Ideas For Teachers

If you were wondering what type of digs you will be living in when you get to Korea, here is a detailed video for you. This is a single apartment, which is what most jobs offer these days; it is an ‘Office Tel’ which offers a loft for the bedroom area.

Notice the helmets and who’s wearing them…

Teacher dancing and singing with brookstick

This teachers really gets into his ‘Patrick Henry speech’

#1 - Our number one spot goes to this teacher - we’re not sure what he put in his morning coffee, but it sure made this lecture entertaining

I have listed a few books and reviews below for different topics related to ESL. I find that while not everything about teaching ESL can be learned from a book, they can certainly answer a lot of questions as well as provide teachers with new ideas and different approaches to teaching.

The Esl Teacher’s Book of Lists

Review by Patricia Quintero “ramos9″

I am an ESL teacher. The district I work in supplied us with this book. It is an excellent book full of useful ideas. My students find the book a great help. I use the stories to teach them new vocabulary, help them with their prounciation and allow to enjoy themselves while learning. Great book! I encourage everyone to check it out!

The More-Than-Just-Surviving Handbook: Esl for Every Classroom Teacher

Review by Alessandra Vadala

If you need to whip up a lesson or you have a great activity and need some specialized vocabulary…this is it! This book is also very helpful when you can’t think of examples “off the top of you head,” but you know the “grammar-point” you want to make. For instance, it lists exceptions to rules, idioms, prespositions, common mistakes made by specific groups of language learners, etc… I’ve used it at least three times a week for four years!

Kids Come in All Languages

Review by a reader:

This is an awesome resource for both teachers and staff developers. As a staff developer, I have used it for many trainings - articles are a good length for jigsaw activities. I wish I had known about this book when I was a teacher. Articles contain pertinent information from key people in the field of English Language Development and Bilingual Education and address an array of topics from Second Language Acquisition to the Relationship between reading and Writing to various strategies within the “ESL” repetoire - both practice and theory. While the resource was published in 1994, the information is still pertinent and valuable for teachers of English Language learners (children who are learning English as a Second Language).

Esl Teacher’s Book of Instant Word Games: For Grades 7-12

Review by Robert R. Thompson

I teach ESL in El Cajon, California. I have used this book for over ten years. I like it very much. A previous review was very negative. I did not find this book to be a dissappointment. I use it as a supplement. It is true that the book does not give explanations of grammer. To be fair it does give examples of proper grammar and usage. I use it as a fun supplement. You can create a lesson around the worksheets in this book. Another of my colleagues also likes it very much.

The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course

Review by bluetoque

This book was clearly created to be a textbook for pre-service teachers about how to teach English grammar. There is so much information in this book, though, I’m pretty sure that it would be impossible to cram it all in to one course. It’s an absolutely indispensable reference. I return to it again and again. Every serious ESL/EFL teacher should have this book.

100 Clear Grammar Tests : Reproducible Grammar Tests for Beginning to Intermediate Esl/Efl Classes

Review by Mary DellaLuna

This book contains 1000 Grammar Tests that are easily reproduced for classroom use. These tests follow the sequence given in the authors series of Clear Grammar books but can easily be adapted to any lessons given on grammar. Each chapter has tests on a particular grammar point and at least two types of tests. (Multiple choice, fill in the blanks, sentence writing etc) This book and his series are designed for the beginner and intermediate ESL student but can easily be used in any school setting. Tests follow the same chapter sequence as the Clear Grammar Series but you can also look up tests by the grammar point you wish to test. This book does not teach any grammar points, it is simply a book of tests to help the teacher evaluate and re-inforce the information taught.

Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in Multicultural Contexts

Review by D. Grady

This book is required reading in a graduate class I am taking and is an excellent resource. It gives a comprehensive look at Bilingual Education. It begins with an overview of bilingual education, then moves into specific programs and policies which include important court cases that shaped the face of education today. The historical view was particularly interesting! After chapters on language and culture, Ovando does a great job of explaining how to teach in different content areas. Anyone in the field of education will benefit from reading this book. It is well researched and written by someone with a deep understanding of bilingual education.

