TEFL - Teaching English in Australia, New Zealand & the UK

What made you decide to go into TEFL?
I wanted to travel, live abroad and be more than just a tourist. Initially I found work in France and Spain through the British Council - working as a language assistant. Teaching twelve 8-year-olds for 6 months was enough for me to realise that I enjoyed teaching, but needed a stronger background, and decided to take a TEFL qualification.

What made you choose the Cambridge CELTA?
Essentially by talking to people. It’s the most internationally recognised qualification and its been around for a long time.

And what difference did it make to your teaching?
I think it made me feel a lot more prepared about going into a classroom, I now knew how to exploit materials properly and respond to students’ needs, and just be more creative and in control of teaching. Once you start exploiting your knowledge to the full, you can make classes better for the students.

What did you do once you were qualified?
My plan was simply to go travelling, and I used the CELTA as my passport to do that. It enabled me to get work in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Japan.
First I got a year’s working holiday visa for Australia and the first place I decided to stop off at was Adelaide, where I contacted local schools to see if they needed teachers. That’s what I did everywhere in Oz, rather than calling ahead to places where teachers were known to be needed, I went to the places I wanted to visit and it worked every time without fail.

How long did you have to wait in each place to secure work?
In most cases, I got a job almost immediately. In one case, on the Gold Coast, they didn’t want anyone for 3 weeks, so I went off travelling and came back. In Australia I ended up working in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, and Surfers’ Paradise (on the Gold Coast).

Next, I went to New Zealand, and worked in Auckland for AngloWorld, teaching Indonesian cadet pilots. I was only there for about 2 months due to visa restrictions, and then went on to Indonesia to Yogykarta where I stayed for about 3 months in a private English school, again, by arriving in a place that I liked and then looking for a school.

After Indonesia I was 2 years in Japan working for NOVA, during which time I moved into training work as a Director of Studies. It was a good thing to be there with teaching experience, as you could move up to more senior EFL roles. It was also a very good place to save money and clear debts.

It is a good idea to go to Japan with an organisation who is recruiting in this country [UK] as it is quite complicated visa-wise. But you can switch schools out there if the company you move to is prepared to take on your visa obligations.

What happened when you got back to the UK?
I took the Diploma and worked in London for 6 years as a teacher and head of examinations at the London School of English. In the UK, if you want a permanent position, you really need the Cambridge DELTA or the Trinity DipTESOL as well as work experience.

How did you move into teacher training?
Trainers have to hold the DELTA and have a significant amount of experience. Training to be a trainer involved observing a full course, that is, all the input sessions, teaching practice and feedback, and doing a number of sessions myself which were observed by a trainer. Then I had to write a reflective essay and design input sessions and assignments of my own. On the next course I worked as a co-tutor and gradually took on the full trainer role.

What advice to you have for those looking for work in the UK?
Well you can send CVs around, but it’s best to just go there. I once considered working in Manchester, but even then they said to get there first and then they would see. Unless you’re applying for an advertised job, they’ll just want to know you’re available. You have to show flexibility and not expect to get work immediately. Often you get a summer time post before being offered a full time post, and generally in the UK, you won’t get a full time job without the DELTA

And abroad, to summarise, any tips on getting work?
I really think it’s best just to go where you want to go. However, it’s good to think carefully about each country’s seasonal peaks and troughs for English language teaching. Try and arrive somewhere at the start of the peak season. I arrived in Adelaide in July, for example. This is when you should usually find work within a couple of weeks.

Also, it pays to get a portfolio together - your CV and CELTA certificate plus examples of lessons/timetables/courses you’ve taught to illustrate what you’ve been able to do. Some places will also ask you to teach a micro-lesson that they observe.

The more you have as a back-up - anything to make you stand out from the crowd - the better.

Thank you

If you are planning to take your CELTA and you’re interested in working in Australia, you can now apply for the CELTA in Perth and CELTA in Sydney through Cactus Teachers.

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