Cactus Worldwide Blog: February 2014 – Focus On TEFL

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Focus on: Cactus TEFL Special Offers

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Hello, and welcome to the February 2014 edition of the Cactus Worldwide blog! And also, welcome to our agency – Cactus Worldwide – where our team of experienced course advisors are here every day to discuss options with you and help set up a varied range of unique language-learning or language-teaching experiences, all over the globe, throughout the year, for all of our fantastic students.

This month’s blog is all about the special offers we currently have available to those of you considering taking a TEFL course this year, in the U.K. or abroad.

If you have any questions about any of the special offers that you read about here, please feel free to contact our experienced TEFL admissions advisor, Peyman Shameli, directly via info@cactusworldwide.com and he’d be happy to answer any questions.

1.      £47 off the Cambridge CELTA course in April in Krakow, Poland!

Now only £868 for the 4-week CELTA course starting 7th April (finishing 9th May).

Click below to find out more about this last-minute offer and apply now!

Full-time Cambridge CELTA course in Krakow in April with British Council and Cactus TEFL – now just £868

2.       £50 off the Full-Time March Trinity CertTESOL + £100 off the Part-Time April Trinity CertTESOL in Oxford Circus, Central London!

Established in 1962, St George International operates out of a new purpose-built centre, situated in the Fitzrovia district of Central London. Although only three minutes away from busy Oxford Circus underground, the school itself lies in a wonderfully quiet back street.

The centre is widely regarded as being a specialist in the field of EFL, having run high-quality, good-value teacher training courses in Central London since the summer of 1993. Since then, over two thousand trainees have successfully passed through their doors as newly-qualified English language teachers of the globally-recognised Trinity College London Cert TESOL.

Click below to find out more about the 2014 special offers and apply now!

Full-time Trinity CertTESOL in March with Cactus TEFL & St George International – now just £845

Part-time Trinity CertTESOL in April with Cactus TEFL & St George International – now just £895

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St George International, Oxford Circus, Central London

3.       Free Course Book (Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener, worth £30) for every successful Trinity TESOL applicant in 2014 @ British Study Centres in Brighton! Exclusive to Cactus TEFL

BSC in Brighton was opened in 2008 and is located in a beautifully refurbished, four-storey Victorian house between Brighton and Hove, with a garden, a terrace and a 5-star cafeteria, and in an ideal location with the beach, Brighton attractions and city centre only 15 minutes away. The school has 15 spacious classrooms with large windows, a fully stocked study centre and library, a computer room as well as WiFi throughout the building. This school is not only newly-renovated, well-resourced and a pleasant training environment, it is also a real, thriving workplace where students can experience the reality of teaching.

Every little helps, and this year they are offering every successful Trinity TESOL applicant applying via Cactus TEFL a free copy of arguably the most highly-regarded text in the EFL industry – Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener – worth £30.

Click the link below to take advantage of this special offer!

Trinity TESOL in Brighton with Cactus TEFL & British Study Centres

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The garden at British Study Centres in Brighton

4.       Free Course Book (Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener, worth £30) for every successful Trinity TESOL applicant in 2014 @ Athena Teacher Training in Bournemouth! Exclusive to Cactus TEFL

Just two minutes from Bournemouth’s long sandy beaches and city centre, Athena Teacher Training forms one of Bournemouth’s largest language schools and prides itself on offering a friendly, professional atmosphere in which to develop the teaching skills vital to all good teachers.

The school is offering every successful Trinity TESOL applicant applying via Cactus TEFL a free copy of arguably the most highly-regarded text in the EFL industry – Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener – worth £30.

Click the link below to take advantage of this special offer!

Trinity TESOL in Bournemouth with Cactus TEFL & Athena Teacher Training

5.        Discounted Part-Time Trinity Cert TESOL course in Oxford this March – now only £795!

ISIS Oxford are offering £55 off off their part-time Cert TESOL course starting 4th March – normally £850, now just £795.

This 14 week part-time course leads to the award of the Trinity Certificate in TESOL. Along with the RSA CELTA, this is the most widely accepted qualification for teachers of EFL/ESOL, with recognition from schools and colleges worldwide and bodies such as the British Council and the QCA. You can anticipate a demanding but enjoyable month, at the end of which you will have the tools and the confidence to take up a first TESOL position either in the UK or abroad.

