How do I start?

[skatz]

Hi, I hope you don't mind me posting for advice here and sorry if what I have to say is long winded!

I am a native english speaker from London living permanantly in Denmark (danish husband and a child) with basic danish language skills myself. I have done a weekend only TEFL course about 5 years ago before I moved here but as of yet have not completed the extra 20 hours for a full certificate I am constantly asked why I don't consider teaching english as there is a big market here and there is even an international department in a nearby school where children are regularly monitered to see if they can keep up doing half their high school education in english, so probably many a parent would pay to have their children get some extra help! I would love to start but I just have no idea how! Most danes already have a good grasp of english so I would not be teaching novices but if I advertise and ask what their needs are where do i go from there? Do people generally bring along work they want help with or do I provide structured lessons? My DH said students will probably like help with grammar and conversation. Are there any must have books I should have on my shelf? Is it appropriate to ask them to email me information on what they would like to do in their lessons beforehand so I can prepare?

Sorry if I sound clueless, I am lol but I also feel very enthusiastic to get started.

Thanks in advance, Katt.

[systematic]

Hi Katt,
Welcome on board.
If you search these forums or my posts you will find several postings where I and others have recommended grammar books. There is also a wealth of information, links, and teaching tips on the main page of this site.
You could also browse the web pages of the major publishers of textbooks, such as MacMillan, Longman, Cambridge University Press, and Oxford University Press. They also give advice on what books to use, and even provide downloadable sample pages and worksheets.

There is no reason at all why you should not ask them what particular features of the language they would like help with. However, very young learners may not be able to recognise their needs and express their preferences. If you intend offering your services to children, you could ask their parents.

[skatz]

Thanks for your reply I will have a look around the site. The international department is actually for 11 years plus so I would hope I could ask what they are learning at school and where they need extra help. I guess I need to get some books and put myself out there or I will never know what I really need to be doing!

[systematic]

As I mentioned before, you could talk to their parents. You could ask the children to show you the course material they are using at school, and by searching the sites I mentioned - and TFL.net, of course, you will also find some simple tests to establish where their weaknesses lie. You will be easily able to judge their conversational skills and pronunciation yourself.