for a Job ............................................................................................... 20Cover Letter .................................................................................................... 20Rsum or CV .................................................................................................. 21

Basic Personal Details .................................................................................... 21Qualifications ................................................................................................ 22Languages You Speak .................................................................................... 22Employment History ....................................................................................... 22

Check, check and Double Check! ........................................................................ 23The Job Offer ...................................................................................................... 24

Contact Details ................................................................................................. 24Job Details ....................................................................................................... 24Visas............................................................................................................... 25Nice to Know ................................................................................................... 25Trust Your Instincts .......................................................................................... 25

Moving & Culture Shock ....................................................................................... 26Phases of Culture Shock .................................................................................... 26Coping with Culture Shock ................................................................................. 27

Before you go ............................................................................................... 27When you arrive ............................................................................................ 27Help during problem times .............................................................................. 28

Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 29


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Introduction

What i s i t a l l About ?

What is Teaching English as a Foreign Language or TEFL as its known in the trade?

Quite simply, it means teaching English to people who dont speak English as their native

language.

Maybe that means teaching English to a group of teenagers in Bangkok or a classroom

full of lively children in Shanghai or business people in Dubai or hotel managers in

Switzerland.

And why English?

Simply put, it is because English is probably the most important language in the world

today. Across the world it is the language of science, the internet, business and foreign

affairs. When a German engineer meets a Portuguese grocer in a bar in Japan, they will

likely speak English together. And when a Spanish scientist wants to announce to the

world a new scientific breakthrough, they will do it in English.

Across the world in almost every single city and town (and quite a few villages, too)

there are schools where English is being taught. There are, quite literally, hundreds of

thousands of them.

And many, many of them have an English teacher in the classroom who has travelled

across the world to be there. Its common to find American, British, Irish, Australian,

Canadian, South African and New Zealand teachers standing in front of a classroom full

of learners and teaching them English in pretty much every country of the world.

And thats not including the thousands of other nationalities teaching English as well!

Who is t hi s e-Book f or?

This e-book is for anyone who is interested in becoming a teacher of English. If you wantto travel overseas and teach English this guide is for you.

Assuming no previous knowledge, it starts from the very basics and tells you all you

need to know about getting qualified, finding work and handling a class.

Using this e-book

Before getting down to the basics, there are a couple of things to say about using this

guide.


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As this is an e-book youll find there are quite a few hyperlinks included in the text. If

you click on these you will usually go to a page on the TEFL World Wiki website. This

page will explain in more detail about the subject youre looking at.

(Note that sometimes a link will jump to another section within the e-book.)

So, for example, weve already talked about the termTEFLand if you click on the link,

youll go to theTEFL World Wikiwhere this term is explained in much more detail.

So, any time you see a link and want to learn more, just click on it!

A Qui ck Wor d on Acronyms

The world of teaching English is littered withacronyms(a word made up from the first

letters of a phrase). As you read through this e-book youll find we use these ones quite

a lot:

TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language

TESL Teaching English as a Second Language

TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

For practical purposes, these three can be considered the same. There are slight

differences between them, but they arent important when you first start out teaching.

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a Second Language

Again, these can be considered the same.

And finally for now, we have

ELT English Language Teaching

There are other acronyms to consider but theyll be dealt with as you come across them

in this e-book.
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Qualifications

In the old days if you were an Englishnative speaker(you spoke English as yourmothertongue) that was often enough to get you the job.

It didnt matter if you had no training or had never stepped into a classroom before, if

you spoke English then you got the job.

But things have changed. Nowadays things are more professional and you need training

and qualifications to teach. This section of the e-book looks at what you need to teach

and what you can do with the qualifications you do (or dont) have.

In t roduct ion

As with any job, the more you have to offer in terms of qualifications and experience,

the better your chances of landing a well paid job with opportunities for advancement.

However it is also true that requirements vary from country to country and even from

school to school.

For example, there are smallELT(English Language Teaching) schools with one

classroom and a few students and then there are huge universities with several

campuses and thousands of students.

Likewise there are entry level jobs and there are advancedDoS(Director of Studies;

basically the academic manager of a school) jobs.

Some countries need you to have certain qualifications to issue a visa for work. In other

countries this is not so important.

Speaki ng t he Local Language

Before going further, its as well here to clear up the misconception that you need to

speak the local language to teach English. Some people think that you have to speakSpanish, for example, to teach in Spain.

This is simply not true.

