4 Responses

1. start a ‘book’ group

   Hi Valerie

   Start a ‘book’ group….get a number of short, relevant business texts (trade magazine articles will do for the purposes of this activity, or the two page "spreads" in the Business Secrets* books by Harper Collins) and get members to read them and write a "review" of individual ones, then discuss them (in English)  at a small group session.  You can buddy up the intermediates with the beginners and allocate the texts according to comparative ability.  Run 1:1 sessions to critique and coach the written reviews as well. 

   This should give you a combined output of

   ~peer and 1:1 instructor coaching

   ~some confidence building ‘public speaking’

   ~improved written English composition

   ~practice at discussion in English

   ~knowledge development on the content of the articles concerned

   (* These were written with non native-English speakers in mind so should be appropriate)

   I hope this helps

   Rus

   http://www.coach-and-courses.com

2. Teaching English in South Korea

   Hi .. Maybe consider using flash cards to teach the basics?  They can link a picture to a word, and memorise the pronounciation.  That is good for beginners. 

   Interest groups might be good for conversational English.  Talking about a topic that people are passionate about is always inspiring.

   If you’re seriously interested in teaching English, your best bet is to get a TEFL qualification – http://www.teflcertificatecourses.com/specials.php#1

   I lived in China for two years, and my husband worked in South Korea – they do prefer people with a qualification, if you’re going to teach in a School.  If, however, you choose to teach ‘conversational English’, that is in demand as well, but of course the fee will be much lower.

   You might also  find below artice interesting (assuming you do not have a teaching degree) –

   How to Teach ESL Without a Degree

   By:Dr. Robert W. F. Taylor
    

   English as a Second Language (ESL) has always been an attraction as a good way for people to explore other countries, learn about new cultures and have their travel expenses paid for. Many factors have contributed recently to the huge global need for English teachers. The popularity of the Internet has created a desire in millions of non-English speakers to learn to communicate in English. The speed in which we can travel around the world has truly made the world a global village. Multinational companies operate globally and need English language training for their international management and staff who need to communicate by phone, fax and e-mail with head office, suppliers and customers. The demise of the Soviet Bloc and opening up of Eastern Europe is another contributor. All around the world, people want to learn to communicate in English. The need for English language training far outstrips the available teaching workforce.

   You mean I don’t have to have a degree to teach in a foreign country? In some countries, that is true. Of course, schools would prefer their teachers to have degrees, ideally in education and naturally the better your education, the more doors that will open to you for teaching jobs. However, the reality of the situation is that if you have a TESOL certificate, but not a degree, that will be sufficient in many places. As I said above, the need is huge. Literally thousands of ESL teachers are needed in China alone and thousands more in South Korea, to name only two countries.

   So, if I want to teach overseas but I don’t have a degree, what should I do?

   First, decide what part of the world you would like to go to. I’ll tell you that Asia has the largest need for ESL teachers and thus is often less demanding of teaching qualifications. Second, find a good TESOL course to take. There are many available and they range in cost from $250 to $1500. What is the difference? The higher priced courses are usually offered in universities and take longer to complete. What you need to satisfy the requirements of many schools (and local immigration departments) is a course that is 100-120 hours. This is about one-term. Some courses can be completed in as little as a week. An extra benefit is a course that offers transferable credits that you can then apply to a degree if you wish. Once you start teaching, you may like to consider completing that missing degree by distance learning. Many colleges and universities offer degree-completion programs. Depending on your experience, you could complete a BA in as little as a year. This is worth considering because if you do have a degree, you will find more opportunities open up to you.

   By the way, you will see many acronyms for ESL teacher-training courses: TESOL, TESL, TEFL, CELTA, TEAL, TEYL and TEFLA are some. I recommend TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). It is recognized around the world and gives you a good basic training in ESL teaching methodologies. CELTA is a British program (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults). My preference is TESOL because it trains you in methods that work for all ages whereas CELTA focuses on adults. New teachers will usually find themselves teaching in a regular school and so should have a good grounding in methods, techniques and strategies for teaching young and school-aged children.

   If you are serious about teaching overseas, even if you don’t have a degree, start by earning a TESOL certificate, learning about countries in which you have an interest and then place your resume on as many ESL teacher recruiting sites as you can find. Before you know it, job offers should soon start to appear in your e-mail.

   I did this and, though I did have a degree, in one night received a phone call from Indonesia followed later by one from Thailand. I accepted the job in Thailand. Teaching overseas can easily change your life and you don’t need a degree to do it! If you would like a copy of my ebook "Introduction to Teaching Overseas", contact me at

   Robert W. Taylor

   Dr. Robert Taylor has been teaching English in Thailand for close to ten years. He also teaches the online TESOL course for Sunbridge Institute of English http://www.teachesl.org

   Read more: http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?page=3;read=3181#ixzz1FKcvFe5k

3. English teacher

   Hi Valerie

   Hope I’m not stating the obvious but you need to get a qualified TEFL teacher to assess the current level of English and recommend a course of action to get them where you want them to be.

   My first port of call would be to contact a local branch of International House or British Council for some advice.

   One of the best sources of info on TEFL http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/

   Good luck

   Steve

    

4. Suggestions

   Hi Valerie,

   I understood from your question that rather than get qualified as a teacher and train them yourself, you were looking for some tips and suggestions, and you believe that a formal EFL course would be too expensive. Is that correct?

   I work in EFL in Italy and get asked this question a lot. Rus’s comment is great, as always. I’d also recommend getting in touch with the British Council (rather than any of the franchise chains, which are hit and miss depending on the franchisee) as they are the gold standard in our sector, though not inexpensive.

   In reality, there are so many excellent resources available, from easy-readers, to videos, grammar exercises, podcasts and pronunciation guides that anyone could realistically learn a language by themselves. If they had the motivation and understood what path they needed to follow – but most people don’t. That’s where the trainer comes in – to motivate and guide more than anything else.

   There are cheaper options than classroom training, such as telephone training or virtual classrooms (disclaimer – that’s part of what my company does), and if you’re in a rush, you could even consider the full immersion approach by hosting them at your UK offices for a few weeks. Ultimately, however, their progress comes from motivation + resources + some form of human guide.

   I hope that’s not too generic, and let us know how you get on and what route you decide to take.

   Alex Taylor