English is spoken as a second or foreign language by an estimated 950 million people worldwide¹. This is in addition to the 427 million native speakers of English². But how did the English language reach the stage where it is used and understood, to a greater or lesser extent, by more than 1 in 7 of the world’s population?

The first stage of the global spread of the English language was the result of the empire building of Britain, otherwise known as imperialism. The second stage was the result of the cultural, political and economic preeminence of the USA, otherwise known as neo-imperialism.

The British Empire

At its height in 1922, the British Empire was the largest in history, covering a quarter of the Earth’s land area, with a population of over 450 million people.

The British Empire, circa 1922 (image courtesy of WikiMedia)

The primary aim of education in the colonies became the acquisition of the English language, and the future academic and financial success of those living in colonized countries came to depend mainly on their English language ability³.

After World War II, when the colonized countries started to gain independence, the English language maintained its influence by being selected as an official or national language by “leaders who were themselves the products of colonial education”⁴.

These factors contributed to English becoming either the sole dominant language, or an official language, in over 75 territories with a combined population of over 2.2 billion people ⁵.

The American Empire

On July 4th, 1776, thirteen British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard declared independence and founded the United States of America. The U.S. economy has since become the largest in the world, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world’s sole superpower.

The global reach of America’s cultural, political and economic influence has contributed significantly to bolstering the dominant position of the English language in the 20th and 21st centuries.

America has spawned a significant number of global musical influences, including Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Madonna, and Bob Dylan. On a global stage, the economic and cultural dominance of Hollywood is unrivaled.

In the information age of the 21st century, a reported 45% of web-pages⁶ are written in English, a situation not hindered by the fact that 9 of the top 10 most visited websites in the world are based in America.

The future?

In the 21st century, China is positioning itself to challenge America for the position of the number one economic power in the world, but whether this will translate to linguistic dominance remains to be seen.

Neither political, economic, cultural, technological nor military might alone can give one language international prominence. It takes a sustained combination of all these powers to achieve that. As a case in point, Japanese did not become a dominant language internationally (although it did increase in popularity), despite Japan’s incredible economic success from the 1960s to 1990s.

Having said this, linguistic world orders do change. English was preceded by Latin as the world’s dominant language, which was put in place by the Roman Empire and perpetuated by education and religion. But the days of Latin were cut short by the rise of the British and American empires described above.

There are few theoretical reasons why English itself will not at some future time be succeeded by another language, promulgated by the economic, political and cultural might of its native speakers.

English belongs to everyone

I say “few” reasons because there is at least one reason I will suggest that might result in English maintaining its place as the global lingua franca, despite the likely future preeminence of a non-English speaking nation.

The reason is that the English language is now argued to belong to everyone who speaks it. Native speakers are said to have forfeited their right to exclusive ownership of English in a global context. Indeed, native speakers of English are outnumbered more than 2-to-1 by non-native speakers of the language.

It seems that now and in the future, English will continue to belong to “everyone or to no-one”⁷ and therefore perhaps maintain its position as the global dominant language throughout the 21st century and beyond.

References

¹Saville-Troike, Muriel. Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2006.
²Ibid.
³Phillipson, Robert. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford, England: Oxford UP, 1992.
⁴Phillipson, Robert. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford, England: Oxford UP, 1992, p.182
⁵Crystal, David. English as a Global Language. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1997.
⁶UNESCO report. (Accessed January 2012).
⁷Wardhaugh, Ronald. Languages in Competition: Dominance, Diversity, and Decline. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell, 1987

I taught English in Belarus!

TEFL qualified Gemma Toovey found struggles and triumphs when she opted to teach English in Belarus, a  lesser frequented part of the former Soviet Union. I asked her more…

1)      What are your first impressions of teaching English in Belarus? What is the first thing you noticed? What’s the part you have found most challenging?

Like lots of cultures, Belarus takes a much more ‘relaxed’ approach to work, especially where there are foreigners and therefore visas concerned. My pay arrangements were slightly…improvised. I didn’t really have any idea what I was going to until I arrived and met up with the director of the school. Nothing dangerous but just a little unnerving for a Brit who quite likes to know what’s going on…

There wasn’t really much support or training offered as to how or what I taught;  no resources, colleagues or on the job training.