These days classes are taught almost entirely in theTarget Languagewhich means you

introduce, explain and practice in English.

This is calledFull Immersionand essentially you are trying to put the student in the

same kind of environment where a native speaker learns their own language.
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In fact, it does the students good because to communicate they MUST speak English and

thats what its all about.

Of course knowing a bit of the local language helps when youre outside school (e.g.

shopping, ordering in a bar, etc) but youll soon pick up the basics and its rare that

youll find yourself living in a town where no one speaks any English at all!

No Qual i f icat i ons at Al l

Although there are jobs available to TEFL teachers with no qualifications whatsoever, we

would not recommend this approach.

Firstly it is unfair to your students who will be expecting a professional, well trained

teacher who will be able to help them learn English. They are most likely paying a lot of

money to learn and they should be respected for this.

Secondly it is unfair to yourself. You will almost certainly flounder and find problems if

you do not have even a basic grasp of teaching technique and subject matter. If you

have training, you will find the work much easier and much more enjoyable.

On another tack, many schools who employ teachers without qualifications are likely to

be breaking the law as most countries have minimum legal requirements for teachers.

This being the case you will not only be paid less but be also employed illegally and if

discovered there may be problems!

However, if you do not have any qualifications and still want work as a teacher, jobs like

this are found by being in the country itself and knocking on school doors, hoping there

is a vacancy and the school is in need.

Because theres a chance that you will be employed on the quiet as it were, you will not

necessarily have the same benefits and safeguards as other teachers.

Firstly the school may well pay you less than the legal minimum (they may not, of

course, but this is a possibility). There is not a lot you can do about this except to take

the job for now but keep looking round for work and seeing if you can get a better offer

elsewhere.

Then you may not have the legal safeguards if something goes wrong. If your school

owner decides not to pay you for some reason, there is little you can do about it exceptleave. Again, once you have got the hang of the new country you will be in a better

position to know which is a good school and a bad school and make your employment

choices based on that.

Finally there is a slim possibility that you will have to pretend to be something other than

you are. Cases of teachers slipping out of the country to get their tourist visa stamped

are common. Likewise having to pretend you are not a teacher in case the inspectors call

also happens!


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However, realistically speaking, there is very little chance that there will be any serious

consequences to working illegally. Only in the most extreme cases will you have to leave

the country for example.

An Under gradu at e Univer si t y Degree (BA, BSc)

Most job advertisements start by asking for a university degree. Often this is needed to

get a work visa for the country where the job is.

It is useful to have a degree in a language related subject:

English Literature English Language Spanish Linguistics Modern Languages

And so on.

But dont worry if your degree is in Engineering or Chemistry. Since the degree

requirement is often only for visa purposes, you will often find English teachers in South

Korea or Japan with Science or Divinity degrees!

A Note on TEFL Degrees

Sometimes prospective teachers consider taking a TEFL degree. This is by no means a

bad thing, but it can sometimes be slightly restrictive. Outside of the TEFL industry most

employers will not really understand what a TEFL degree is all about whereas they will

definitely know what an English degree entails.

If you are sure you want a long career in TEFL then by all means consider this option,

but if you are thinking of teaching for a while and then maybe changing careers after a

few years, a more generic degree might be more suitable in the long term.

A Degree and a TEFL Certificate

This is by far the most common combination of qualifications you see when looking for

work. It is generally accepted as the minimum for an entry level job in most countries

around the world.

What type of TEFL Certificate is useful is one of the most hotly debated topics in the

TEFL industry today. To read more about what kind of certificate is best for you, see the

TEFL Certificatessection below.


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No Degree but a TEFL Cer t i f icat e

As mentioned above, most countries require English teachers to have a degree. Having

said that, there are still possibilities to teach if you do not have a one. You should bear in

mind, however, that without a degree you will likely work in a less prestigious school at

the lower end of the market.

If you do not have a degree you need to make yourself as employable as possible. This

means its imperative you get at least a TEFL Certificate so that you have something to

show a school owner and convince them that you are able to teach their students.


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TEFL Cert if icates

A TEFL Certificate is regarded as the standard qualification in order to teach at an entrylevel job (often alongside a degree).

TEFL Certificates are awarded after you have taken a short course where you will learn

the basics of teaching English. This will usually include (but it not restricted to):

The general principles of language teaching. Needs Analysis why your students are learning English and what this means to

you.

Creating aSyllabusand aLesson Plan. Lesson activities andteaching methods. Classroom management. Language skills. Teaching resources.

