Category Archives: Teaching English in Western Europe

Expect a flood of criminal TEFLers to a school near you

Posted on 27/08/2013 by alexcase

According to the EL Gazette all British Council inspected schools in the UK will need to conduct criminal record checks from 2014, so if the country or school you are in doesn’t insist on such checks a whole bunch of … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, EL Gazette | Tagged | 2 Comments

Plenty of TEFL jobs in Spain despite the recession?

Posted on 20/08/2012 by alexcase

This piece of PR fluff not even trying to pretend to be journalism doesn’t provide any evidence at all for its claim that “there is currently a high demand for English teachers here”, but it is certainly conceivable when even … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English in Spain | 4 Comments

Minimal pairs for Spanish speaking learners of English

Posted on 17/06/2012 by alexcase

Ones in blue linked to graded lists of minimal pairs. Will add more as more lists go up. Article on pronunciation for Spanish speakers also now available here. If you like this and want more, please support TEFLtastic. Vowel sounds … Continue reading →

Posted in minimal pairs, Teaching English in Spain | 6 Comments

A London summer school with no classroom

Posted on 09/04/2012 by alexcase

The always stimulating English Out There newsletter had an interesting tidbit this month – a summer school in London taught entirely in public places. I wrote to the founder of EOT for more details: Can you describe the group of … Continue reading →

Posted in TEFL in the UK | Tagged | 2 Comments

EL Gazette campaign to save UK TEFL

Posted on 25/07/2010 by alexcase

As usual, I can find little to add to what the ever fabulous Melanie Butler has to say here, except that if you think this doesn’t concern you, just think about TEFLers fleeing the UK and further flooding the teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in EL Gazette, TEFL heroes- Melanie Butler, TEFL in the UK | 3 Comments

That lightbulb moment

Posted on 07/04/2010 by alexcase

She looked a lot like the stereotype of a post-Soviet female, and by the succession of boyfriends waiting outside the language school for her over the months and a few comments she made, we all got the impression she was making the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural differences/ cultural training, Idioms, TEFL in the UK | 1 Comment

Sir Lez Patterson on UK TEFL

Posted on 22/03/2010 by alexcase

A different kind of TEFL article- one that really should be in ETP and MET more, but is always welcome on TEFL.net: Foreign Students Go Walkabout – LINK FIXED More on this: Save UK ELT Number 10 petition The whole … Continue reading →

Posted in TEFL in the UK | Tagged | Leave a comment

EFL and ESOL: worlds apart?

Posted on 28/02/2010 by alexcase

A guest piece by winner of the TEFLtastic award for most interesting recent blog/ most recent interesting blog, 26 Letters “First, a warning: for the sake of brevity, in this post I’m going to employ ridiculous, sweeping generalisations about adult … Continue reading →

Posted in ESOL in the UK, TEFL in the UK, textbooks | 26 Comments

The end of accreditation?

Posted on 30/01/2010 by alexcase

A guest piece by Jason West of English Out There: “In my opinion accreditation is now an anachonism. The path that most ‘self-regulating’ accrediting bodies take is counter productive to their collective and continued good health. When you get a … Continue reading →

Posted in Accreditation UK, ARELS, British Council accreditation, TEFL in the UK | 5 Comments

The most TEFLtastic attempts at humour in 2009

Posted on 29/12/2009 by alexcase

Wasn’t a great year for humour on TEFLtastic (must be taking my job seriously in my old age?!), but I did manage my most successful spoof yet, if not quite up to the standard of UN to Ban Unnecessary Languages: Don’t Do the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Dogme, links, notes from the TEFL graveyard, Teaching English in Spain, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL in the UK, TEFL interview questions, TEFL Tradesman, The Silent Way | Tagged | 5 Comments