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Free teacher workshops this November in Barcelona
We are looking forward to the next round of free teacher workshops coming up at Oxford TEFL in Barcelona! Join us on one, or more, of the following Fridays to pick up some practical tips and develop your teaching skills from experienced teachers and trainers. As always, there will be snacks and drinks in the break whic...[Read More]
Life after Taking the Trinity DipTESOL: Treading Water to Making Waves
Before I finally took the plunge (or, more accurately, the “Dip”), I had come a long way in my career. By that time, I had been teaching for 14 years, I had experience with adults, young learners and exam classes, and I had completed an MA with a focus on Educational Technology. So, why did I feel the need to take the ...[Read More]
Graduate Story: Michelle Knepel
Michelle Knepel is a recent graduate of our Cambridge CELTA course, Business English and Teaching Young Learners courses in Barcelona, Spain. She spent the last decade working in manufacturing leadership, project management and most recently consulting. Michelle is a Certified Internal Auditor and holds an MBA from The...[Read More]
A week in the life of a TEFL teacher
I’m writing this from the start of my sixth full week of teaching in Hà Nội – I honestly don’t know where the time has gone! I’ve taught over 100 English lessons and over 1000 students, made some incredible friends and discovered new foods and cultures that I never knew existed. As well as having the opportunity to vis...[Read More]
How long does it take to get a TEFL qualification?
The amount of time it takes to get a TEFL qualification varies from teacher to teacher. It depends on how much time you can put into the course, how many hours you opt to take and how much teaching experience you already have. We’ve had TEFL graduates complete their course in a matter of days (wow!), while others who m...[Read More]
Best Cities to Teach English in Japan
When you’re looking for a job teaching English as a foreign language, one of the factors you need to consider is where to teach. The first step is to decide which continent you’re interested in, then you can do your research and find out which countries suit your interests and qualifications (and your passport!). If …...[Read More]
i-to-i is now officially carbon neutral!
Yes, you read that right! As of October 2019, i-to-i are officially the first TEFL Course provider to become carbon neutral and we’re super excited about it! Over the last 6 months, we’ve been working long and hard to focus all of our efforts on different ways to offset our carbon footprint, look after the amazing plac...[Read More]
How Much to Budget for Teaching English in Vietnam
Let’s get your budget for teaching English in Vietnam in tip-top shape! Can you swing it with your current finances? Do you need to make some changes in your spending habits now to afford your dream-life teaching English in Vietnam? How do you need to prepare for your early weeks abroad, when that first paycheck has y...[Read More]
What are My TEFL Options without a Degree?
If you’re interested in teaching English abroad you probably know that many TEFL jobs prefer their candidates to have two things: a TEFL certificate from a recognised TEFL provider and a Bachelor’s degree. However, the key word here is prefer. While a TEFL certificate is a non-negotiable, a degree is not essential to g...[Read More]
My first two weeks in Vietnam
On the day of departure from London Heathrow I was surprisingly calm and relaxed. I’d said goodbye to my parents a few days earlier before going up to stay with my girlfriend in London – who is also here in Vietnam as a TEFL teacher! The overriding emotion I was feeling was excitement for what the next five months (at ...[Read More]
Don’t Teach Grammar — Teach Functions!
Don’t forget to smile during that demo lesson. I recently read a blog written specifically about what is wrong with PPP methodology. And, sadly, the author stated: PPP means that teachers will first present a grammar point While I would agree that PPP has some limitations, I would never agree that PPP must be about te...[Read More]
Demo Your Way to a Great Job
Tips for Acing Demonstration Lessons Don’t forget to smile during that demo lesson. Multiple choice question: To get a job teaching English as a Foreign Language you will need to: a) do an interview b) submit references c) do a demonstration lesson d) possibly all of the above. Did you pick d? (Hint: you should have!) ...[Read More]
How to Prepare a Demonstration Teaching Video
Lights, Camera…TEACH! A question I hear a lot from new teachers of English who want to go abroad is, “How do I find a job?” The answer, of course, is the same for English teaching as it is for many other professions nowadays—you look for job listings on the Internet and through a network of contacts that you build up. ...[Read More]
Teaching English in Resorts and Hotels around the World
Do you have Skills in Food and Beverage or Hospitality Settings? This area of ESP is becoming more and more popular, so this is a good opportunity to address how to find those niche jobs. A lot of newbie TEFL teachers are former restaurant and or hospitality workers. They are much more qualified to teach in this area t...[Read More]
Staying Healthy While Living Abroad
Don’t Become “The English (Teacher) Patient” The best advice for staying healthy is the same no matter where you’re living: Eat right, sleep well, and get enough exercise. However, when we’re thrown out of our natural element by going to live abroad, at first it might be tricky to maintain your rhythms in the new cultu...[Read More]
