Adventure TEFL - Real training for real travellers

Finding work abroad is a doddle with TEFL Adventure!
For a start you'll get employment advice from your personal tutor, along with access to more than 8,000 global contacts for teaching jobs abroad. And then there's the fact that the TEFL certification is recognised across the world… some say it has the same value as gold.

Getting the job!

To go that extra mile, we've put together a list of frequently asked questions to guide you through the process of finding that teaching job abroad:

Applying for a TEFL job

1. Your Resume
2. The Application Photograph
3. The Interview
4. Some questions you may be asked
5. Questions for you to ask

1. Your Curriculum Vitae

As with any job, a professional resume is a must, preferably sent in a plastic wallet and an A4 size envelope. This will reduce creasing and will reach its destination in a presentable state. You can also try emailing your CV as a file attachment to contact many schools, which is cheaper than posting it.

2. The Application Photograph

Most schools will ask you to send a photograph with your application. Ensure that the photo you send of yourself is a happy one – a good, clear, professional snap. You have only one opportunity to visually show your personality and a smiling, energetic face on a photograph beats a dowdy passport snap, hands down. We suggest you send a photograph even if it is not specified in the job advertisement. If you are clever enough, insert your photo onto your CV.

3. The Interview

Now that you have impressed the school with your professional CV and stunning photograph, the next stage is the interview. This may take place over the phone. Here are a few points, hints and tips that can be used during the interview.

a) First impressions are important, whether on the telephone or face-to-face. Have a friendly manner - remember the school owner wants a teacher who will bring business to the school and let's face it - nobody wants to be taught by a miserable teacher!

b) Be honest with the interviewer – remember that they know what they are talking about. If they ask you a question and you don't know the answer – say so. But add that you are willing to learn and the only way that you can get real teaching experience is to stand in front of a class.

c) Be positive and cheerful during the interview. Smile when you are on the phone; this will be inflected in your voice. Language school owners know that a cheerful and positive teacher in the classroom will attract students and bring the school business.

4. Some questions you might be asked

a) Which levels would you prefer to teach?
For example: elementary, intermediate, or advanced?

a) Would you prefer to teach adults or children?

b) Do you prefer to use textbooks or your own materials? Which textbooks have you used and have knowledge of?

c) Have you ever taught or what do you know about examination classes?
For example, the IELTS exam for academic students wanting to study in Britain or the US or the Cambridge exams: First Certificate and Certificate in Advanced English.

d) How would you interest a group of adolescents?
For example you could discuss interesting topics, such as: travel, fashion, music and films or perhaps depending on the maturity of your students, drug abuse. You could tell anecdotes about life in England or about your own travels. It is important to keep lessons humorous but with a fair amount of discipline.

e) How would you settle a group of lively, rowdy students at the beginning of a lesson?
You could suggest that you would be firm (without shouting, of course) and get on with the lesson. Remember that many schools run as businesses and owners would rather not remove a student from a class as it costs them money. However, support from the school principal or owner is important and often needed.

f) You may be given a scenario situation.
For example, what would you do if a young student was continually late for your lesson and when in the lesson, he / she was disruptive and when asked to leave the class, he / she refused.
You could ask the school owner to remove the student from the class. Or you could ask to see him / her privately at the end of the lesson and ask what the problem is. Maybe you could ask the school owner to have a word with him / her or to contact his / her parents.

The most important thing to remember with any discipline problem is to...
KEEP YOUR COOL!

g) You may be asked how you think you would adjust to life in another country – the culture, climate and people. Answer this as honestly as you can. To say, "Oh, yes, no problem," is not a sensible thing to say to language school owners, as these are usually the type of teachers who break their contract. You could say that you understand that this will be difficult, but challenging. If you have visited or lived in a foreign country before, tell them of your experience there.

h) If you are asked how you would teach a tense, such as Present Perfect and you are not familiar with it or haven't taught it before, think about your response. Tell the school that as a new teacher you understand that you will be spending a good part of your social life preparing lessons and brushing up on how to elicit the Target Language in your lessons.