Category Archives: TEFL career planning

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

On the CELTA, Japan, and very small learners

Posted on 22/11/2009 by alexcase

An interview with Charlie Richards of Learning Tree English, a private language school for 16 and unders (sometimes far unders!) in Osaka. “I first came across your school through your excellent examples of young learner lessons on YouTube. Typical lessons … Continue reading →

Posted in CELTA, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Discipline in the classroom, EFL CD ROMs, English through craftwork, Lesson planning, Phonics, pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching Japanese primary school children, Teaching young learners, Technology, TEFL career planning, TEFL games, textbooks, Using songs with kids, Using storybooks | Tagged | 2 Comments

Karenne on The Industry- Interview Part Three

Posted on 16/10/2009 by alexcase

An Interview with Karenne of Kalinago English, part 3 What are your predictions for the future of TEFL?   Difficult. There are radical changes going on in education, in general, globally. The TEFL industry will either catch up on some … Continue reading →

Posted in self employed TEFL teachers, TEFL, TEFL working conditions | Tagged | 9 Comments

TEFL as often private education- often good or often bad?

Posted on 07/10/2009 by alexcase

Or actually, it is perhaps better to ask “often better or often worse”, as we can only choose from the options we have available (as in my usual Dip post obs litany “Yes, you can criticise my lesson, Ms DELTA … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Mass ELT, EFL exams, ETS, Job security, self employed TEFL teachers, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL unions, TEFL working conditions, The Marxist TEFL Group | Tagged | 13 Comments

A fireside chat with Sandy McManus

Posted on 22/09/2009 by alexcase

He’s been the most famous/ notorious online TEFL figure for around five years, and the age of Twitter doesn’t seem to have calmed him down at all. In this exclusive TEFLtastic interview, Sandy shows his sensitive side

Posted in Dogme, EL Gazette, first TEFL job, getting out of TEFL, Guardian TEFL, Humanistic language teaching, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), Teaching English in Spain, TEFL blacklist, TEFL blogs, TEFL career planning, TEFL chains, TEFL heroes- Mario Rinvolucri, TEFL heroes- Sandy McManus, TEFL heroes- Scott Thornbury, TEFL in the UK, TEFL villains- Paul Lowe, TEFLtrade | Tagged , | 13 Comments

How can we increase TEFL pay?

Posted on 17/09/2009 by alexcase

The question in the last blog post “Does better pay lead to better teaching?” seems more or less agreed on- maybe, but probably less so than other ways of investing that money and anyway we can never prove it well enough … Continue reading →

Posted in finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, International House, Teacher training, TEFL career planning, TEFL chains, TEFL pay, TEFL strikes, TEFL unions, TEFL working conditions | Tagged | 22 Comments

ELT publishing trendspotter

Posted on 07/09/2009 by alexcase

New ways of getting content – Big publishers have been buying up books from smaller publishers (e.g. a couple from Helbling Languages ending up on CUP and Oxford buying up some business skills books) and even self-published books (I gave a … Continue reading →

Posted in board games, Cambridge University Press, Critical Mass ELT, Delta Publishing, EFL CD ROMs, EFL geek, ELT Journal, ELT publishing, getting into ELT publishing, Helbling Languages, links, Macmillan, Marshall Cavendish, Materials, modern english teacher magazine, online games, Oxford University Press (OUP), Pearson Longman, Technology, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL e books, TEFL games, TEFL reviews, textbooks, Writing ELT textbooks and materials | 7 Comments

Some new ideas about CPD in ELT

Posted on 22/07/2009 by alexcase

From July’s MET, and now here on my “CPD portfolio”* The aptly named article “CPD” by Keith Harding has some interesting ideas I hadn’t come across like a Self-SWOT Analysis and a snap-shot observation, but the really weighty matters are … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, CPD, Diploma in TESOL, ELT publishing, Lesson observations, modern english teacher magazine, Peer observations, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL qualifications, TEFL working conditions, TEFL workshops | 5 Comments

Can teacher development make you happy?

Posted on 06/07/2009 by alexcase

I’m reading The Developing Teacher by Duncan Foord, the latest title from the always interesting Delta Publishing (get hold of free TEFL books like this yourself by clicking here) and it popped into my head that teacher development does provide a … Continue reading →

Posted in CPD, Delta Publishing, ELT publishing, Lesson observations, mentoring, Peer observations, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TESOL | Comments Off on Can teacher development make you happy?

How to choose a good summer school

Posted on 19/06/2009 by alexcase

If teaching is more important than saving money or accommodation being included, the first thing to do when choosing a summer school is to avoid actual summer schools altogether. If I was in the same position of looking for a … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, EF, EL Gazette, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, links, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Europe, Teaching English in Turkey, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL blogs, TEFL career planning, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK, TEFL Tradesman, TEFL working conditions, UK summer schools | 5 Comments