If you’re interested in taking a last-minute Cert TESOL course this is a wonderful opportunity to study in the beautiful, iconic city of Oxford at a reduced price.

Click the link below to find out more and apply!

Part-time Trinity Cert TESOL in Oxford with Cactus TEFL and ISIS Oxford

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6.       10% off a CELTA course in the Sevilla sunshine this March, with Cactus TEFL & Clic! – but be quick, offer only valid for applicants applying before Friday February 21st

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The Andalucian ‘Clic Sevilla’ school building

Are you considering teaching English in Spain this year? If so, we highly recommend taking a course in-country, as this offers many significant benefits, such as a valuable in-country contact for jobs advice and support. Trainees taking their TEFL course abroad also benefit from teaching students native to that country during their teaching practice sessions, so they graduate from the course already highly equipped with knowledge of these learners’ specific academic and cultural learning needs.

This highly popular school in Sevilla, called Clic, is part of an international network of schools (for teacher training and teaching Spanish as a foreign language) located in the heart of the town, just 10 minutes’ walking distance to the cathedral and 2 minutes to Plaza Nueva. The building is a very well-equipped Andalucian house with a reception desk on the ground floor, training director’s office, teachers’ room, classrooms, internet access, kitchen, vending machines and common room on the second and third floors and a large roof terrace. The school also owns its own cafe/bar (serving drinks and tapas) on the same street. This provides an excellent meeting place for both teachers and students from all over the world.

Interested? Visit the link below to find out more about the course and download an application form for the 17th March CELTA course!

Cambridge CELTA in Sevilla with Cactus TEFL & Clic International House

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The ‘Clic’ cafeteria in Sevilla

We hope this selection has been of interest, and may have given you some ideas for some bargain study options for the year ahead. Any Qs at all, please feel free to contact me directly and I’d be happy to help.

Happy planning 😉

Best Wishes,

Ollie

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Oliver Donovan
Agency Product Manager
Email: oliver.donovan@cactusworldwide.com

Suzanne Furstner Scholarship 2013 Winning Entry: Rumina Iftikhar

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We were thrilled to receive entries from all over the world into our scholarship this year. After careful deliberation by a panel of judges, we are delighted to announce Rumina Iftikhar, from Pakistan, as our overall winner. Many congratulations to Rumina who will take her prize of a 4-week CELTA course in Philadelphia next year. Thank you to all applicants for your inspiring entries.

Here is Rumina’s winning essay…

It’s seven fifteen in the morning and I’m on my way to work. I switch on the MP3 player and flip through the songs till I get to Rihanna’s “Diamond in the sky.” I sing along, loud and carefree. It may be Monday but that’s not going to get me down. I’ve got my planner for the week made, a pile of horribly written English language essays duly checked and I feel prepared to face anything. Even school! Nobody’s going to accuse me of shirking my responsibilities!

As an MBA who opted for teaching after my kids were born, because of the flexible hours and summer and winter breaks, I have often felt at a disadvantage because I have never received any formal training in teaching the English language. That’s the problem with Pakistan. A country that focuses more on long-standing feuds with neighbors than on education and training. Anyone who can speak the language fairly well becomes an English language teacher. Now, me! I’ve always loved this language! As a child I would devour story books. Enid Blyton was my favorite writer, followed by C.S Lewis and Louisa M. Alcott. I was happiest sitting alone in my room, nose stuffed into a book. So though I love the language and feel very passionately about helping my students, sometimes I feel, even after all these years, that I’m just groping in the dark. I’ve learnt on the job, I’ve had some fantastic people help me, but no formal training. And that is what I want more than anything else now. My MBA just won’t let me get very far in this field.