Having said this, there is something great about being the only native English speaker these students had ever met. I clearly did things in a different way from what their education system had taught them to expect from such a course, and their appreciation of that was clear to see. A really nice rapport developed over the course of the semester and there wasn’t one student I wasn’t sad to leave when the time came.

2)      Was it hard to find and fix up a job?

The way things are done is very much still word of mouth and someone who knows someone…and most of my work emerged that way once I was in the country. The initial contract which enabled me to get a visa was arranged through an existing contact I had. International organisations like International House would probably be the best bet for securing a visa and getting into the country.

3) Can you give me an idea of a typical working day?

My week consisted of two lessons in a primary school teaching 7 year olds from scratch, two lessons at an IT company doing advanced conversation practice with businessmen and women, two evening classes each with two groups of young adults at intermediate and advanced level, and one free conversation class for any of the language school students who wanted to come. It was a bit of an odd working day, but left me lots of time to plan lessons and also meet up with friends. I definitely didn’t feel overworked, but could’ve taken on private students or probably other classes if I had needed the money.

4) How did you find your students? What is the biggest challenge in your teaching and where have you already seen success?

My students were great – they were the real plus of being there. One group especially really adopted me and in the classic Belarusian way, went out of their way to make me feel welcome in their country. They worked hard, but once we had built up a good rapport, I think they really enjoyed the lessons too, and made them enjoyable for me. The kids were the only challenge as far as teaching was concerned – it was my first experience with children and my first experience with low levels, and I still look back and slightly wonder why I ever said yes!

5) If there is one piece of advice you could give to someone coming to Belarus to teach, what would it be?

You have to be thick-skinned to cope with the initial frustrations and the fact that nothing seems straightforward. But it is so worth it; once you get to know them, the people are the most generous and open I have ever met.

Find out more about Belarus.

Why not share your experiences, struggles and joys about teaching English in a largely forgotten location below?

There is no doubt that the demand for native-speaker teachers of English in Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world is high. In many cases, the only requirement for getting an English teaching job is to be a native speaker. The native-speaker teacher, however, is not necessarily the best role-model for the second language learner.

Aiming for native-speaker competence can be counter-productive

Native speakers speak, by definition, a native variety of their first language. It can be counter-productive for learners of the language to attempt to precisely replicate the native speaker’s version of the language. This is true not only for pronunciation (a ‘good’ accent is often the last thing a learner of a second language masters), but also vocabulary and grammatical constructions. Instead, a learner of a second language should aim to be a competent speaker of that language as someone who has learned it as a second language rather than someone who has acquired it as a first language.

Competent non-native speaker models

As English teachers in Japan, then, I believe we should be exposing our students to competent non-native speaker models of English. Furthermore, I think that we should be encouraging them to aim to be competent non-native speakers of English as their ultimate goal. A ‘competent non-native speaker’ is by no means meant as a condescending or patronizing term. On the contrary, it is to be viewed as a considerable achievement, and one which I will be trying to obtain for many years to come in relation to my Japanese ability.

Examples of competent non-native speakers

By way of example of what I consider to be a speaker approaching this level, I offer this video. Here we have a young Japanese male who obviously possesses expertise in his specialist area as well as competence in English as a second language. This is what most learners of English in Japan are aiming for, and I think we should appreciate what a considerable achievement it is, and refer to model English speakers such as this in preference to the generic and ubiquitous American or British English speaker featured in so many English learning resources.

For my own part, there have been several non-native speakers of Japanese over the last five years of learning the language who have inspired me to study harder and improve further. One among them is Patrick Harlan, AKA “pakkun”, who came to Japan in 1993 and over the next 15 or so years acquired a very high level of competence in both spoken and written Japanese.

Becoming a competent non-native speaker is a lifetime challenge

Now, while I may be intimidated by his level of Japanese (and possibly also his intellect, having graduated, as he did, from Harvard University), I still consider his level of Japanese a realistic and obtainable target for my own. However, the same cannot be said of the Japanese of any of the 130 million native inhabitants of Japan. A native-speaker level of Japanese is not my target. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on becoming a competent speaker of Japanese – it means I want to become a competent non-native speaker of the language; something which I regard as a considerable and lifetime challenge.

Finally, I just want to note that I am not intending to suggest that the native-speaker teacher has nothing to offer the language learner. In fact, native-speaker teachers have a lot to offer the language learner. I simply mean to suggest that perhaps they are not always the best role-models for language production, and needn’t be regarded as such.