And so on. Some courses are highly detailed and go into each subject in depth, others

are cursory. Some include a final exam whilst most rely on continuous assessmentbefore the TEFL Certificate is awarded.

Who Awards the TEFL Certi f icate?

There is no single body which issues TEFL Certificates. They are generally issued by the

school where you take the course and each school is different so each course is different.

Also bear in mind that there is no independent, international accreditation for TEFL

Certificates. That means, in effect, that there is no independent, international body

checking schools and making sure that your TEFL certificate course is any good!

This means that there are good schools and bad schools, expensive courses and cheap

courses (and its worth noting here that price often has nothing to do with quality in this

field), worthwhile certificates and certificates which are, to be frank, not worth the paper

they are written on.

Below well talk about how to choose a good certificate course.
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Types of Cour ses

There are 3 main ways to get a TEFL Certificate.

An in-house course nearby

In most towns there are one or two ELT schools which offer the TEFL Certificate as well.

Generally speaking they offer a 4 week course where you will spend some time in the

classroom learning, some time watching your classmates teaching guinea pig students

and some time teaching them yourself.

Occasionally these courses are part-time.

Arguably at the top end of the market here is theCELTAcourse. This is a course

overseen by Cambridge Assessment. It is an extremely intensive course run by schools

around the world which are moderated by Cambridge Assessment.

The course costs vary but are usually around 1,500 USD (1,000 GBP or 1,200 EUR).

There are other in-house courses apart from CELTA which vary in intensity and quality.

The Trinity course is also well regarded.

An in-house course in anot her locat ion

Some schools offer TEFL courses in exotic locations. This is a possibility if youd like to

combine study and travel, but bear in mind the extra costs this may entail and the

possibility that you may not find work in that country when youve finished the course.

An online course

In recent years many online schools have sprung up. These offer the courses through

correspondence. Usually you will receive work via email, prepare an assignment and

then send it back to be assessed by your personal tutor.

The advantage of online courses is that you work at your own pace, you can take the

course from any location in the world and they are often much cheaper than in-house

courses, typically around 265 USD (155 GBP or 200 EUR).

Some online schools also offer TP (Teaching Practice) by way of video, i.e. you recordyourself teaching a lesson and send the video to your tutor for assessment.

Arguably the leader in this field isICAL. We have been offering online courses since 1998

and have trained tens of thousands of students who have gone on to teach English

around the world.

Choosing a Good Course

Whichever course you choose, here are a few ways of making sure the school and

certificate you take are worthwhile:
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Check out the tutors. Some schools have one or maybe two tutors so you shouldmake sure there is a selection of tutors to choose from and that they are all wellqualified.

Is the Certificate worth anything? Do a little research and see what standing thecourse provider has in the ELT community; read what other students who have

taken the course say about it; ask your local school or employer if they are willingto accept a certificate offered by a particular school.

Is the school website full of adverts for agents or other products? If it is, becareful!

Is the school fly-by-night? Choose a school which has been around for some time.


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Where to Teach

After qualifications, the next step is deciding where to teach.

Although there are jobs going pretty well everywhere, there tends to be certain countries

which attract certain types of teachers. Although you are by no means restricted to

these countries, for a first time job its often better to go where others have gone before

rather than try out for a place which could be so alien that it puts you off teaching for

life!

This section looks at common destinations and who is working there. The links refer to

pages on the ICAL TEFL wiki which examine the countries in detail.

Europe

Due to visa restrictions, to work in Europe you will need a passport from a European

member state. In effect this means that the majority of teachers in Europe are from

Britain or Ireland1

The UK

.

andIreland

Jobs in these countries tend to look to well qualified and experienced teachers. Most

teachers here have gone abroad for a few years and returned to teach at home.

Austria, FranceandGermany

These countries tend to look for well qualified, professional teachers with experience.

Often jobs can be full time careers and students will expect high standards from their

teachers. Although you may be able to find work here, these countries are usually

destinations for those who have experience.

Port ugal, Spain, Italy,GreeceandCyprus

There is a strong demand for English teachers in many of these countries and it hasbeen the traditional training ground for teachers from Britain and Ireland although in

recent years the demand has dropped off. Having said this, there are still many jobs

available here.

1 Whereas citizens of European member states can live and work freely in any EU state, in order to employ a

non-European the school will have to complete so much paperwork that it often makes the whole process tootime consuming.
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Asia

As Europe is the home to many British and Irish teachers, so Asia is the home to many

American and Australian teachers (not to mention everyone else!).