So, back to Rihanna. She helps me enjoy my long, long drive to school and it is with deep reluctance that I get out of my car when I finally arrive. Nevertheless, I stride purposefully into school and make my way to my class. The kids stand up as I enter and chant “Good morning ma’am,” with big grins on their faces. That is what I love about them, their unquenchable spirits. Even Monday can’t dampen those. They may not be the best at essay writing or figuring out the meaning of words from the context, but there is no lack of enthusiasm and good cheer here. They like their English teacher, though she can be a bit of a grouch at times, and they’re willing to try as hard as they can to please her. This week I want them to write a science fiction story. We’ve discussed different genres and the features of some of them. Science fiction appeals to me because there is so much scope for the imagination here. I’m sure they will enjoy it.

I’ve brought along an interesting sci-fi story that I downloaded from the net. We’re going to read that first and go over the features of a sci-fi story as we read. Next is the long brainstorming session. We think up several brilliant ideas and I show them how to turn these into a simple narrative essay. After 80 minutes of non-stop brainstorming, instructing, guiding, I feel they’re ready to fill in their sci-fi prewrite, duly photocopied and handed to everyone in the class. Then they should be able to write the story.

They work assiduously, silently. I walk around the room keeping an eye on them to point out any startling grammatical errors. I know they’re enjoying this, but I can only hope they churn out decent stories. The problem with these kids is that they come from families where English isn’t spoken very frequently and neither do they, as a general rule, enjoy reading. This makes my job even tougher. I don’t have a magic wand, and despite all my planning and researching, I still feel like there is so much more for me to learn. So much more that will equip me with real confidence in my own teaching abilities and will allow me to guide these children better. These children who look upon me hopefully, sure that I will put an end to all their language-related woes, something I would dearly love to do. I think longingly about the CELTA course being offered in Philadelphia. Six weeks of that grueling course would teach me so much, and I would come back so much more poised and in control, undaunted by the challenges of my exacting job, ready to face them head on. It seems like a dream right now, but it’s one I’m determined to achieve.

Cactus is proud to run the Suzanne Furstner Scholarship each year as part of the Suzanne Furstner Foundation, which was set up in memory of our much-loved friend and colleague, Suzanne, who we tragically lost in a road accident in Spain in 2006. The Foundation aims to support language and educational projects across the world, a subject that was close to her heart.

Cactus announces winner of 2012 Suzanne Furstner Foundation Scholarship

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The Suzanne Furstner Foundation supports language and educational training across the world. Introduced in 2007 in memory of a friend and colleague who died tragically in a road accident, the foundation funds an annual scholarship enabling one aspiring TEFL teacher to take a training course to help them on their way. The TEFL course has been offered in a different place each year: Seville, Playa del Carmen, Milan, San Francisco and Barcelona. This year, applicants were competing for the opportunity to take a CELTA and a language course close to Suzanne’s home, in the seaside town of Brighton.

All scholarship applicants are assigned a task, involving both a language awareness exercise and a piece of creative writing based around the TEFL course destination. As ever, the standard of the applications that we received was exceptional, and it was a very hard choice. Anna’s entry was original, touching, passionate and relevant, and we would like to congratulate her on her success.

We all loved reading Anna’s piece and hope that you will too.

Congratulations Anna!

6 Weeks in Brighton: – A girl named Su.

We met at a pancake party. That’s what she called it. In fact, it was Pancake Day and us Brits had congregated with our new international friends to celebrate. At home it was an occasion that passed many of us by, however out here it seemed to be an integral part of our cultural heritage.

I’ve been friends with her since then. Her name is Su.

Su made the ideal companion for a culture shocked English teacher embarking on a South Korean sojourn. She was born and bred in the city of Busan. Su is a seaside girl. The lure of other coasts took her to Brighton to learn English, but now back in Busan and educated in the British lingo, Su was on hand to educate me. Whenever I muddled my way through a menu of unrecognisable letters, fearful of ordering live octopus or silkworm, Su was there to ensure the table was filled with soups, dumplings and Korea’s own spicy take on a pancake.

Six months on, the world around me had become more familiar. Coming up the steps of the underground I barely noticed the old lady behind me tugging on the hem of my skirt, fixing a loose thread. Or the tie-dyed puppy in front of me, with it’s teeth wrapped around the strap of my bag. These occurrences had become everyday. I had far more pressing matters. Typhoon Bolaven was forecast to strike in the coming hours and the black clouds were looming over Busan. I was more than a little nervous. However, Su had convinced me that my worries were unfounded. ‘They say it won’t be that bad,’ she had told me over the phone earlier. ‘Sort of like a British summer day.’