Second language ability of English teachers

When a language teacher first arrives in their host country, they probably don’t have much choice about the matter. Unless they have studied the host country’s language extensively before arriving, they will not possess the requisite language skills to to order an orange juice, let alone explain the present continuous in their students’ native tongue.

Likewise for those teachers who teach multi-lingual groups of students. There is no place for L1 instruction in this scenario, because there is no single L1 that all the students possess.

But where the teacher has lived in the host country long enough to acquire at least an intermediate level of the native language, and teaches groups of students all of whom possess the same first language – should he or she use the language?

CLT and the ‘no L1′ precept

The strict version of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), the current dominant methodology in TEFL, suggests that learners acquire a language by using the language and being exposed to the language. In this sense, we might argue that the teacher should provide all possible opportunities to their students to be exposed to the language in use. As addressing students in their L1 also tends to procure responses in L1, a teacher who adopts the students’ L1 for grammar explanations and classroom management instructions arguably not only deprives their students of the chance to improve their receptive skills but also deprives them of the chance to improve their productive skills.

The exception to the rule

However, I would argue that there are situations where addressing students in the target language is actually counter-productive, and adopting the students’ L1 does not deprive them of the chance of acquisition in the way that CLT suggests. (I also argue that there is a place for grammar explanations and classroom management instructions, despite the impact of CLT in relation to the former, and the wisdom of the adage don’t explain, demonstrate in relation to the latter. These issues are, however, topics for another blog post).

These situations occur when:

• students are of an elementary or low-intermediate level of English
• the focus of the lesson is reading or writing, not speaking or listening

Where students are of an elementary or low-intermediate level of English, it is very likely that they will lack the requisite knowledge to understand meta-linguistic grammar explanations or complex classroom management instructions.

Yes, students probably should know words such as noun, adjective, verb, subject, present simple, etc. But some do not, and if the teacher has the ability to express these concepts in the students’ L1, he should not refrain from doing so on the basis of depriving them a chance of exposure to the target language.

After all, in elementary and low-intermediate lessons, what is the target language? It will most likely be language relating to self-introductions, expressing likes and dislikes, talking about hobbies and interests, and other building blocks of basic expression.

L1 as a direct route to understanding

Even if the teacher does insist on using the English words for grammatical concepts (noun, verb, adjective, etc), it is very likely that he or she will have to use the L1 translation of each word in order to teach its meaning, thereby confounding their efforts to use only English in any event.

Furthermore, it is a lengthy digression from topics such as self introductions and expressing likes and dislikes, to teaching English words for grammatical terms. And who needs to use such words anyway, other than English teachers themselves? Yes, we need to understand the concept of a noun, a verb and an adjective to learn a language effectively, but we don’t need to know the words for these concepts in the language we are trying to learn – or at least, its not a priority at the elementary to low intermediate level.

Finally, in relation to classroom management, as I previously stated, the old adage don’t explain, demonstrate is a reliable one – at least with demonstrable concepts. But to convey ideas such as: “Please go to the school office and hand in these questionnaires”, or “If you miss two more classes you will fail the course” or “These are the criteria for course assessment” to learners who have an elementary level of English, I would argue, requires, at the very least, an L1 gloss of the key words in each sentence.

What is fluency?

Fluency is the area of language ability which relates to the speed and ease with which a language learner performs in one of the four core language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Although the concept of fluency relates to all four language skills, it tends to be most closely associated with speaking.

What is speaking fluency?

Speaking fluency is ‘the ability to link units of speech together with facility and without strain or inappropriate slowness or undue hesitation’. (Hedge 2000) The speech of non-fluent English learners tends to be characterized by ‘frequent pauses, repetitions and self-corrections’ (Hedge 1993) Developing speaking fluency, therefore, entails developing the ability to speak without frequent pauses, repetitions and self-corrections.

How can language learners improve their speaking fluency?

1. Not worrying about making mistakes

Fluency is usually contrasted with accuracy, where the latter entails knowledge of ‘pronunciation, vocabulary, word formation, grammatical structure, sentence structure and linguistic semantics’ (Hedge 2000). Fluency and accuracy are often envisaged as lying on the two opposing plates of a weighing scale: as one side goes up, the other goes down.

