The UK-TEFL Christmas Survival Guide

No matter how much you're enjoying your TEFL experience, you would have to be a pretty hardy soul not to get homesick at Christmas.

While your family are all gathered together, eating, drinking and being merry, you can't help but feel isolated as you try your best to feel festive in a country where their idea of celebrating Christmas is radically different from your own.

In Spain for example, most people give presents on Twelfth Night (January 6th) which is when the Three Kings brought the baby Jesus's gifts. Children in Norway get their presents from Julebukk, a gnome that looks like a goat. Meanwhile the Japanese are often seen spending Christmas Day in KFC, a tradition that dates back to the hugely successful 'Kentucky for Christmas' advertising campaign in the 1970s. In many secular countries, including China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Christmas is not officially a public holiday and you will be lucky to get the day off work!

Julebukk: Bringing presents to Norwegian children

If this doesn't sound like your idea of fun, then try these top tips to get yourself into the Christmas spirit:

1. Make your family feel guilty about the fact that you are so far away from home and milk it for all it's worth. Ask if they will help ease your emotional distress by posting you lots of Christmas treats. We're thinking along the lines of sweets and chocolates - don't ask anyone to mail you a turkey leg. It won't end well!

2. Count yourself lucky. The wonders of modern technology mean that you can now Skype your loved ones back home and you will feel as if you are right there with them. Teaching English as a foreign language twenty or thirty years ago was a different kettle of fish, with expensive long distance phone calls, often made from a phone box, or letters, that took weeks upon weeks to be delivered, the only lines of communication.

3. Find some other Westerners in your area. The expat community in your town, city or village might be organising a Christmas dinner of some description. Everyone is in the same boat in that they just want to experience something that feels familiar. If there's nothing going on then take the initiative and invite everyone round to your flat. Look around the shops and see if you can find any decorations to brighten the place up a bit.

4. Download some Christmas movies. Elf, Home Alone, It's A Wonderful Life...the list of Christmas classics is endless. Watching your favourite festive film is sure to get you feeling warm and fuzzy.

5. Share Christmas with your students. TEFL isn't just about learning a language, it's also a cultural exchange. By living in a new country you get to learn all about their way of life. Equally, you should take the opportunity to teach them a bit about your own. You can even do a lesson on Christmas. There are plenty of lesson plans freely available on the internet if you're stuck for ideas.

Teaching your Children about Christmas is a great idea for a lesson

Whatever you end up doing, and wherever you are in the world, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Like us on Facebook for your chance to win a TEFL course!

UK-TEFL are offering one lucky Facebook fan the chance to win up to £250 worth of TEFL training.

In order to be in with a chance of winning, simply like us on Facebook and then enter your email address in the box provided.

The winning entrant, who will be drawn at random on December 19th, will be able to choose from ONE of our four great training courses, subject to availability.

Standard Course (2 or 3 days)
Advanced course
120-hour Online TEFL Course
Online Grammar Course

Enter now for your chance to win!

The World's Weirdest Foods

A big part of living and working abroad is broadening your horizons and trying new things. What you may not know is that the most popular destinations for UK-TEFL graduates are also home to some of the world's weirdest dishes. Here we take a look at six strange foods you might want to try on your travels...if you've got the stomach for them!


1. Huitlacoche

Known in English simply as corn smut, this fungus causes huge blackened growths to appear on the plant's surface. Mexicans consider it something of a delicacy and use it to to add a mushroomy flavour to quesadillas, tamales and soups. It is believed to get its name from the old Nahuatl language and roughly translates as 'sleeping excrement'.


2. Snake Wine

According to traditional Chinese medicine, snake wine has great medicinal properties and can be used to treat poor vision, hair loss and  increase sexual performance. It is made by infusing whole snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. Snake wine is also popular in Vietnam and other South East Asian countries.


3. Sannakji

This is not a dish for the faint hearted. Sannakji is basically chopped baby octopus, seasoned with sesame oil. That might not sound too bad until you realise they are still moving! Sannakji is served as soon as it has been sliced, so your food will continue to wriggle around on the plate for a good ten minutes. There have been cases of people choking to death on Sannakji, as the tentacles can stick to the back of your throat on the way down. If you're going to try this one then make sure you chew before you swallow!