‘Anna.’ She waved. She whisked me away from the neon glow of the main streets to a road which was empty, except for one solitary wooden coffee hut. ‘This is my friend Hyong. Introduce yourself,’ she said with wicked encouragement. ‘Jonun Anna immnida! Bangapsamnida!’ Her friend’s eyes lit up at my attempt at basic conversation.’

‘You see, that’s why I learnt English,’ she sighed. ‘I just wanted to be able to talk to people.’ Su and I always ended up discussing our passion for language and affectionately mocking each other’s cultures. Our coffees arrived. ‘Do you have an extra sachet of sugar? Do you know if you are going to use it?’ I asked. ‘No, it’s all yours.’ She gave me the sachet and smirked.

‘That’s what confused me the most when I first arrived in Brighton. I thought I could speak English well. But this British way of speaking, I didn’t know if it was a question or a request or a statement.’ Having confused many non-native speakers with my own convoluted British indirectness, I am sympathetic. I recalled the array of cross-cultural mishaps I have been involved with, or the cause of. One particular with a melon, but that’s a story for another day. It reaffirms to me that the language classroom has to be brought to life. Real life.

She continued, ‘But you’ve just got to let yourself get it wrong. If you want to learn a language you have to open your mind first. ’ She doesn’t know how perfect a soundbite she has whipped out for me. But there is no PR spin behind her statement. It ’ s honest. She’s been through the exhilarating, exhausting, baffling and life changing process of learning another language.

They say that the course of true love never runs smoothly and my own route to becoming infatuated with English was a tumultuous one. In fact, I had to break contact with my native tongue altogether before I returned enamoured , with my tail between my legs. After University, I moved to Germany to become an intern at a cultural organisation. I barely spoke any German, but I threw myself into it.

It wasn’t the shuffling around of verbs that surprised me, or the cases. I knew what I was letting myself in for. However, what blew my mind was getting to understand the true meaning of words. The world became a different place when I spoke German. After that, all the idiosyncrasies of English came to light and I suddenly wanted to go around and tell everyone about grammar and semantics and tenses. I didn’t, instead I decided to become an English teacher.

I think about how learning a language has changed me and influenced the choices I have made in my life. I think about all the people I met because I was able to communicate with them. I look over at Su and think about who she is and who she’s met and the world she has got to know. She may have been born and bred in Busan, but when she speaks English, she is a Brightonian.

She is Su, the girl who used to go to the corner cafe every weekday, and chat to the owner whilst he made her a sarnie.

She is Su, who used to sit on the promenade with her friends, eating mushy peas and cheek biting vinegary chips.

She is Su, who drank a cuppa every morning with her single parent landlady nattering about the unpredictable British weather whilst the kids ran around looking for their thingamajig.

She is Su, whose weekends included pubs, tea rooms and pavilions. Piers, greasy spoons and boutiques. She met hippies, rockers and old ladies sat on benches and Spanish friends who told her to take a Friday afternoon siesta, in preparation for those weekends.

After a year of testing the TEFL waters, I am sure this holiday romance is going to get serious. A CELTA is what I need to make this my future. I imagine that future. I’m back in England, standing in front of classroom full of adults from all around the world. I’ll tell them that they aren’t too old to learn a language. I’ll tell them that they aren’t naturally bad at languages. I’ll tell them my story. And if they still don’t believe it. Well, I’ll tell them about Su.

If you are interested in being considered for future Suzanne Furstner Scholarships, please find more information here: https://www.cactustefl.com/about_us/suzanne_furstner_foundation/

Tags: scholarship, iatefl, efl, course, cactus, learning, tefl, english, tesol, language, celta, england,

Please read about previous Suzanne Furstner Scholarship winners:

Winner of the 2011 Suzanne Furstner Scholarship

Winner of the 2010 Suzanne Furstner Scholarship

Winner of the 2009 Suzanne Furstner Scholarship

Winner of the 2008 Suzanne Furstner Scholarship

Is Vietnam the new Spain when it comes to TEFL?