Work here is still relatively easy to find and there is often a high demand for teachers.

China&Hong Kong

China is the big emerging market in TEFL right now. There are many jobs available here

and it is big business with thousands of schools popping up to feed the need to learn

English.

Jobs vary greatly and although there are many good jobs, being a relatively new market

there are a number of fly-by-night schools and slightly dubious school owners. As time

goes on more regulation and consistency will come into play and things should settle

down.

There are already thousands of English teachers working in China and there are

communities of expats in most major towns and cities.

South Korea

There is a solid need for teachers in South Korea and along with China its a popular

destination amongst American teachers.

Japan

Along with South Korea, Japan is another popular destination amongst American

teachers, especially in the larger cities.

The Mi ddl e East

Although there is a good TEFL market in the Middle East, jobs here tend to go to well

qualified and experienced teachers. Pay is generally good (higher than most places) and

because of this the jobs are harder to get.

Although its possible to get work here as a new teacher, it is unlikely.

Cent ra l Ameri caan dSout h Amer ica

Vacancies here are traditionally filled by North Americans although increasing numbers

of European teachers are heading to South America.

Because of trade agreements with the US,Mexicois a common destination but

throughout the continent there is good demand for teachers.
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Decidin g Wher e t o Teach

Deciding where to teach can be a tricky business. Although some teachers have a

destination already in mind, for many teachers theres no one particular place which

stands out.

As far as getting work is concerned, for first time teachers a very general idea is that:

British and Irish teachers tend to go for Southern Europe American teachers head over to South Korea and Vietnam Australian teachers stick to South Korea and Thailand Everyone goes to China!

Take a look around the world at different countries (click here to see differentcountryfiles) and eventually one place will seem more attractive than the others. Although its

not necessary to speak the local language, you may find it a help in your first job so if

you speak a little Spanish you might prefer to spend a year or so in a Spanish speaking

South America country where you know youll be able to get around a little from the

start.
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How to Find Work

Once you have the qualifications and you know where you want to go, its time to findthe job.

As you might expect, most vacancies open up just before the start of the new academic

year. In most countries this is after Summer in September, but make sure to check

when your destination starts its new year.

There are also more vacancies after Christmas in the early new year. This happens

because some teachers decide that the school is not for them and go home for

Christmas, never to return!

But apart from this, you may well be able to find decent job openings throughout the

year if you keep a regular eye on things so regardless of when you are ready to go, start

looking for work now and youll begin to get a good idea of what is available.

Make Your self Empl oyable

The first step is to make yourself as employable as possible. This means:

1. Getting some sort of qualification to show the school. If you turn up without asingle piece of paper then it wont do you any good. At minimum you should have

a TEFL Certificate such as theICAL TEFL Certificateto show that you have hadrelevant instruction and will know what you are doing in the classroom.

2. If possible, get some kind of experience be it volunteering at a local immigrantcentre or teaching one-to-one lessons with the children of a local family who have

just moved to your country. Anything to put on your rsum is better than

nothing; and of course maximise it!

3. It may sound very obvious, but you also need to look the part. Teachers are oftenhighly regarded overseas and turning up at a school wearing grubby jeans and a

t-shirt will lose you points; think aboutwhat to wearwhen you turn up at a

school.

Once you are ready, there are four main ways to find work.

Advert isements

Check out online advertisements. The first thing to do is make a quick search for your

country of choice plus efl job and see what comes up.

There are also a number of good websites advertising jobs and you should take a look at

places like:
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ESL Jobs ESL Jobs Forum ESL Teachers Board

Go to these sites regularly and begin to make notes about what pay and conditions are

like. Youll start to build up a picture of what to expect in the country and this also helps

to avoid scams.

If, for example, all the jobs you see offer around 2,000 per month and suddenly you see

a similar job offering 8,000 per month this should set alarm bells ringing!

Agents

Another tried and tested way to find work is through an agent. An agent acts as a go-between finding teachers to work in schools. An agent may, for example, advertise

independently and find several hundred teachers to work in as many schools in China.

Agents can often be a good idea if you are a little unsure about moving overseas and

would like someone who can answer all your questions and help you out if things go

wrong. (Bear in mind, though, that they are employed by the schools so their first

loyalty is to the school and not the teacher.)

