Tefl.NET Forums

systematic, I'd be interested to know why you think the Dutch and Germans speak very good English? Have you ever lived in either country? Can't say too much about the Germans, except somebody once said to me (and the same goes for a Dutch person) "Can I see the back side of your Euro coin"...

Sorry, of course, I had the tense wrong. There was so much stuff in that posting, read it wrong. I hope it didn't cause too much confusion. But you are right, a pre-course interview determines the level of knowledge and understanding. On my course the DOS's wife stated that of course my husband woul...

Simple - go online, google something like "Assessing Levels of English" and you should get a link to a website that gives you prepared lessons, with the level, ie. basic, elementary, etc.

I noticed a couple of mistakes, here are two: Past Perfect Simple: I'd just finished work. Should be I have just finished work. She stopped to listen to the music = she stopped whatever she was doing to listen. She stopped listening to the music= she didn't listen any more. Two total opposites. Ther...

I would add "Dutch". Their English is so basic it is comical. You cannot use any phrasal verbs, they take them literally, such as when you ask them to look something up in the dictionary, they turn their heads towards the ceiling. Then we were trying to explain to someone that a lot of Dut...

Agree with systematic and Peter Easton. Heather, welcome to the real world. We have just moved to Holland. Had a month to prepare a major move. Had to totally redecorate the house, sell most of furniture, find our youngest a place to live, pack, decide what to take, partition the garage, move crates...

I am also newly qualified in TEFL although I have been teaching for ages. I would like to teach in the Alicante area. However, I have been told that it is no good approaching the schools direct, they only go by recommendation. So your TEFL course provider should contact the schools, as if they are a...

Correction: Birmingham University have long since washed their hands off this cowboy outfit, and so have the last moderator, Hunter College in the States. What's more, I have just heard from my young friend in Granada that the interviews the DOS arranged for three of them were bogus. The school they...

Can anyone PLEASE help me fight the ViaLingua organisation? They have closed ranks, the moderator refuses to reply to my emails. Where do I turn to next? I have tried the press, not interested. I am not after financial compensation, only want to expose the schools as money making machines.

What about Alicanate, what is the job market like over there?

On the same theme, please HELP. I have found out that my TEFL course, instead of being accredited by the University of Birmingham as they claimed , is accredited by some obscure College in the States, whose website doesn't give an email address. I desperate need to know how to make an official compl...

I would think your chances of getting a position after a TEFL course would be good. Whatever you do, do not embark on a four week course, it might kill you. I survived by miracle and got my certificate but I wouldn't recommend it. Doing the course over 16 months sounds ok. It gives you enough time t...

Hi,

First, you need to check their levels. No point in teaching them together if they are on different levels. One of them will get bored and may start to disrupt your class. I find one to one teaching a lot more rewarding than a class. You can tailor your class and change it if necessary.

eiroo, I noticed the same things, you got there first. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hi,

Google something like "TEFL material" and go to Carnegie Mallard University site. Then type in Beginners and you get all the teaching material you want. After Beginner, you then move to Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate and Advanced.

I would help you but you don't say what you failed on. I know my grammar test was pants. I quoted an example verbatim given during one lesson, but still got half a mark deducted, without the teachers explaining why. When I asked them, they just said "Let's move on".

OK, explain this to me then: the landgrab does not exist in other areas, or so I have been told. I love my place near Alicante but don't understand the hostility by the authorities. We expats have now been denied our right to free health care, unless we pay the unfair 250€ pcm fee, regardless whethe...

The thing is, we were never told. Everything was haphazard, nothing followed logic. I was supposed to remember all the students, their names and abilities after having taught them once, a month ago. I made changes to my lesson plan according to how the teacher at the time wanted it to be. I was then...

I think that the Valencian region is known for having problems for English expats. They also have a landgrab law whereby they can repossess your property that you bought legally, claiming that it is built illegally. They are a law onto themselves.

Steven, I found 2 mistakes (errors?): you said "there" when meaning "their" and spelt "I'm" with a small letter rather than capital. You may think I am being picky. Make no mistake, on my course the teachers took marks off if you didn't put a comma where THEY thought th...