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It might finally be the case that fledgling Teflers are veering off the beaten track to Spain for a taste of English teaching further afield. Further east, to be precise.

In a survey by Cactus TEFL, about 45% of respondents about to embark on a TEFL course cited countries in Asia as their main region of interest.

Schools in Asia that have previously found it difficult to meet the demand for English with a steady supply of native-speaking, qualified teachers have been offering enticements for new teachers. Many now match the Jet scheme “standard” of providing flights, accommodation, and bonuses.

And the move seems to be paying off.

Private English teaching establishments in China, Vietnam and Thailand are expanding rapidly.

ILA Vietnam is currently on the lookout for some 150 qualified teachers of English. The company’s director, Tony Williams, estimates this figure will double within the year.

Williams says that new teachers now look beyond pay and conditions when making a decision about where to apply. “Newly-qualified teachers are armed with all the right questions these days,” he says. “Career pathways and evidence of solid academic management is as important as a decent rate of pay and working hours.”

In Thailand, another large school group, ECC, offers reimbursement of 50% of a teacher’s Celta course fees in return for a year’s teaching in one of their schools.

Other schools also offer to pay for the return flight home provided the teacher stays on for predetermined contract duration – typically one year.

The need to tie teachers in may raise an eyebrow amongst the more sceptical teachers and lead them to ask, “Why wouldn’t I want to stay a year anyway?” It may be that the requirement has something to do with contract conditions, course durations, and the regime in a school. But also, the wide cultural and climatic variance from life back home could lead would-be Teflers to consider Tefl in Asia as no more than a six-month job option.

The safest option when making a decision is to opt for a school that conducts its interviews in the United Kingdom, with a day’s proper orientation that includes presentations, interviews, a chance to chat to existing teachers, and plenty of opportunities to ask questions, without fear that this could scupper your chances of employment.

Cactus TEFL offer a wide range of TEFL courses at a variety of destinations around the world.

Winner of the Cactus 2011, Suzanne Furstner Foundation Scholarship, talks about her CELTA course.

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Suzanne Furstner Scholarship 2011 – Winner’s Review

It was a Friday evening when I was sitting in the library with some of my colleagues, after having worked non-stop all week. We were researching for an assignment, furiously reading and taking notes, when from behind a tall stack of books a voice calmly stated that at that moment, the rest of the world was probably enjoying a cold beer and some well-deserved R & R. We barely entertained the idea, concluding that whilst it was attractive we had our work cut out for us, and so we dropped our eyes back to the books, saving our cervesas for another day. Such is the life of a CELTA trainee.

barcelonaIn February 2012, I attended the Cambridge CELTA course at International House Barcelona, one of the most reputable teacher training centres in the world. Made possible by the generosity of Cactus TEFL’s Suzanne Furstner Scholarship, the course was a rich and rewarding experience for me. Four-weeks of full-time training was made up of input sessions (a sort-of mix of workshops and lectures) and teaching practice, with the evening hours dedicated to lesson planning and completing written assignments. I received continuous support and direction from the course tutors, each of whom brought to the training room their years of teaching experience.

My class of 18 CELTA candidates was made up of individuals from the UK, the EU, the USA and Ireland, with me, the Australian, being the furthest from home. Some of my classmates were preparing to enter the workforce for the first time, whilst others were looking for a change in career and lifestyle. The training room was a fun learning environment from Day One, when an ongoing impromptu comedy routine was birthed due to an unusually high number of witty personalities in our group.

My expectations of the course had been set-up by a friend in London who had earlier completed his CELTA, and whose forewarning of long days and an intense transformation period proved to be true. I had experienced teaching English for a short stint before the course and was acutely aware of my need for quality training. I found the CELTA methodology to be both stretching and awakening, and unlike other candidates without prior experience I had to unlearn a few bad habits and replace them with ‘new and improved’ techniques.