Some learners of English are able to significantly increase their fluency by temporarily disregarding accuracy. As they pay less attention to the grammatical conformity of their utterances, and more attention to conveying meaning, the speed of their speech can increase, and hesitations and pauses can decrease. We should therefore encourage our students not to worry about making mistakes in situations where fluent speech is more important than perfectly grammatically accurate speech, such as informal conversations inside and outside of the classroom. As teachers, we should exhibit restraint in correcting students during language activities designed to promote fluency.

2. Learning ‘pre-assembled chunks’ of language

Fluency also improves when language knowledge has become ‘automized’ (Thornbury 1999), i.e. when the learner is able to produce language without consciously thinking about it. One way students can aid the process of spoken language ability becoming automatic is to learn ‘pre-assembled chunks’ of language.

‘Chunks’ of language are idiomatic phrases such as ‘as it were’ and ‘on the other hand’ which tend to be produced as a whole rather than assembled grammatically piece by piece (Nattinger and DeCarrico 1992). Because such phrases are stored in a ‘pre-assembled’ form in the brain, they can be recalled relatively quickly and effortlessly, thus helping to eliminate pauses and hesitations and increase the overall speed of speech.

Chunks of language can also help learners to compensate for lack of linguistic knowledge. If a student lacks the vocabulary to describe something, phrases such as ‘it’s kind of like…’ can be of some avail. If they lose their way in making an argument, gambits such as ‘the point I’m trying to make is…’ can be of assistance. We should therefore provide opportunities to our students to learn and practice idiomatic, pre-assembled chunks of language.

3. Planning ahead

If a student knows that they are going to be talking about a certain topic in their next English lesson, or discussing a particular issue with their company’s counterpart in America in their next teleconference, then planning for that topic or discussion is an indispensable way for them to increase their oral fluency when speaking in that situation (Kellem 2009).

Planning involves making written notes, composing written answers to expected questions, and rehearsal. If the student is giving a speech or presentation in English, then it goes without saying that they need to practice the speech multiple times. This is something that we would do even if we were giving a speech in our native language, and it is even more important to do when preparing to give a speech in a second or foreign language. We should therefore provide opportunities to our students for the planning and rehearsal of speeches and discussions before they take place.

4. Studying abroad

Research suggests that fluency can be significantly increased by studying abroad. In Wood (2007), Japanese students who spent time studying on a full time intensive ESL course at a college in Canada were able to increase their rate of speech, and length of time speaking between pauses, as well as making gains in other areas of fluency. The financial cost of studying abroad may well be worth it, then, in terms of the increase in speaking fluency the learner can expect to obtain. We should encourage our students to take such opportunities if and when they are able to do so, to improve their language skills in general, and speaking fluency in particular.

Conclusion

Acquiring improved speaking fluency is a very common and highly ranked goal among learners of English. I have argued that, as English teachers, we should:

• encourage our students not to worry about making mistakes in activities designed to promote fluency and informal conversations;
• provide opportunities for our students to learn and practice pre-assembled chunks of language;
• provide opportunities for our students to practice and rehearse speeches and discussions before they take place;
• encourage our students to spend time studying abroad where they possess the means to do so.

In these ways, we can help our students to improve their speaking fluency, and take important steps toward becoming more communicatively competent speakers of English.

Bibliography

• Hedge, T. (1993). “Key concepts in ELT.” ELT Journal 47(3):275-277.
• Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Kellem, H. (2009). “Principles for developing oral fluency in the classroom.” JALT Journal 33(1): 9-11.
• Nattinger, J. R. and J. S. DeCarrico (1992). Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Thornbury, S. (1999). How to teach grammar. Harlow, Pearson Education.
• Wood, D. (2007). “Mastering the English formula: Fluency development of Japanese learners in a study abroad context.” JALT Journal 29(2): 209-230.

An employer’s time is short.  They are not likely to be HR or personnel professionals and they scan CVs rather than read every word. They don’t want to have to read between the lines, wade through pages of irrelevant experience or guess what type of learner you taught at XYZ language school.

So, if you organise your CV so it can be scanned quickly for the relevant information, you’ll be doing your prospective TEFL employer a huge favour   - and help your CV to stand out above the rest. Read on and also have a look at my Suggested CV template for fictional TEFL newbie Robert Passmore.

Get that job! Make your CV work

How to organise your CV for success

1)      Do you need to trim your CV?
Make your CV no longer than 2 pages – yes, it really does need cutting if it’s creeping onto 3 pages. Their time is short, remember.