By all means write to all the agents working in the country of your choice and see what

their terms and conditions are.

However, there is one golden rule when it comes to agents: neve r pay a s i ng le penny

t o t h e m t o f i n d w o r k f o r y o u.

Agents are paid by the school to find teachers, not by the teachers themselves.

Emailing On Spec

If you can find a list of schools in a particular area youd like to work in, simply compose

a decentcover letterand send it off on spec to them. It can work regardless of the time

of year as your email may well arrive at a school who has just lost a teacher and you willbe in prime position to replace them.

In Person

Many teachers have found work simply by turning up on a school doorstep when the

school is in need of a teacher. This is often the only way if you do not have the usual

qualifications to get a job.

Quite simply fly to the country of your choice and make a planned assault on every

single school you can find. It will often turn out that sooner or later a school will be in
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need of a teacher either part or full time and will be happy to employ someone there and

then.

A few useful ideas here:

1. Make sure you have enough money to tide you over in your country of choice fora few months in case work doesnt come through. And make sure you have a

return ticket or the airfare home if the worst comes to the worst.

2. Fly in to the country at the start of the school year; this is when demand forteachers is at its greatest.For best hiring seasons around the world see here.

Plan it well:

1. Go to the largest city and get a cheap room in a hostel, for example.2. Get the local equivalent of the Yellow Pages and get the address of every single

school. Mark them out on a map.

3. Start walking and take the first job that is offered you!In other words, you go round to every single school in town and see if they need a

teacher. Make sure you have your rsum or CV to leave and contact details (your email

and a phone number if you have one there).
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Applying for a Job

There is nothing wrong in applying for every single job you see, even if you dont thinktheyll give it to you. An email costs nothing so sending out hundreds is simple and

cheap.

However, before you do this, youll need to prepare your documents. This is what you

will need to prepare:

Cover Letter Rsum or CV Passport Passport sized photographs

(The school may also ask for other documents depending on local requirements.)

Cover Let t er

Yourcover letteris designed not to give everything away. It should be simple and to the

point.

This is the first and best chance to make a good impression so it should be the best you

can create.

The letter should be short and to the point. School owners and DoSs do not have time to

waste so they want to see without delay who you are and whether it is worth spending

time on reading your rsum.

The cover letter should contain these points:

why you are writing where you saw the advert who you are and what you can offer why you want this particular job ask them to consider your application

Dont, however, be arrogant in your letter and tell them how good you are and why they

should employ you. Also, bear in mind that the person reading the letter may not have a

100% grasp of English so you should keep it simple.
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The idea is that the letter should encourage them to open up your rsum and read

more about you.

Dear Mr Li,

I am w riting to apply f or t he position of EFL teacher at "China School" which you

advertised on the EFL Job website on 3rd March, 2010.

Earlier this year I graduated from Smithtown University with a degree in English.

Following on from this I took and completed m y TEFL Certificate wit h I CAL. Over

the last year I have also been volunteering at a local imm igrant center t eaching

English to new arrivals in my country - a job I enjoyed immensely!

I have long planned to come to China and teach English (I m start ing to learn

Mandarin) and I would appreciate it very much if you would consider me for the

position of EFL teacher in your school.

I have att ached my rsum and look forward to hearing from y ou.

With regards,

Joe Jones

Rsum or CV

Your TEFLrsumor CV (Curriculum Vitae) is critical in helping you find work. It is likely

to be the first contact between you and a potential employer and thus is it extremely

important that it looks good.

There are 2 main ways to write a rsum: chronologically or thematically. The more

traditional way is chronologically and since most of the world tends to prefer

chronological rsums, this is the way we recommend doing it.

Design your rsum in several distinct sections:

Basic Personal Detai ls

Joe Jones

123 Acacia AvenueGreendale

Utopia DB5

j [email protected]

tel: 123 456 789

sex: male

dob: 26t h March 1980

nationality: British

Be careful about putting an email address which contains a domain which leads to a

website with content other than teaching English or which may contain content that will
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put an employer off. It is sometimes better to have a gmail or yahoo account for this

purpose.

In some countries it is not done to include your sex or date of birth; if you are applying

for a job in another country however, it may be acceptable there to ask these kinds of

questions. If you have a problem with this, then dont apply for the position in the firstplace.

The reason for the nationality is obvious - it lets the employer know at a glance whether

there will be visa issues if they decide to hire you. If you have American nationality, for

example, you will find it extremely hard to get employment in the EU.