An example of an area of learning for me was with regards to developing flexibility in the role of teacher. I devoted a lot of time to preparing my lessons, and sometimes the lessons didn’t go according to plan, either because of an aspect I had overlooked in my planning or because of a class dynamic which effected a change in direction. This experience taught me to ‘let go’ a bit as a teacher, to be guided by the students and to allow and encourage organic developments to occur. It taught me that being prepared for a lesson is equally as important as being ready to respond to its natural flow and momentum.

At the completion of the course, our group enjoyed dinner together at a restaurant to celebrate our success and hard work. A few of my classmates shared how they questioned if teaching English was the job for them, because in a course of such intensity you really have to work relentlessly from woe to go. However to live the CELTA as your every day life would be impossible; it’s an intensive training period crammed with all the content and practice you need to start working. The course is challenging but the end result is worthwhile; teaching is a rewarding and fun job that helps others, and having a CELTA opens up doors to employment in many countries around the world. As for me, I came to Barcelona exclusively to attain the CELTA, and five months later, I’m still here, nurturing my love of coffee and drinking in the beauty of this city. And when I’m not riding my bike or trying to improve my Spanish, I’m in the classroom, teaching English.

Cactus TEFL is an admissions and advice service for quality teacher training courses worldwide. Cactus works with well-known course providers to offer CELTA, TESOL, equivalent and online courses in over 90 locations across 36 countries. Cactus TEFL also offers free post-course careers advice and support, as well as access to our very own TEFL jobs board and job alerts. The next Suzanne Furstner Scholarship will be in 2016.

 

Highlights from the IATEFL 2012 Conference

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During the week of 19-23 March, at least 2300 delegates descended upon the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) to take part in the 2012 IATEFL Conference. Of these 2300, 29 people were lucky enough to receive scholarships that enabled them to take part. I was one of these lucky 29, the winner of Cactus’ “Cactus to Conference” scholarship 2012. As well as my conference entry fee, Cactus very kindly provided £400 towards expenses and membership to IATEFL for one year. This enabled me to also participate in a Pre-Conference Event (PCE). I chose the Teacher Development Special Interest Group’s (TD sig) workshop on Drama and Improvisation. It was a fantastic start to an equally fantastic week.

What a plethora of presentations, what a wealth of workshops followed the Pre-Conference Day! Luckily, I have a smartphone and was able to use the brand new conference app to help me plan my time in such a way as to make the most of everything available. For me, one of the highlights of the week was watching talks given by some of the leading lights of EFL. A plenary by Adrian Underhill on “Mess and Progress”, Jim Scrivener on the need for demand-high teaching, Luke Meddings and Lindsay Clandfield on subversive teaching, Michael Swan on “Grammar doesn’t have to be Grey”, Jeremy Harmer who gave us six pertinent questions to consider. Particularly exciting was an informal follow-up discussion on the talk about demand-high teaching with Jim Scrivener and Adrian Underhill, which took place in a bar in the Crowne Plaza on Thursday 22nd.

Another highlight, the flip side of the coin to the first, was seeing first-time speakers give talks at the conference. For example, Sandy Millin, winner of the John Haycroft Classroom Exploration Scholarship, delivered her very first conference presentation on getting students to use online resources to help them study English. This was not limited to scholarship winners, of course. I also saw a particularly interesting presentation done by a second year teacher who had undertaken a Dogme project at his school in Spain. Seeing people present for the first time made it seem possible that perhaps at the next IATEFL conference I myself could present for my first time. Everybody must start somewhere and this is the great value of the Cactus to Conference scholarship: it allows an inexperienced EFL practitioner to attend this conference and enjoy all the benefits of it, which sows the seeds for future professional development, which may not have been possible without this inspiration.

One multi-sensory memory that will stay with me as I pursue my career in teaching EFL is that feeling of being right at the forefront of ideas, amongst the buzz that can only be generated by a group of people – in this case from all over the world – with a shared passion. Thank you, Cactus, for making this experience possible for me!

 

Find out how you could attend the 2013 IATEFL Conference courtesy of the Cactus to Conference Scholarship…

Previous winners:

2011: Camilla Heath

2010: Fiona James

Picture: Jenny Johnson, Academic Director at Cactus, and Elizabeth Pinard, Cactus to Conference Winner 2012.