2)      Prioritise relevant TEFL information
Ensure all TEFL related experience and qualifications are uppermost, most recent first.  Get them nodding and ticking ‘yes’ against their criteria as early as possible as they scan your CV.
I know this is hard to do if newly qualified but in this case, detail the key elements from your TEFL course. Include type of students and levels taught, course books used and even any particular elements of praise from a reference letter.

3)      Group your EFL experiences together
Unless all your experience is in teaching, resist the urge to list your various positions chronologically.  Instead, put your EFL experience first (begin with the most recent) under a ‘Teaching experience’ header and less relevant experience under an  ‘Other employment’ header. Ideally ‘teaching experience’ should be longer than your ‘other’ category. You can achieve this by including more detail about your teaching – see 2 above.  Why?  Well, this will encourage your prospective employer to see you as an EFL teacher first and foremost and it displays all your relevant experience at a glance.

4)      Include something of your personality – but keep it professional
A smiling headshot photo is a good start. Also,  why not comment under key parts of your CV  about your last teaching job, for example. Teaching is a people profession although do remember that employers tend to be quite conservative so don’t include anything too whacky.

Other things to remember

Include a great covering letter with your CV.
Opinions differ on whether you should include a 3 bullet point profile or summary at the top of your CV to give the employer a flavour of your personality and skills. Personally I favour these if not too banal since it can underline your CV message;  something like:

‘ Experienced and qualified EFL teacher with particular expertise with young learners’

might be one of your profile bullets, for example and can be adapted with a different emphasis  depending on the job.

Finally, do check your CV for errors as the best organised CV in the world may be discarded due to elementary spelling, grammar and punctuation inconsistencies.

Have a look at the sugested CV template (the first link near the top of the article) which is designed for a new teacher with minimal experience. As a former EFL employer, this is the kind of CV I would like to see – but do you agree with the organisation and information included here?

Do you believe that the critical period hypothesis is applicable to learning a second language? Would you support the proposition ‘the younger you start, the better’ when it comes to learning a second language?

I feel that the critical period hypothesis in regards to SLA has some interesting ideas about language acquisition but research has shown that older learners tend to be more successful in becoming fluent due to various factors such as learner motivation and language environment. That being said, I do believe that providing a child with and English rich environment will enable them to “code switch” between languages and thus further their proficiency in both English and Japanese. My school will only accept children who can use and understand Japanese because I believe children must have an understanding of how language works in order to make the study of a second language meaningful to them. Therefore, there is a limit to how young a child can be before starting to learn a second language. Also I feel that, when a child starts learning a foreign language while they are still acquiring their mother tongue, they seem to be more receptive to foreign sounds and intonations only because their mother tongue has not fossilized in their minds yet.

What is the best thing about living and working in Sendai?

I feel that Sendai is the best balance between the country side and the big city. The city is large enough to finds various kinds of entertainment without having the feeling of being too crowded. It also has great surfing, skiing and other outdoor sports that are accessible without the need of driving for hours to reach them.

Have you taken part in any volunteer relief work since the tsunami?

Sadly, no I have not. I opened my school four days after the earthquake and on the weekends I was quite busy cleaning my apartment and packing. By chance, I had already planned to move to another apartment a month before the earthquake struck so I was preparing for the move. Moreover, I was in the middle of writing a 4000 word paper on the Lexical Syllabus for my M.A.

Is the declining birth rate in Japan affecting your business? Do you expect it to do so in the future?

I have not had any trouble from this trend nor do I expect to have any in the future. I try to market my school as one where serious learning takes place and the parents are required to provide some learning support at home. It has been my experience that the children from families where the parents take an active role in their children’s education are the ones who achieve the best results. For this reason, I would rather cater to smaller families with highly motivated students than take on children from larger families where the parents are far too busy to review the lesson materials at home.

Is there anything else you would like to say about living and working in Japan/Sendai, or teaching very young learners of English?

I would like to say that working in Japan requires a certain amount of doggedness. On a day to day basis, there are always ups and downs however, on a long term basis there is a lot of subtle pressures and stress that can accumulate before one is aware of it. As for teaching children, this stress can be even more overwhelming so a positive attitude and a solid understanding of teaching methodology and child psychology are essential.

Thank you very much to Mario Passalacqua for the interview.

Where were you and what were you doing when the earthquake hit?