4. Fugu

Fugu is another food reserved for the more adventurous among you. A Japanese dish made from puffer fish, it can be lethally poisonous, meaning its toxic parts must be carefully removed before consumption. The intestines, ovaries and liver of the fish contain a poison called tetrodotoxin, which is 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide. The preparation of Fugu is strictly controlled by Japanese law and only those who have undergone rigorous training are licensed to make it. With prices starting at around £150, you could be forgiven for giving this one a miss.


5. Casu Marzu

Casu Marzu, which means 'rotten cheese', is native to the Italian island of Sardinia. It is made with sheep milk and contains live maggots which are introduced to advance the fermentation process. The result is that the texture of the cheese becomes very soft and has a strong taste of ammonia, which stays on your tongue for hours. Because of European Union food hygiene regulations, Casu Marzu is currently outlawed although lovers of the cheese are desperately trying to overturn the decision. When in Rome...


6. Black Ivory Coffee

Last but not least we have Black Ivory Coffee, which is one of the world's most expensive drinks, coming in at around £35 a cup. It has lacks the bitterness of normal coffee thanks to its special method of production. Black Ivory is made from beans which have been eaten by Thai Elephants and then plucked from their dung a day later. The animal's stomach acid is said to break down the protein resulting in an 'earthy' and 'fruity' flavoured coffee.

The Road to Beijing

Robert Warman took a UK-TEFL course in March 2011 and now works as Recruitment Manager at an English school in Beijing. He is the first of our guest bloggers who will tell you all about their experiences of living and working overseas. Here Robert discusses how gaining a UK-TEFL certificate has helped change his life...

 

Robert with his students

My name’s Robert Warman and I live and work in Beijing, China. I have been here for a little over two years. I work for an English school called “Aihua English” and have worked here since I arrived.

Before I came to China, I was unsure of how to even begin the process of finding a teaching job abroad. I learned that I would need a TEFL certificate, so I searched the web for local TEFL courses. Many offered online options where you could learn and be tested at home. I wasn’t too keen on this as I wanted to learn real hands-on skills that would prepare me and help me to do the best possible job. 

I came across UK-TEFL and found their website informative and helpful. I learned that they had courses all over the UK so I signed up to the nearest one to me at the time, Kingston. The course was over the weekend and was full of fantastic activities which kept us out of our seats and learning at a fast yet manageable pace. I made a lot of friends many of whom I still stay in touch with today. We were all awarded our certificates and went our separate ways around the world!

 

The job search was challenging and stressful because of all of the horror stories on the forums around the internet. It was hard to know who to trust and every company promised me different things. During my weekend training with UK-TEFL, I was shown useful tips on how to find a job abroad including the pitfalls and things to watch for. They included useful websites which had the best jobs. This really helped me to get started and soon enough, I had an interview with Aihua English in Beijing.

I decided to go with this school because they offered a competitive wage and were very honest and clear to speak with. I was interviewed by the owner, who is an Irishman. He opened the school around 10 years ago and had built it up from a small school with several classes, to a busy, thriving school with several centres around the city.

 

The bright lights of Beijing

Despite the reassuring staff and good information that the Aihua team gave me, I was still insanely nervous about getting on the plane and landing in China. To my relief, upon arrival in Beijing, I was met by the Foreign Affairs Officer and the driver who helped me with my bags and took me to a hotel.

I remember waking up the next day to loud bagging outside the window! I peered out of the window suspiciously and wondered what the hell the racket was. I was still unsure of my surroundings and was scared a war had started! I called the girl who had collected me from the airport to ask. I said: "Do you hear the loud banging outside? It sounds like people are being shot!" She laughed and replied: “They are just fireworks!”

Yes, it turns out that Chinese people like to shoot fireworks into the sky no matter what time of the day! I felt silly for my wild paranoia but my mind was soon put to rest when I met my co-workers and boss later that day.

The surprises never stopped coming for the following 2 years I would work for Aihua and live in the fascinating, historical city of Beijing. In these 2 years, I have had fun teaching some amazing children English. I have managed to learn to speak Chinese to an intermediate level (most of the time), and have enjoyed everything the city has to offer.