April is TEFL month at Cactus

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Throughout April we will aim to answer all your TEFL questions, such as:

“What is the difference between TEFL, CELTA and TESOL?”

“Is a 4-week TEFL course as intensive as everyone says?”

“How do you know which TEFL course is best for you?”

We will be posting a series of videos discussing and answering the most common TEFL questions. So make sure you’re a fan or following us and don’t miss out!

www.facebook.com/cactuslanguagetraining

www.twitter.com/cactustefl

For transcripts of the videos and even more TEFL related questions, as well as information on thousands of courses around the world visit www.cactustefl.com.

English Language Awareness: why TEFL teachers still need help with grammar

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John Hughes, author of Cactus TEFL’s online courses, looks back at three years of raising English Language awareness and explains why prospective TEFL teachers still request help with their grammar.

About twenty years ago I was being interviewed for an intensive four-week course in teaching English as a Foreign Language. It felt like a real make or break situation. I’d given up my day job and saved enough money to live on for a month. Then I was going to head to the first country with a language school that would take me. The Training Course Director asked what most worried me about taking the course? I had no doubts about the answer: “Teaching grammar”.

Years later, having taught EFL in many different countries, I also found myself interviewing and training would-be teachers for intensive TEFL courses. And, in most cases, people’s concerns still echoed my own: their lack of knowledge and confidence with grammar. Like me, they’d never had much formal education at school into how the English language works, so wondered how they would be able to teach it.

Three years ago, Cactus TEFL set about changing this situation by offering a grammar course either to help people before taking a TEFL course or for existing teachers who wanted to brush up their skills. Perhaps one reason why no one had really offered this kind of quality language awareness training before was because there had never been the opportunities suddenly provided by the internet and online training. In terms of course content, the online format allowed us to present aspects of language in conjunction with video extracts of how a teacher might present the language to students. We were also determined that – unlike many other online courses at the time – our course would have a ‘real’ tutor who could help participants with questions and queries as well as facilitate and moderate discussion in the forums.

Now, Cactus TEFL’s first ever online course is three years old. The course has evolved and grown over time which is what we’d hoped for. As a writer of courses both in book-form and online, the key advantage for me of online courses is that they are much more organic than a book-based course. Course participants can post feedback and suggest improvements which help with the process of writing and developing the course. Over time the Cactus course has expanded from being an introduction to the English language into also covering areas of methodology and classroom skills.

Having said all that, what surprises me most is that the basic format of the course remains more or less the same as it was three years ago. There are thirty lessons in each course and we use a combination of readings, video and audio to present language items. Then there are exercises which follow to help consolidate what has been learned.  The tutor support has always been a key feature of the course and it’s the area which receives more regular praise.

The best part about being involved with these Cactus courses is that you know so many of the people taking them will go on to take TEFL courses (such as CELTA or the Cert TESOL) and then go off to teach in every corner of the world. Raising your language awareness and then teaching English as a Foreign Language really will change your life. Take me, for example. When I completed my first TEFL course I expected to travel and teach for a few years and then do something else. Now, I find myself still heavily involved in TEFL – and as for my concerns about grammar? Well, my third grammar textbook for language learners comes out later this year, so at least I’ve finally laid that fear to rest!

Cactus TEFL is the only international admissions and jobs service for TEFL. It works with over 125 TEFL course providers in 35 different countries. Its English Language Awareness course has been nominated for a British Council Innovation Award.

The Guardian Careers - 12 July 2011

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Cactus’ Jenny Johnson once again joined the panel at Guardian.co.uk to contribute towards a live discussion about finding TEFL jobs.  Jenny provided expert help and tips across a range of TEFL queries, alongside other industry luminaries: https://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/tefl-jobs

Cactus TEFL: Answering all your TEFL queries

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The Cactus TEFL website contains lots of information about the different courses that are available, the different capacities in which you can teach EFL, and where in the world you can work. This information has been gathered from various sources over the years – from industry bodies, from partner schools and from teachers who have applied for a course through us and kept in touch after gaining a qualification.

