ESL EFL Road Show – Succeeding at TEFL Abroad

This week’s post is a mixture of several blogs from experienced ESL EFL teachers around the world and includes their ideas about what helps make a person successful teaching English abroad.  We hope you enjoy their perspective.

From TEFL Tips:

Sharon de Hinojosa has been teaching English since early 2003.  She started posting on Dave’s ESL Cafe shortly after and found herself regularly helping out other people and giving advice to newbies.  Over time, things progressed and she thought it would be a good idea to compile answers to FAQ that newbies often have about TEFLing and that’s how TEFL Tips got started.

From Istanbul Stranger

Most of the time, Stranger doesn’t completely suck at living abroad. Here are some handy tips that probably won’t make a lick of sense until you’ve managed to survive in another country for a couple of years, giving you newbies something to look forward to. Read about it  Here

Originally from Reno, Nevada and most recently from Portland, Oregon, Stranger came to Turkey almost 10 years ago. She had all kinds of education before that, which she’s almost done paying for. Stranger’s been working in the former Byzantium since she arrived, teaching adults at language schools and universities. She also did some freelance writing while on work-hiatus for baby-raising, and currently babysits grown-up children in the English prep department of a large university.

From Teacher in Mexico

Teaching abroad is a very select set of challenges to thrust yourself into. A new language, a different culture, strange food, and unknown risks are not what most people call fun. It takes a particular brand of daredevil or world-beater to see these hurdles as attractive. That particular brand of person is common among those that succeed in teaching abroad but the most important factor that each one knows is that it is imperative to have goals to succeed on, and the willingness to  . . .  Read More

Guy Courchesne, TEFL course instructor, Teacher in Latin America. Guy is a journalist and and EFL teacher that has lived in Mexico for 11 years. He has been teaching business EFL and TEFL courses for the last nine years in Mexico City, Acapulco, and Guadalajara. He is a member of Mextesol and also gives English teaching workshops to language institutes around Mexico. You can find him at Teacher in Mexico 

From our own TEFL Newbie:

People often ask very unrealistic questions about working abroad. It is as if all practical reasoning has been abandoned.  Do you really expect to be housed at a 5 star villa and fed gourmet food while you teach English at a resort?  Read more to find a happy middle ground and realistic approach . . .

Ted Tucker (your host here) is a retired TEFL educator and TEFL Teacher Trainer.  With an overseas career that started as a Peace Corps Volunteer in  Botswana in 1989 – he has been abroad ever since working in countries throughout Asia and the Middle East.

TED’s Tips™ #1:  Working abroad is great fun, but use your head and have realistic expectations about what a life abroad can bring you.