Easy & Engaging ESL Activities and Mini-Books for Every Classroom

Review by J. Marren

I recently taught ESL in China for a few weeks and found this book incredibly useful. Although marketed as being for grades 1-4, I found this book helpful for even high school students–it depends more on the level of language proficiency than anything else. For example, I used the “parts of the body” page to review what my students already knew, and then they filled in more complicated words such as thigh, shoulder, ankle, etc. The money page has very realistic drawings of the various coins, all of which were new to my students. The food pages were very helpful before moving on to more complicated lessons on ordering in a restaurant. A great book for a modest price!

Ready-To-Use Esl Activities for Every Month of the School Year

Review by Luis A. Meneses

This book has many creative ideas to use with ESL students. The projects do not require much preparation. They are easy and the students enjoy them. Information such as short stories are easily understood. The best part of all is that the activities are organized by month. This book is a good resource for the ELL teacher.

The More-Than-Just-Surviving Handbook: Esl for Every Classroom Teacher

Review by Peggy A. Gray

Excellent resource book for any one training ESL teachers or for future teachers of ESL.

Not sure what to expect from your first job teaching English? Experienced ESL teacher Steven Starry has some great advice on how to get you started in the classroom as well as what to do if certain issues arise.

Although it is not one of the areas that is especially focused on when learning English, studying new words for ESL students can sometimes be quite difficult and ineffective if not done properly. Spelling mistakes are quite common and result in mispronunciation which leads to misunderstanding and therefore miscommunication. The seven steps outlined don’t take too long to complete when learning a word, but the end result will be an increased vocabulary which is the basic building block of any language

Step 1:
Say the word. Make sure that you are pronouncing it correctly so that you can imagine how it will look when it is written out

Step 2:
Look at each part of the word to break it up into parts or to see it as a combination of two or more parts (or words) (i.e. together: to-get-her)

Step 3:
Say the letters of the word out loud

Step 4:
Close your eyes and spell the word

Step 5:
Check to see if you have spelled the word correctly. If you haven’t repeat steps 1-5

Step 6:
Write the word out

Step 7:
Check to see if you have written it correctly. If you have, move on to the next word; if you haven’t, see where you made the mistake and repeat steps 1-7

Thanks Kevin!

Yes, I’m eating well. The food is original, tasty and plentiful. Of course, as anywhere, there are dishes to which I’m clinging more than others.

Let’s start with Korean barbecue. When you order Korean food it usually comes with almost a dozen side dishes consisting of fish cakes, pickled cabbage, sweet cucumber salad and shredded beef. Other sides may include sauteed, raw calamari with onions and other vegetables. Most dishes are accompanied by a spicy red sauce. Spicy meat, seafood or vegetable soups are also the norm.

As meat (pork, beef, fish, seafood, etc) is normally the primary dish — cooked on a grill, in the centre of your table — your main ingredient is virtually surrounded by smaller dishes of vegetables (corn, peas), kimchi (spicy cabbage), soup/broth, boiled sweet potatoes, dumplings, rice mixtures, raw vegetables and sometimes even halfed garlic cloves. The list is lengthy and every restaurant serves it’s own version of accompanying side dishes.

Interestingly, meals are often photographed and posted on the storefront or in the menu. When meals are a shared one (e.g., Korean barbecue), prices and volume vary according to the number of persons consuming.

Although just a brief glimpse of one meal, Korean dining remains creative by constantly piqueing one’s curiosity.

Snacking is also the norm, here. Children and adults alike are incessantly nibbling on something. Streets are littered with stalls selling deep-fried everything; from shrimp and pork and sausages to pastries, ramen noodles (many flavours/sizes/lengths) and kimbop (like California rolls). Similarly, fruit and vegetable stalls abound, and corner stores sell every type of sugared treat imaginable. Children do not go without, I assure you.

S*

Do You Qualify?

Many schools in Greece look for English Teachers who have their TEFL or TESOL certificates, but it is getting more common for schools to hire those who hold only a university degree. While there are schools that will only hire teachers who have previous teaching experience, there are plenty of them who don’t; many schools want you to teach the way that they want you to teach, and therefore prefer applicants with no experience.

Do You Need to Speak Greek to teach in Greece?

No. Not being able to speak Greek will actually help you inside the classroom. This is a worry for many teachers who are concerned with making themselves understood in the classroom if they don’t know the local language; the short answer to this is that you will find a way. The whole reason for having a native English speaker teach is so that the students will be immersed in English; therefore, if the students know that they can rely on their own language, they will turn to it when they start to experience difficulty in class.