Qualifications

BA English, Smitht own University, 20 10

TEFL Certificate, ICAL, 2010

Put the highest first and lower qualifications after this. This is perhaps the most

important part of the rsum; dont put anything here which you cant back up and dont

put here irrelevant qualifications. Your high school diploma is not needed since you

mention a degree which overrides it, for example.

You can also include here any relevant short courses you may have taken in your

employment.

Languages You Speak

English (mother tongue)German (interm ediate)

Mandarin (basic)

The languages you speak with your MT first followed by the rest in order of skill level. If

you can teach another language then by all means mention this as it may well increase

the chances of employment (your new school could use you to teach English and another

language or if you speak the native language of a foreign country this may help you get

work there).

Employment Hist ory

HelpCare Center for Refugees, 2010

teaching survival English to n ewcomers; this involved all ages and levels

This is a basic rsum; you can expand on the work you did at each location to let your

potential employer know the kind of skills you possess and the kind of work you can do.

Put the most recent experience first and dont forget to put down relevant experience no

matter how old it is.

Dont, however, include work experience which is not related to the job unless you have

nothing else to include here. If there are any major breaks in work experience try to fill

them with volunteer work or an explanation (e.g. you were travelling in Asia for a year)
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because if you leave a long empty space an employer may well think the worse - that

you were in jail for example.

Additional Skills

com puter literate ( Windows/Mac, Office applications)

sport s: blue belt in aikido, enjoy playing football and snooker

clean car driving licence

This is more about you which doesnt really fit in anywhere else.

Ideally the rsum will come out at about a single page long. The idea is that this isnt a

complete history of your life but enough information so that the employer will want to

find out more about you.

Check, check and Doubl e Check!

Check your spelling! Once you have checked the spelling and grammar, check it again

and then ask someone else to check it.

And please, please make sure youve spelt grammarwith an a and not an e!


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The Job Offer

Before long you will receive, either from an agent or directly from a school, a job offer.

Dont be tempted to take the first job that comes along, since you have hopefully applied

to many, many jobs be prepared to wait a few days to see what else turns up in the

post.

The first thing to do is check the school online. Do a quick search for it and see if there

are any comments made about it on the TEFL forums. In most cases this will turn up no

results, but occasionally you will find a slew of negative comments which may make you

change your mind about the job.

But play it by ear; perhaps those comments were written by a disgruntled former

employee and are totally bogus. Alternatively, maybe the owner of the school has posted

an anonymous review of his school giving it maximum points!

There are other things to look at as well.

Cont act Det ai ls

A genuine school will have no problem in supplying full contact details. Avoid schools

which just give a PO Box, for example.

Job Det ai ls

A good job offer will include all these details. If they are not there then make sure you

ask the school and, if necessary, have them written into the contract and confirmed by

the school.

hours of work including a sample timetable (look for split shifts which could turn a5 hour day into a 10 hour day)

days of work - are you expected on Saturdays or Sundays? classroom contact hours wages holidays where you will teach (you may have to teach in different locations which can be

difficult)


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accommodation details - usually the school will help you find accommodation orwill have arranged accommodation for you; however you will pay for the rent

how far is the school from the accommodation is airfare included and, if so, when will it be paid? what about health cover?

Dont sign a contract which has a fine for leaving early. This is illegal in most countries

and suggests problems at the school.

Also, contracts are usually for one academic year. Be wary of signing a contract for a

longer term unless you are very sure of the job.

Visas

Make sure you are clear as to the correct visa you will need to have. Also contact the

local embassy to confirm with them.

Its not uncommon for teachers to be brought into a country on a tourist visa and have

this converted to a work visa later on, but avoid schools which say you can do this when

the local embassy strictly forbids this.

Nice to Know

If you can find out these things, its nice to know.

how many other English teachers work at the school and can you have theiremails to talk to them beforehand?

all about the students (age, ability, etc) teaching facilities books used students per class will you be expected to take part in any extracurricular activities?

Trust Your Inst inct s

If after all this you feel that something isnt quite right, walk away from the job. There

are plenty of good jobs out there so dont risk everything if you have a hunch its not the

one for you.


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Moving & Culture Shock

Once you have accepted a job offer and it is all signed and sealed, it is time to prepareyour move overseas.

First make sure your official paperwork and documentation is ready.

Then start packing:

Find out about local weather conditions throughout the year so you take the rightclothes.