I was just about to start a lesson for 3-4 year olds. The children were happily running around in the lesson room and their mothers were busy chatting. When the earthquake began every one stopped and watched the building sway. As the swaying grew in intensity I realized that this was not an “average” earthquake and quickly escorted the mothers and children outside. We waited outside and watched the whole city shook for what seemed to be at least 20 minutes. We saw very little damage occurring so we were unaware of the true extent of the danger. Luckily, we were far enough away from the tsunami that struck the lower parts of the city.

How is your life in Sendai changed since before the earthquake and tsunami?

I am very grateful to say that my life has not changed since the earthquake. Of course the week after the earthquake, we had to live in a state of “constant readiness” in case of another large quake. Many stores were closed and the city itself was a shadow of its former self. At that time, I felt that the quickest path to recovery was to open my school and give both the students and the mothers a chance to resume a normal life. Everyone seemed grateful for the opportunity to forget about the stresses of aftershocks and the uncertainty of nuclear fallout. I believe this enabled me to not only retain my student numbers but also has helped me to gain more students during the summer months, a time where usually there are no new student enrollments.

What advice would you give to English teachers thinking about living and working in the Tohoku area?

The Tohoku area is very beautiful and very easy to settle down in. However, it is still considered to be a rural area. Thus, there isn’t many things to do here if you don’t like the outdoors. Another aspect is that there aren’t many schools here so if you burn your bridges at one place your next employer will be sure to find out about it. Lastly, I feel that a good understanding of Japanese is important. It has been my experience that those with limited Japanese skills tend to feel uncomfortable here and usually only stay one year or two whereas those who apply themselves to the learning the language tend to stay much longer.

Some English teachers left Japan, while others left the Tohoku area after the earthquake and tsunami. Can you take us through the factors you considered in reaching your decision to remain in Sendai?

Well making that decision process was an emotional roller coaster. When the earthquake first struck everyone was in a state of shock. Due to the lack of information, we were unsure of just how safe we were. The aftershocks kept coming and it wasn’t until 2 days later we heard about the radiation. That’s when we started to consider leaving Japan. The only complications that remained in my mind was what to do about my school and what to say to my wife’s parents. Once I mentioned these concerns, my wife started to question if she really wanted to leave her family behind. Then the Canadian embassy started calling and offered me and my family a bus ride to Tokyo. However, when I found out that this was a one way ticket I began to question the logic fleeing. I read the media reports in earnest and felt that we were far enough away barring a nuclear explosion. Since that was not physically possible at Fukushima I began to feel a little safer. As everyone began to leave the city, I felt that those who stayed would be an invaluable asset in the rebuilding process. Finally my thoughts turned to the business end of things and thought that if I closed my school even temporarily I would lose students and that if other schools would close, my school would be remembered as the only one which kept its doors open and provided a service to the community even in the toughest of times. In fact, I opened my school 4 days after the big quake!

You specialize in teaching very young children. Do you think training courses such as the CELTA or Cert TESOL adequately prepare teachers for working with such students? What do you like or dislike about teaching very young learners of English?

First of all I greatly respect teachers who get CELTA or TESL certifications. Any training is better than none. However, when teaching young learners many other factors come into play besides grammatical knowledge and teaching pedagogy. Teaching young learners requires a combination of knowledge in developmental psychology, early language acquisition and classroom management. A good children’s teacher must be able to assess the children’s moods, motivation and skill levels on a constant basis because the children themselves are ever changing. This brings me to what I love and hate about teaching young learners. Since the children’s attitudes and motivation levels are constantly changing, I must continuously improve or fine tune my teaching skill and methodology. Though I really like this challenge, there are times where I feel I am not doing enough because a game or teaching material that worked well the day before utterly bombs the very next day. When this happens classroom dynamics break down and a good lesson can turn into a bad one in seconds.

Click here for the second part of the interview

Wish you were here? EFL teacher Anne Lowe in Korea

If you are looking to escape this country to teach English abroad, Korea is definitely worth considering. Korea offers some of the more stable TEFL contracts around to native English speaking graduates, including round-trip airfare and paid accommodation. There are also plenty reputable recruitment agencies enabling you to fix up something secure in advance.

New teacher Anne Lowe has recently started teaching in Korea and I asked her to share her first impressions and recommendations for living and teaching there:

1) What are your first impressions of Korea, Anne? What is the first thing you notice? What’s the part you have found most challenging?

