Katy Keenan - TEFL Traveller
- Age when you taught: 23
- Nationality: England
- Where did you teach?: Baku, Azerbaijan
- Time spent teaching per week
40 - How long did you teach for?
6 months - What was your pay?
$1000 - What is the biggest lesson you learned from your teaching English experience?
That teaching English is a business enterprise, but the people teachers and students involved are not interested in economics - What is the most common misconception about teaching English?
That it's easy- its not, but all the more rewarding for it. - Did you get certified?: yes
Why or why not?
Of course I got certified- its virtually impossible to get a job without it. It also gives you a taster of things to come, and a chance to see if you will enjoy it or not before taking a position. The teachniques learnt also give you soem much needed confidence when attacking your first week of teaching. - If you were certified, what was your certification and how did you acquire it? Also, did your certification help you when trying to find a job? How?
It was a Trinity CELTA, taken at St Giles College, Highgate, London. A 4 week intensive course, learning teaching methods in the morning, then putting them into practise on free students in the afternoon. They also gave me some guidance on CV styles, where to look for a job, which was very useful. - If you did not get certified, was it harder to find a job? Why?
N/A - When looking for a certification program, what are the things to look for?
How much actual teaching practise you get, what the resources are like, the credentials of the trainers, the general linguistic perspective of the school. Which course book they use is important. - What are some common 'traps' that teachers fall into while teaching English abroad?
I don't know, because I haven't met that many English teachers. I can imagine its easy to just hang out with other people that speak English, in ex-pat bars etc, which just eat up your money and make you homesick. Not making an effort to learn the local language is a mistake inmy opinion. Having knowledge of 2 differnet grammatical systems helps greatly for your comprehension, and ability to teach. Also, expecting too much. You have to create your own entertainment and friends, and not think of it as one big student holiday. - What do you wish you would have done differently?
I returned to England after 6 months to finish my degree, and regretted having to leave. If you do teach English, stay somewhere for at least a year and make sure you have options to stay longer if you like it. - What are the best things about teaching English abroad?
Well, living abraod is really great in itself- the cultural differences, language barriers, are all very exciting. being a techer has many advantages- you have a group of local people ready to tell you about their life (ie your students) and their country, so you learn the culture more quickly. Also, teaching jobs usually provide a relatively very good salary, so you can afford to live like an upper middle class person- your own flat, buy clothes you want, eat in restaurants etc. In my experience you are treated as a proffessional, alongside lawyers, doctors etc, you so you have interesting, intelligent people to hang out with. The financial freedom is great, compared to England, where most people have to economise. - Did you travel before or after your program? If so, where?
I travelled after I taught, for one month around Azerbaijan, georgia and Iran. - What would be your advice to people thinking about teaching English abroad?
Look very carefully at the contract- teaching hours, and what AGE you'll be taeching. I didn';t, and when I arrived, found I had to teach some children, which I hated. Make very careful research into the value of your wage in this country, and depending on what you want, the facilities for it. For example, if you want to hang out with other english teachers, find out if there are many, and if they socialise together. Also, if you are a woman, think carefully about the gender relations in the country you are going to. Many of the Western 60s feminist ideas never spread to the Soviet places,(and muslim countries are very differnt from the Uk and US) and this can affect your everyday living in a large way. Not in a bad way, but you might find it hard to adjust.
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