Work, work, work

Good things come in batches, have you noticed? When things start turning out better, more things will turn out better.

My last hypothesis about everything being slower in the summer proved to be true. Even with decreased online advertisements I got 2 new students the past week and a half so now the number increased to 4 which is almost over my capacity.

I’m proud to say that I’m totally counter-balancing the “lazy crazy hazy days of summer” (Gilmore girls, anyone? 🙂 ) and booked up myself really tight: full-time job Mon-Fri, Spanish course 3×4 hours after work, and 2 or 3 hours of English classes 3 days a week, including a very sacrificial Saturday morning. But hey, if my 57-year-old mum can work 12 hours a day, so can I.

http://swamppeople.tumblr.com/post/79167240310/happy-monday

So the lesson here? People don’t want to study in the summer but they definitely seem to wanna try once September approaches.

Do you have the same experience?

 

Job search for English teachers in Budapest

I arrived to Budapest a month ago, confident that I’ll get a teaching gig very quick: after all I’ve now got experience, it’s a big city so there must always be people looking to learn English and I’m flexible enough to take any kind of teaching assignment. A month later I know better.

Meet and Greet: 7/30/16

It’s always a pleasure to connect to other bloggers, and Danny always finds the best ones.

For some great reads check the comments of the reblogged post then sit back and enjoy!

Do you teach learning techniques?

In the general education structure, students, no matter what age, are usually left shockingly alone to figure out how to learn best. I’ll generalise: they are taught the content but are hardly given advice in retaining it. Learners are disheartened because they try and try and don’t feel a good enough improvement. Thankfully, there’s great research and information out there about learning strategies that can be applied for languages as well. Inspired by the MOOC I’m taking about “Learning to Learn“, let me share my favourites.

Reading for teenagers about a summer holiday

The following reading is for a teenage group, aged 13-16 but I believe it could be used for any ages upwards. The class is currently preparing for a B1 exam. (This is a lower intermediate level.)

A collection of stories to use for teaching intermediate learners

Teaching reading can be difficult depending on the students. Some are naturally interested and find reading enjoying, others need more than a little push. Prompted by the “Teach English Now! Second Language Reading, Writing, and Grammar” course I’m doing on Coursera (it’s free so you can also join if you’d like) I was thinking about what kind of texts can we use in the classes, and what kinds I enjoy teaching.

Time for self improvement – 5 articles to help you

Many of us teachers don’t work at the moment being summer and all but it also gives time for self-improvement, catching up with the news of the world, doing courses, professional and recreational reading and more. In the current “knowledge economy” as some would say, being an autodidact or at least an autodidactic self-improver if that’s a thing, is easy. Let me share my recent favourites with you.

Leaving Spain

The rumours were true: no feedback from the boss meant they were satisfied. My colleague kept saying:

“Just wait, they’ll ask you the last week to stay on!”

The impact of BREXIT on ELT

Many teachers feel the same worry and uncertainty about UK leaving the EU. Of course there are no immediate effects bar a very strong emotional response: British people as a nation don’t welcome Europeans (apologies to the individuals who do, my friends). Where will the dominoes fall is still up for grabs…

teflgeek

Like many people in the world of ELT I was shocked and disappointed by the results of the EU referendum this morning.  Like many people in our position, my wife and I have been sitting on the sofa in our house in central Portugal,  in a state of bleak disbelief struggling to understand both how the British people could have made this choice and of course, what the ramifications are for us.

We are asking ourselves questions like:  Should we stay here?  If we want to stay here, how do we go about it?  Should we go somewhere else?  Should we return to the UK?  Do we even want to return to the UK?  How on earth are we going to make that happen if we do?

There is a lot of anxiety in our thinking, a lot of uncertainty and a lot of speculation, none of which adds up…

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Sometimes the discussion of a song is about the overall meaning, other times it’s about a specific detail or expression.