All of the Cactus TEFL team have worked within the TEFL industry, and our former colleague Jenny Johnson – highly experienced and respected in the TEFL world – represented Cactus TEFL at regular TEFL Q&A sessions with The Guardian, which you can find links to below:

Live Q&A: A beginner’s guide to TEFL, Mar 23 2011

TEFL careers — A graduate guide, 21 July 2010

Teaching English Abroad, Oct 7 2009

We have chosen five of the most frequently asked questions to post below, but would encourage anyone with another TEFL-related question to leave us a comment below. One of our specialist advisers will get back to you with an answer or some advice.

1. What is the difference between TEFL, CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL?

TEFL is the name of the industry you would be working in – Teaching English as a Foreign Language. In order to gain access to this industry, there are two key qualifications which stand out as being quite special in their international recognition – the Cambridge CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults) and the Trinity College CertTESOL (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Both the CELTA and CertTESOL courses are types of TEFL courses.

2. Will a 2-day/online TEFL course give me a certificate in teaching EFL?

Courses such as these do award a certificate of completion. However, it is important to recognise that it is not the TEFL qualification that a lot of employers will require. When prospective employers ask, ‘have you got a TEFL certificate?’ what they are usually referring to is the Trinity Certificate TESOL, the Cambridge CELTA or a certificate gained from doing a course of equivalent length and value as these two.

The short courses, however, are ideal if you want a basic introduction to TEFL. If you are looking to teach on an informal basis, or if the kind of teaching that you are planning to do is voluntary or temporary, these courses are perfect. They are particularly beneficial to anyone who is looking to do a few months travelling, and perhaps pick up some casual work along the way.

There are some schools that will employ teachers permanently who have done a short or online course, but in Europe they tend to be smaller, locally-run schools or schools that are in locations slightly off the beaten track. In countries like China where there is a huge demand for teachers, it’s more common to be able to find work with a shorter course behind you – it’s sometimes more important in Asian countries for teachers to have a university degree than a four-week TEFL course certificate.

3. What are the requirements to get on a CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL course?

For native speakers of English, ideally you need to have the qualifications which would allow you to access a degree course – i.e. A-Levels or an equivalent. Having said that, certain schools may require you to hold a degree, whilst others will consider your application if you just have relevant life experience.

If you are a non native speaker, you will also need to be able to demonstrate your ability to use English to a very high standard – ideally you will need to hold something like Cambridge Advanced English (CAE), Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) or IELTS level 7. If you don’t have an external qualification, the school will be able to test the level of your English, often by providing you with an additional language task to complete.

You need to be at least 18 years old, though some schools prefer you to be at least 20. There is no upper age limit for these courses.

4. Which countries have the most TEFL jobs?

You could, visa permitting, arrive anywhere your heart desires and offer your services as a TEFL teacher. Whether or not people wanted, or needed to learn English though, is another matter! In general, Asia tends to be the region with the most demand for English teachers – particularly China, Thailand and Vietnam.  The Middle East is another region where there are lots of jobs to be found, and also European countries like Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. Russia is also a plentiful source of work, as is Australia, although the regulations and qualifications required there can be stringent. South America is another area of the world where it is relatively easy to find TEFL work, with Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Chile seemingly top of the list for jobs. The hardest places to find paid EFL work tend to be Africa and North America, where unless you have a green card it’s almost impossible to get work. Opportunities in the UK mainly exist within summer schools – competition for year-round TEFL jobs can be very high, and opportunities for paid ESOL work are now also relatively few and far between.

 

5. What happens if I’m a mature applicant? Can I still do the course/get work?

The impression given by the industry websites and many forums which discuss TEFL issues is that TEFL is an industry designed for the younger generation. There will of course be specific situations where schools will prefer younger staff, for example during summer residential programmes where students tend to be in their teens. There are also certain countries where you are unfortunately quite likely to encounter discrimination on account of your age.

However, if you are flexible and open-minded, and you’re not intent on earning a fortune, then TEFL is arguably more suited to more mature teachers. As far as employers are concerned your wealth of experience will probably mean that you are more at ease with groups and individuals from diverse walks of life, and you will better relate to, for example, the life issues that students face.

Also, a more senior teacher may have the business experience and knowledge which comes in very handy for a school’s company clients, who will not take too kindly to a very young teacher without much life experience.

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