Bangkok's Ted Tucker tells his training story
New friends made – and many will be friends for life. And yet, this group was not typical, because there is no typical group, except for the interesting mix. Every group is different and full of surprises, and people with great stories about their lives and their experiences around the world.
TEFL gives you an opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with people you would rarely get to meet and know in your previous life, and an opportunity to learn much more about the world and what might be out there for you. People often ask if it is better to take a TEFL course in their home town, home country or overseas. Easy choice! You would never see such a great mix of people as this in a TEFL class in your home country. It just won’t happen. This mix of people provides you with a lot of learning and opportunity above and beyond the TEFL course itself. Combine the two – and you are energized for a new life overseas. And ready to teach!
No wonder I love this job!
Meet the World! One of the most interesting
aspects of teacher training is that you get to meet
people literally from around the world, from all
occupations, and from
all social and
economic levels. A good example is my most recent class of trainees. In
this classroom we had:
- A sushi chef from Canada
- Two EFL teachers fresh from Korea (Americans)
- A corporate trainer from New York
- An Australian – whose father had taken this course four
years ago
- A publishing exporter from England
- A lawyer from the southern United States
- An EFL teacher with several years' experience in Korea and
Thailand
- A Tucsonan, from my home town and where I went to
university(!), and
- A construction manager from Ireland who has spent much of his life with projects in Africa and the Middle East.
New friends made – and many will be friends for life. And yet, this group was not typical, because there is no typical group, except for the interesting mix. Every group is different and full of surprises, and people with great stories about their lives and their experiences around the world.
TEFL gives you an opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with people you would rarely get to meet and know in your previous life, and an opportunity to learn much more about the world and what might be out there for you. People often ask if it is better to take a TEFL course in their home town, home country or overseas. Easy choice! You would never see such a great mix of people as this in a TEFL class in your home country. It just won’t happen. This mix of people provides you with a lot of learning and opportunity above and beyond the TEFL course itself. Combine the two – and you are energized for a new life overseas. And ready to teach!
No wonder I love this job!
E-mail: leigh@langserv.com
