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FOR EAL TEACHERS 
TEACH ENGLISH OVERSEAS
Organizations that provide paid and volunteer opportunities to teach English overseas are listed at websites such as What in the World is Going On? A World of Opportunities.

Going to teach abroad?
Here's some information and advice ...

There are more English language teaching jobs world-wide than there are native English-speaking teachers to fill them. Canadians usually find jobs easily in areas such as Latin America, Asia and eastern and central Europe.

The highest-paying jobs in Asia are in Korea and Japan. Elsewhere, the best salaries are in the oil-producing countries of the Arabian Gulf. The only job markets that are difficult to break into are those in other English-speaking countries, Western Europe (unless you have a European Union passport) and Africa.

There are acronyms used in parts of the world to describe different teaching situations:

  • TEAL (Teaching English as an Additional Language) involves teaching immigrants in English-speaking countries.
  • TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) involves teaching people, usually in their own countries, who want to use English for business, leisure, or travel, etc.
  • TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) involves teaching immigrants in English-speaking countries.
  • TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and ELT (English Language Teaching) are terms which cover both TEFL and TESL. TESOL is also the acronym for an American professional association called Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Although it is possible to get a teaching job with no training most good schools prefer to hire teachers with credentials in the field. In competitive markets it is advisable to get a certificate. Teacher-training courses may take three to 18 months to complete. Manitoba programs are listed at the top of this page. Manitoba programs are listed on the Become an EAL Teacher page.

Generally, courses of only a few weeks duration are considered to be of limited value if you want to be hired as an EAL teacher in Manitoba. Many of the good employers require a more substantial credential.

One exception is the Cambridge University's four-week CELTA/RSA. In Canada it is offered at:

As in any profession, even with training, most teachers would agree that it is once you're on the job that a lot of learning takes place. However, training, even a short course, will give you an invaluable starting point, helpful teaching strategies and suggestions for good teaching resources to get you going.

Advice to the novice

Here's some advice for the trained/untrained novice teacher, provided by experienced teachers world-wide:

  • "Find a mentor, an experienced teacher that can give you some suggestions and answer your questions. I would suggest that the newbie be polite, learn to focus and limit their requests, and realize that not everything will be fixable at once. The first thing they should do when they find someone willing to help is to ask that person to come observe them and give them tips on simple things they might do to improve."

  • "Join the local English teachers association, whatever name it goes by. Join! Go to meetings! Ask questions! Get ideas! Learn! It's called professional development, and doing it may help turn the new teacher into the kind of professional who can help the next newcomer who has discovered that speaking the language isn't the same as teaching it. In addition to the professional support it can provide, the local English teachers association can be a source of personal support as well. There will be local people who can explain the culture and introduce you to facets of it (outside the classroom) that you may otherwise not have discovered. There will also be other expatriates, some long term veterans, who can help you with moments of adjustment both personal and pedagogical. And rightly or wrongly, you will be accepted immediately and treated as a professional equal merely by signing up."

  • "Try to learn a bit of the language of your country of destination either before you depart or when you get there. Not only will it help you communicate with the people around you, but you can also learn valuable teaching strategies when you yourself are a language learner. (From bad teachers you learn what not to do.)".

  • "Develop some cross-cultural sensitivity and knowledge. Try and do some reading about the customs and practices of the country you will be visiting. Once there, recognize that the cultural beliefs and customs of your host country may be unfamiliar to you, but different does not equate with wrong. Become observant of cultural behaviour, especially so that you avoid making too many cultural gaffes that offend your hosts. There are a number of books with information about the culture of various countries and tips on making your stay overseas enjoyable."

What to take with you

If you are a traveller who hopes to teach some English during your trip you may not want to be lugging a bunch of books around with you. If you do get a job probably your colleagues or even your predecessor will provide you with some resources. If you have been hired by a foreign school before departing your home country ask the school if they provide teaching resources.

If you want to go armed with some materials, any of the following suggestions, which come from EFL teachers, may be helpful. (For ordering information, consult the publishers' websites).

How-to books

  • The Practice of English Language Teaching, Jeremy Harmer (Longman)
  • Learning Teaching, Jim Scrivener (Heinemann)
  • Teaching by Principles, H.Douglas Brown (Prentice-Hall Regents)
  • The More than Just a Native Speaker, Don Snow (TESOL)
  • Exploring Second Language Reading, Neil Anderson, (Newbury House)
  • Teaching ESL Writing, Joy Reid (Prentice-Hall Regents)
  • Teaching Second Language Writing, Cherry Campbell, (Newbury House)
  • The ESL Miscellany (Pro Lingua Associates)
  • Teaching English Worldwide: A New Practical Guide to Teaching English, Paul Lindsey (available from ALTA Books)
  • Zero Prep: Ready-to-Go Activities for the Language Classroom, Laurel Pollard and Natalie Hess (available from ALTA Books)

Grammar Reference

Grammar is a mainstay of English instruction. Hopefully you'll be able to teach it in context as it relates to various language tasks, but likely your school and students will want it taught as a focused-on subject.

You don't necessarily have to be really knowledgeable in grammar when you start out but you should be able to find the answers to your students' grammar questions, such as "What part of speech is the word NOT?" Remember many English students have to pass challenging language exams to pursue their university education, and grammar is frequently a major feature of those exams.

Here are some favourite grammar books of both teachers and learners:

  • Practical English Usage, Michael Swan (Oxford University Press)
  • A Practical English Grammar, Thomson & Martinet (Oxford University Press)

Classroom books

  • Grammar Games, M. Rinvolucri (Cambridge University Press)
  • Jazz Chants, Carolyn Graham (Regents)

Dictionaries

Many teachers say you probably don't need to take a dictionary because they'll have them at the school. But suggested dictionaries include:

  • Oxford Picture Dictionary, comes in various bilingual editions (Oxford University Press)
  • COBUILD New Student's Dictionary (Collins)
  • The LTP Dictionary of Selected Collocations (LTP)

Other handy resources

 

  • Gateway to Canada, Virginia and Monique Sauvé (Oxford University Press)
  • Take Part: Speaking Canadian English, Lucia Pietrusiak Engkent (Prentice-Hall Regents)
  • Amazing Canadian Newspaper Stories, Susan Bates (Prentice-Hall Regents)
  • Listen to the Loon, Joan Roberta White (Oxford University Press)
       

    Miscellaneous items (if you have the space in your luggage)

    • a basic cookbook
    • take-out menus
    • Newspapers, including the comics
    • clothing catalogues
    • supermarket fliers
    • pictures from catalogues and magazines
    • tapes of songs that are clear and easy to understand (extra points if you take the lyrics, too)
    • calendars
    • photos of family, your house, kitchen, backyard, car, your street, pets

    Helpful websites

    Because you often don't know the level of your learners until you arrive it's difficult to select classroom books to take with you. Even if you are told you will be teaching a particular level it is not unusual for it to be changed unexpectedly. However, there are many websites that offer great activities, exercises, games and materials to download.

    Here is just a few:

    And finally ...

    Enjoy yourself! Not only will your sojourn in another country provide you with fabulous lasting memories, but your experience teaching English overseas may also lead you into a dynamic, stimulating and rewarding field of work that will bring you into contact with the people of the world.