Category Archives: Job security

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

Does better pay really lead to better teaching?

Posted on 15/09/2009 by alexcase

I’m not talking about schools offering better pay and therefore being able to recruit better teachers, because if the whole industry got the standards that we occasionally demand that wouldn’t work. What I want to discuss is a school giving its … Continue reading →

Posted in CPD, Dodgy TEFL school owners, Job security, Teaching English in Korea, Teaching English in the Middle East, TEFL, TEFL pay | 26 Comments

The other side of Oxford Street

Posted on 16/06/2009 by alexcase

A guest piece by “Holden Coalfield” “‘No thanks’, I said to the leafleter who offered me and everyone else a flyer for an English school as I walked out of Oxford Circus tube into this crowded and surprisingly tacky centre … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL school owners, ELT management, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, Job security, Learner motivation, Oxford Street schools, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions | Tagged | 6 Comments

Interview- Jason West Dishes on Guardian Languages and Sets the TEFL World to Rights!

Posted on 04/01/2009 by alexcase

It’s a great interview, stimulating, controversial, and full of TEFL insider tidbits. So many ideas did the CEO of English Out There have, in fact, that it takes a good 10 minutes to read. Please feel free to leave questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, British Council, British Council accreditation, Distance learning, EFL exams, ELT publishing, Guardian TEFL, Job security, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, links, Materials, self employed TEFL teachers, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching methods and methodologies, teaching online, Technology, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions, textbooks | Tagged | 9 Comments

Guardian TEFL wises up

Posted on 12/12/2008 by alexcase

The latest TEFL infomercial from the alleged newspaper the Graudian doesn’t, for once, have a by-line saying it was written by a representative of a TEFL course provider with everything to gain from the industry selling more courses and nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Cactus TEFL, Dodgy TEFL courses, finding good TEFL jobs, Guardian TEFL, Job security, links, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Korea, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions | Tagged | 6 Comments

TEFL scabs

Posted on 05/10/2008 by alexcase

Seems that there is an interesting TEFL strike story going on right on my doorstep that I hadn’t even heard about, including loads of juicy controversy. You can see the recent open letter by the leader of the Berlitz strike … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlitz, David English House, Eikaiwa, English Teachers in Japan, JALT, Job security, links, Teacher associations, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TEFL chains, TEFL conferences, TEFL strikes, TEFL unions, TEFL working conditions | 3 Comments

Another 25 extracts from the brochures of crappy English schools

Posted on 10/09/2008 by alexcase

45. “Our incompetent teachers will make you feel better about yourself” 46. “Certificate of achievement for all students who are actually still around at the end of the course” 47. “Guaranteed students who are a much higher level in each class to explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Job security, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL chains, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions, TESOL | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Slogans for crap English schools

Posted on 07/09/2008 by alexcase

1. “Officially the blondest teachers of any school in Japan/ China/ Taiwan etc” 2. “We’ve never changed because we are perfect” 3. “Come and see the new batch of teachers, fresh off the plane” 4. “The youth of our teachers … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanistic language teaching, Job security, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Europe, TEFL, TEFL working conditions, TESOL | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

TEFLing quote of the day

Posted on 29/05/2008 by alexcase

“Our profession is notorious for exploiting its most valuable asset – language teachers – for financial gain. I remember a teacher recalling taking a summer job where he and his fellow teachers struggled to teach competently in a school with … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Cambridge University Press, Class-centred teaching, Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Dodgy TEFL school owners, ELT publishing, Humanistic language teaching, Job security, links, TEFL, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL heroes- Rose M Senior, TEFL in the UK, TEFL working conditions, UK summer schools | Tagged | 1 Comment

The benefits of teaching in Japan

Posted on 12/05/2008 by alexcase

Number one is that the status of English teachers is not so obviously low that when I met the love of my life and asked her to marry me she actually agreed! You won’t hear a lot about it on … Continue reading →

Posted in Becoming a Director of Studies, Cross cultural training in EFL, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Discipline in the classroom, Eikaiwa, ELT management, English Teachers in Japan, IELTS, Job security, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching English in Spain, Teaching Japanese primary school children, Teaching older students, Teaching shy students, TEFL, TEFL working conditions, TESOL, TOEIC | 7 Comments