My first impression of Korea is that it is so different from what I’m used to back in the United States.  To the writing on the buildings, to the neon on every single building, to the faces walking by–nothing is familiar.  It’s all new and exciting.  The first thing I notice is that there are more people packed into a much smaller space than I’m used to. Real estate is at a premium, so nearly all the buildings have businesses occupying them; the most challenging part is being stared at by everyone.  I’m in a smaller town and they aren’t used to foreigners, plus I do kind of stand out with my lighter hair and eyes.

2) Where are you working and how did you find your job?

I found it through a recruiting company; OK Recruiting.  My recruiter, a woman named Bonnie, was a fantastic help through the whole process. I interviewed with three schools (through her company) and received job offers from them all; I picked my favourite and here I am.

3) Has your TESOL qualification helped you finding work and in the classroom? If so, how?

My TESOL qualification was definitely a big help in getting a job.

It fleshed out my resume since I don’t have any previous classroom experience teaching English.  In the class, it has helped some, but on-the-job training really can’t be beat.

4) How do you find your students? What is the biggest challenge in your teaching and where have you already seen success?

With a few exceptions, my students have all been wonderful. There are always some kids that have no interest in being there, whose parents are forcing them, but they challenge me to really work and draw them out in class.  The most truculent students thus far are the teenagers.  With them, the surest method is to be patient, take none of it personally, and try and make the lessons as relatable to pop culture as possible.  My greatest success lies with those students who are around ages 11 and 12.  They retain the enthusiasm of their youth but they are much more capable of understanding and being understood when they speak English, which really knocks down some barriers.

5) If there is one piece of advice you could give to someone coming to Korea to teach, what would it be?

Everyone says you don’t need to, but for heaven’s sake: make some attempt to learn the language.  If nothing else, learn how to say hello, do you speak English, thank you and goodbye.  Koreans are incredibly forgiving when it comes to foreigners not speaking their language but that first attempt always makes them smile and gets them talking.  Classroom phrases shouldn’t be necessary (all the students should understand simple commands such as “repeat,” “sit down,” and “write”) but it might not hurt.  Above all: speak slowly.

Could you see yourself teaching English in Korea? Are you already teaching there? Share your experiences below:

The same staffrooms are also awash with lively, perky (often young) teachers, fresh from their first stint overseas and energised by the lively summer school atmosphere. Many only entered TEFL as a means to see the world but fell in love with teaching and stayed.

Having been in many a TEFL staffroom, the young ‘n’ fresh example is really a joy to see. However, without at least one eye on the future, it’s surprising how quickly the perky can turn into the jaundiced.

I think this is largely because TEFL is a very odd profession. Fragmented, largely unregulated and with worldwide opportunities, it presents limitless and exciting options on the upside. The downside is there is little structured career progression. This means if you don’t make it work for you, then 10 years after starting your first TEFL job, you could find yourself teaching exactly the same lesson for exactly the same money.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this but my guess is that for most of you 18-25 year olds, this is not your idea of a career.

So if there is even an inkling that your gap year could turn into a career, I cannot stress how important it is for your bank balance, job satisfaction and sanity to keep learning and keep progressing. Consider every opportunity that comes your way both personally and professionally.

On the professional front there are many examples of people who have made TEFL work for them and turned it into a career. One lady, for example who was teaching English to pilots in Khazakstan went on to write an English for Pilots book for Oxford University Press. Others become teacher trainers, language school owners, materials developers or work for publishers. Some become specialists; teaching English for academic purposes, for example, taking the chance to leave their comfort zone and try something new.

TEFL is a ‘people’ profession and opportunities can arise simply through your everyday contacts. I know of one relatively new teacher who was offered a partnership with his boss to open a new school. This happened simply because the boss liked and trusted him – factors that clearly trumped paper qualifications and experience. TEFL can be like that.

So, if you want to get on in TEFL,  ensure you look for ways to keep on keeping on; you can teach that lesson better, you should brush up on that sticky grammar point and do consider the DELTA after a couple of years to help you get into management. Upskill and keep abreast of the new technology that is set to revolutionise the way we learn languages in the future.

It is a very wide TEFL world but if you’re not sure what you want out of TEFL yet, then here is some general rule of thumb guidance; if you start to lose interest in teaching and learning, then it’s time to get out and get yourself a ‘real’ job.  And do it before it’s too late!

What are your plans in TEFL?