I continue to work for Aihua as a Recruitment /HR manager. I enjoy it because I get to interview and advise applicants just like I was advised before I came to China. I really enjoy watching new teachers arrive and have their first experiences of China while learning to be great teachers and excel at their jobs. I think I was lucky to find this school as others are not so fortunate. If you are thinking of getting into ESL teaching, I would recommend UK-TEFL as a good choice to get your certificate and your first introduction to an exciting future. 

There are currently vacancies available at Aihua English School, so book a course and you could be eligible for a position. For more information contact Rob here or here or visit the academy's Facebook Page.

It's only words...

 

This video is a great example of how modern technology can help liven up your lessons.

WORDS, by Radiolab and NPR, is available free on YouTube. So provided you have internet access, and a projector or interactive white board, you will be able to use it in your classes. It is not suitable for beginners, or very young learners, but will work a treat on intermediate and advanced students.

The aim of the video is to demonstrate just how ambiguous the English language can be. Using it is simple. Just show it to your students, a few times if needs be, and ask them if they can note down the nine 'themes'.

After they have done this, write down the themes on the board, play the video back and explain each one in turn. This is a fun exercise which makes light of something that might otherwise frustrate your students - the fact that English words can have so many meanings. But before you can do this you will have to guess the themes yourself!

Here's a hint, number one is 'play'...

Relaunching the TEFL Shop

We are delighted to announce the unveiling of our brand new TEFL Shop!

We have been working behind the scenes for months to bring you a bigger and better UK-TEFL store.

Our stock range has been expanded so that we now have everything that a TEFL teacher could possibly need.

Our extensive bookshop has guides and manuals on all aspects of teaching

We also offer a number of teaching aids and games to liven up your lessons.

Game-show buzzers are just one of the new products we have that will add fun to your lessons

We often run promotions and package deals so keep your eyes peeled and you could save yourself a bundle.

Our brand new user-friendly site makes it easier than ever to browse through our products.

Happy Shopping!

Get inspired with free, online resources

The internet is awash with free resources to help you become a better teacher.

You may find that some old-fashioned educators think looking for ready-made material online is lazy, preferring to use nothing but a textbook and their own imagination to plan lessons.

Certainly there are plenty of websites out there offering free worksheets, and there is no denying these offer you a bit of a shortcut.

But there is nothing wrong with using them, after all it will save you time, provided they are suitable for your students.

You can also adapt them accordingly or use them to supplement material you have already designed yourself.

As well as worksheets, looking online can also bring a whole new level of interactivity to your lessons thanks to all the games, songs and videos available.

In today's blog post we're going to take a quick look at some of the best the internet has to offer TEFL teachers.

The British Council works in over 100 countries developing international relations using the English language. A well-respected organisation with more than 75 years experience, they have teamed up with the BBC to offer a website dedicated to TEFL teaching.

If you are looking for printable worksheets, then you can't go far wrong with English Banana. Kindergarten Worksheets is great for young learners, whereas older learners, with good conversational English, will benefit from Bogglesworld ESL. You can also make your own wordsearches using Discovery Education and crosswords on Puzzle Maker. ESL Library has hundreds upon hundreds of images you can use in your presentations and on flashcards.

Barry Fun English is probably the best site around for online games and will be of great benefit to those with an interactive smartboard. Videos are also an invaluable resource to those blessed with such technology. A great example of this is Go Animate. This is great fun as it allows students to create their own cartoons with real spoken dialogue. There are loads of great TEFL songs and videos available on Youtube. All you have to do is search for the topic at hand. If your resources are a little more primitive then you can find plenty of low-tech games here and role plays here.

You can bounce your ideas off other teachers, and steal theirs, on Dave's ESL Cafe, the biggest TEFL forum around. Most countries also have expat boards specifically designed for English teachers who are living and working there. The Guardian is the best source for TEFL news and TEFL.com the best for jobs.

Hopefully there should be more than enough links there to keep you busy! Feel free to comment below and submit your own suggestions for the best TEFL sites.

Twerking, Selfie and FOMO: Should we tolerate or discard this new breed of words?

The news that words such as ‘twerking’, ‘selfie’ and ‘FOMO’ have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary has been greeted with much consternation.

Twerking, a provocative dance, and selfie, a self-portrait photograph usually taken on a mobile phone, now appear in the dictionary’s online edition.