How to Find Work

As is the case with finding jobs in Italy, sometimes going door to door is your best option. The Internet is usually the first place that people look, so try there before you go walking the streets.
Schools generally hire between August and October, so it is not recommended to be knocking on doors before this, as schools do not consider hiring before this time.

Payment

The pay will vary greatly from school to school so you have to make sure that you spend the time to explore your options. A common mistake made by teachers is signing the first offer that they receive, only to find out later that they could have made quite a bit more elsewhere if they had taken the time to shop around a little. Be careful with sneaky schools that will make you think there is nothing else available.

Extra Work Outside of Your School

As is the case with most countries where English is taught as a second language, private lessons are a great way to make extra money. A lot of people attempt to fill up their schedule solely with private lessons, but these are sometimes very difficult to find and cancellations of lessons make this a difficult option. What is recommended is working in a school and finding students through your classes; many parents want their children to have extra English time and they don’t mind spending the money.

This is a good example of how you can use your own ideas in an ESL classroom. Connie uses a Geography lesson as a means to make the students speak in class. She then turns the lesson into a game for the students. (Take note of the participation and attention of the class).

Thanks Connie!

This advice is for males and females alike, however, females will naturally end up with more in their pack.

Here is a quick list of what to bring:

1) Deodorant: a lot of countries tend not to use this as much as we do in western society and it is therefore sometimes scarce and usually very expensive
2) Shaving cream and razors: if you are going anywhere in Asia, you will have a hard time coming across these items, as Asians are generally not very hairy people
3) Your own towel: towels are generally smaller in Asia for example
4) Your own pillow: for those who are picky about having their own pillow that is. Don’t pack it in your bag, but bring it as carry on – it will be handy when you are on the plane trying to sleep
5) Work clothes: for men: A few pairs of casual/dressy pants and a couple of shirts that you can rotate. For women: skirts, dress pants, and blouses.
6) Clothes for each season: depending on where you go, you might need to pack some warm clothes for the winter, including a jacket, gloves and a tuk (a winter hat for all non- Canadians)
7) Medication: if you need medication, ask your doctor for a year’s supply or make sure that the country you are going to has what you need
8) A little taste of home: be it Kraft Dinner or your favorite cereal, comfort food from home will make you feel a little less homesick
9) A gift for your new boss: goes a long way – great first impressions are always a good way to start a new job

*Remember that if you do forget something, it can most likely be found wherever you are and if not, mailed to you. Also remember that bringing too much stuff is not always a bad thing, as it is usually cheaper (and faster), to send home rather than to send them to wherever you are.

Here is an example of what Korean Air will allow you to bring on the plane:

• Dimensions of 55*40*20 (cm)
• Total dimension 115cm or less.
• Economy Class Total of two pieces per Pax.
• Each piece must be under 23kg(50lbs)

(The sum of the dimensions of the two bags should not exceed 273cm)

Qatar doesn’t rank too high on the list of desirable countries to teach English in the ESL community. The reasons, one might speculate, might have something to do with climate or perhaps safety (it is after all in one of the hot spots of the world; a hop skip from Iran and just around the corner from Iraq). But is it safe? And are women even allowed to teach there? As Fatima describes in her post, it is a place that more people should consider as its culture is more diverse than one would think.

Teaching English in Qatar can be a rewarding job. The entire country is in the middle of major education reform. They are moving into a mode of instruction where the basics are taught in English from K on up. There are plenty of jobs for the native speaker

Other cultural events include famous European musicians, rock bands performing outside on the seashore, plays and numerous international expositions. There are numerous groups to join. The Qatar Natural History Group has great lectures at a yearly nominal fee for membership. There is a Ramblers group for walking in various areas in Qatar, no membership fee, open to all. There are Toastmasters groups, Doha Singers, the Doha Debates (as seen on BBC), Doha Scientific Club, Stamp collecting (Philatelic), petanque, AA, various women’s groups, clubs for French, German or Spanish speakers, sailing and scuba diving lessons and clubs, centers to learn about Qatari culture and Arabic if you like (contact QCPI), scouts and brownies troops, ice skating, ice hockey, tae kwon do, even a Harley Davidson Club. Moreover, if you have the necessary income you can join all sorts of social and sporting clubs that offer nice activities.

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