Ten Jobs That Have Transferable Skills
What Do You Know? Many teachers of English as a Second Language transition into teaching from a totally different line of work. Before I began teaching, I was a social worker. I know other people who were business people, stock brokers, marketing agents, scuba divers, military personnel and who held a whole range of ot...[Read More]
Using the Internet to Create Awesome Lessons
Teachers of English as a Foreign Language are always looking at ways they can perk up their lesson plans. Even the very best textbooks can get stale now and then, for the teacher even if not for the students, and a good way to inject pizzazz in your class is to bring in something new. Realia is a great way to do this, ...[Read More]
Six Secrets of Successful Team Teaching
This post fits in the Things they forgot to teach you at your TEFL training school category of TEFL. When new teachers of English as a foreign language imagine their first job posting, they may picture themselves teaching in all kinds of scenarios: Large university classes, one-to-one coaching sessions, and small group...[Read More]
Volunteer to Teach EFL/ESL in your Home Country
Give Back to go Forward. On the fence about whether or not you dare teach English abroad? Or, maybe, you’re saving up money to make sure you have a nest egg you can hatch later when you’re overseas. If, for whatever reason, you feel the desire to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) but can’t go abroad to do it ri...[Read More]
Make Substitute EFL Teaching Fun and Easy
[Guest written by our friend, Beth Verde] It’s a classic scene from a 1980s coming-of-age movie: a confused and anxious substitute teacher bombarded with a hail of spitballs, paper airplanes and a raft of abuse from the class he or she is supposed to instruct. Well, put away your shoulder pads and tweed jackets, substi...[Read More]
How to Make the Most of Your TEFL Course
You’re taking a TEFL certification course because you want to be in front of a group of students, leading them to better English, right? So, it may seem strange, especially for those of us who have been out of school a long time, when we assume the role of the student, and not the teacher. If you hang out in online for...[Read More]
Educator or Entertainer?
In some countries, teachers of English as a Foreign Language are expected to be half EDUcators and half enterTAINERS—or edutainers. “Edutainment” is the term the industry has coined to explain the situation when your employer and your students are looking for games and laughter to go along with the English taught in t...[Read More]
Just Another Brick in the Wall?
Its better to deal with things in a positive manner Most new teachers fear the whole subject of discipline and avoid talking about it, but it’s an important subject for English teachers to discuss. How do you elegantly control difficult or disruptive students before they leak their behavior onto their classmates? How d...[Read More]
What’s your Business Background?
Use your Real-Life Skills to Teach English for Specific Purposes After a long day at work, you might find your class full of sleepy and tired students. You’ll need to energize them. Once you’ve been around the block a time or two teaching English as a Foreign Language, you’ll probably want to branch out into ESP. No, I...[Read More]
Lesson Up! How to Plan an Effective Lesson for TEFL
Fitting it all together Teaching job? Check. Class schedule? Check. Lesson Plan? Uh oh… If you find yourself ticking off items in the checklist above and groaning when you get to “lesson plan,” read on and relax. Lesson planning is an important part of being a good teacher, but it doesn’t have to be worrisome. Today I’...[Read More]
What is The Average Teaching Salary in Japan?
If you’re looking to live and work in a country that oozes history, culture and eccentricity, then Japan is the country for you. But, truthfully, if you’re looking to save thousands, then you might want to consider another country. Japan is one of the most fascinating countries to live in, but teaching English abroad t...[Read More]
Common Mistakes for Japanese Learners of English
One of the most important skills of a TEFL teacher is to identify the errors that your students make and help them deal with them. Mistakes are an integral part of learning and our students are bound to make them. As a teacher, it is up to you to identify the errors your students are … Continue reading “Common Mi...[Read More]
Getting Hired in TEFL
Educators from all stripes and spots are all-too familiar with the concept of a hiring season. Whether you’re gunning for a preschool position in your hometown, crossing your fingers for a high school history teacher position anywhere in Iowa, or seeking an international teaching gig in your dream destination, there’s ...[Read More]
Native English Speaking Countries as Defined by TEFL
You might speak English daily—sometimes even more often than your native language. You use it to get around, in business, when hanging out with friends, while watching Netflix. But despite your amazing grasp of the language, if your citizenship isn’t from a small subset of world countries, then the TEFL job market will...[Read More]
Interview with Andrea Hernandez – True World Citizen 🌍
Andrea Hernandez is a third-culture kid and world citizen in its truest sense. She was born in Colombia (where her parents are from), but grew up in Spain until her early teen years, before moving to London. Andrea now lives in Scotland, where she’s studying English and Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen. S...[Read More]