Get supplies of any special medicine you might need (but check that it is ok totake it into the country; sometimes what is legal in your country is not allowed in

another).

And then when all this is done, there is also another aspect to consider:Culture Shock.

This is the term used to describe the anxiety and stress people feel when they relocate

to a new environment. Its most obvious when moving to a new country where habits,

customs and language may be very different from your own country.

Culture Shock comes about because of difficulties in assimilating the new culture,

uncertainty as to what behaviour is appropriate and what is not, and sometimes disgust

or revulsion about certain aspects of the new culture.

Phases of Cul t ur e Shock

There is often an initial honeymoon phase when moving to a new country. Everything is

strange and different and is seen in a romantic or exotic new light. The food is exotic,

the people look exciting and different, the atmosphere is charged and so on.

But this is often followed by the new culture losing its freshness and a desire for your

own culture: food, friends, language, television and so on. The contrast of the old and

the new can become more pronounced and frustrating and develop into annoyance or

anger that things arent how they should be. This is the hardest phase to cope with.

After time the new culture becomes assimilated and most people find their balance. They

accept what they like and try to ignore what they do not.

However, since teachers often work abroad for a set contract this means that after a

year or so they may well move back home where the process starts all over again!
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Coping wi t h Cul t ur e Shock

Some people cope better than others with culture shock. Experienced travellers have

developed strategies for dealing with the changes in culture and this helps to make their

time in another country more enjoyable and profitable.

Before you go

Immerse yourself in your destination country; learn about the new countrybeforehand - if you read about your destination before you go this will make it

seem less strange and intimidating when you first arrive; for example you might

read that the toilets are different which will mean when you first arrive seeing a

completely different set up in the toilet wont be so much of a shock!

Learn a few words - no matter how little you know, it will make a difference;immediately you will have one or two words to act as footholds in the newlanguage. Especially important here is learning how to address people correctly:

the local equivalent ofMr, Mrsand Madam, for example, so that you can establish

some immediate rapport with people (even if you continue the rest of the

conversation in English).

Read about cultural differences (such asbody language) to avoid the possibility ofoffending local people

When you arr ive

After youve got advice on personal safety, get out and explore the area whereyou live. Spend time wandering the streets to see what is out there. Who knows,

you may even meet a few people on the way.

Use the same shops to buy your essentials so you can build a relationship withthe shop keepers - its someone else to greet when you go to work in the

morning.

Learn the basics and then introduce yourself to your neighbours. They might beuseful if you ever find yourself in difficulties.

Find the essentials in your neighbourhood: the police station, the post office, thedoctor, dentist and hospital.

Get into a routine. After breakfast, for example, have coffee at the same shop inthe same seat each morning. This will make you feel more like a resident and less

like a tourist.

Join a gym. Look out for any social activity and dont turn down an invitation soyou meet as many people as possible. If you have a free day, make sure you do

something with it rather than just sit at home. It doesnt matter what as long as

it gets you out of the house.
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For more ideas on socialising,click here.

Help duri ng problem t imes

If you do have problems:

Try talking to other people who have been in the same situation. Make sure you have packed a few "luxuries" from home which can help: your

favourite books or music for example.

Take up a hobby: it doesnt matter what, but its something to take your mind offthe situation for a few hours be it fishing, knitting, building matchstick models of

the Titanic or whatever.

Keep a diary of your days. Write down all the new and strange details of your lifeand then, when you like to, go through it and youll realise that those situationswhich used to be so strange and frightening in the early days are commonplace

and quite fun now.
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Conclusion

Teaching English overseas can be one of the most rewarding and satisfying jobs in theworld.

If you plan it well, you can live a lifetime of experiences in a few years, see places and

people most people only see on television, and make great friends.

Remember, thousands of people have done it before you and you can be sure thousands

will do it after you.

Here at ICAL we have amassed many, many years of teaching experience between us

and likewise many, many years of living in foreign countries.

There are so many tales to tell and so many experiences to share and all this happened

because each of us one day decided to go overseas and teach English.

Good luck!

Note, The I CAL TEFL Gui de is an ongoing proj ect f rom I CAL. To make sure you have

the m ost up-t o-date information, please visit thislink to down load the latest versionfo r

free.

I CAL is a leading prov ider of online TEFL Cert ificates; for m ore infor mat ion please visit

www.icalweb.com.

If you have any suggestions, amendments or comments on this e-book, please contact

us [email protected].
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The Ical Tefl Guide v1 1

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