FOMO, an acronym that stands for fear of missing out, and refers to anxiety caused by seeing social media posts that imply something more exciting is happening elsewhere, also made the grade.

There was widespread criticism of their inclusion.

Michael Dirda, a journalist writing in the Washington Post, summed up the general mood by saying: “Like so much digital terminology, many of these new words are ugly.

“Most of these new words and acronyms are probably never meant to be spoken by actual human beings. They live and breathe only on the tiny screen.”

He added: “No doubt they have their place, but let them stay there.”

A classic selfie

So is it snobbish to agree with Dirda or should we be fighting against the use of these new words?

In theory, English teachers should be teaching a clean and correct version of the language, with no place for fly-by-night slang.

Having said that, the main reason that native English speakers are in such high demand in non-English speaking countries is that they use a ‘genuine’ version of the language. This is preferable to the stilted and unrealistic English found in many textbooks.

If native English speakers use these words enough, then why not include them in the dictionary? And why not teach them to your students (provided they are relevant to the topic at hand)?

Words appear and develop in a way that we cannot control.

The poet Samuel Coleridge denounced ‘talented’ as a barbarous word in 1832 and a letter-writer to the Times, in 1857, described ‘reliable’ as vile. The reason – they were considered  too ‘American’. I think we would all agree that speakers of British English would now use these words without hesitation.

They became a part of our language, whether we liked it or not.

A man enjoys a spot of lunting

Similarly, words fall out of fashion and become obsolete. ‘Twattle’, meaning to gossip, was popular in the 1600s. Had you been around in the 1800s you may have heard the word ‘lunting’, meaning to walk while smoking a pipe.

But both words don't appear in most modern dictionaries. Why? Simply because nobody uses them anymore.

So, despite all the grumbling - twerking, selfie and FOMO are now officially a part of the English language. Whether they will stand the test of time remains to be seen...

Tragedy in Tanzania

Our first real UK-TEFL blog post has unfortunately, and rather unexpectedly, taken on a rather sombre tone.

Usually tales from the world of TEFL are filled with excitement, wonder and friendship as teachers report back on their exciting new lives overseas.

Earlier this month however, there was a shocking development in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous Tanzanian island which lies off the East-African coast.

Two British teenagers, Kirstie Trup and Katie Gee, were the subject of a horrific attack. Acid was thrown in their faces, chests and hands by two men on a moped who drove past them on the streets of Stone Town.

The pair, both 18 and from London, suffered chemical burns and had to be flown home for treatment at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Kirstie and Katie were teaching at the St Monica nursery school whilst volunteering for a charity.
 

Kirstie Trup and Katie Gee.

Thanks to the nature of their work this has naturally caused concern in the TEFL community and may have made some people re-think whether teaching abroad is a good idea.

Thankfully we can re-assure you that incidents like this are extremely rare.

We have trained tens of thousands of TEFL teachers over the years and sent them off to work all around the world. Most of these trips run smoothly and an overwhelming majority of our graduates come back to the UK having had the time of their lives. You simply have to glance at the testimonials and newsletters on our website to see that this is true.

To further prove how safe TEFL is, we are also planning to host a series of guest bloggers over the coming months to report back on their time overseas.

So, if you were considering teaching abroad and had been put off by this news, please take it for what it is - a freak, one-in-a-million occurrence.

Tanzania's Minister of Tourism condemned the attack while the Foreign Office said the majority of 75,000 British nationals have "trouble free" visits to Tanzania every year.

No motive has yet been established although visitors to Zanzibar have been reminded to always maintain respect for local customs.

A stretch of Zanzibar's stunning coastline.

We do offer placements in Tanzania, however Kirstie and Katie were not trained or placed there by UK-TEFL.

Since returning to the UK Katie has thanked all those who supported her during the ordeal. It has also been announced that the girls have both secured places at university.

We wish them all the best in their recovery.

Greetings

Welcome to the UK-TEFL blog.

We offer accredited courses in TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language).

Since forming in 2006 we have transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people by training them as TEFL teachers.

Our internationally recognised qualifications unlock the door to working all over the world thanks to the thousands of job opportunities we have on offer.

The aim of this blog is to provide you all with all the news and views on the world of TEFL. We will track all the latest industry developments and also offer expert opinions thanks to our years of experience.