November – Did the CELTYL, or the YL extension to CELTA
December – P was in India, so I worked extra hours to keep myself busy, very busy.
January – P came back, and we prepared for our upcoming vacation
February – Traveled in Malaysia, more about that in another post
March – Languished in India
April – Returned to Vietnam for a second year at ILA
May – Here I am.

Since I’ve moved to Vietnam, I get a few emails every few months, mostly from CELTA trainees at St. Giles San Francisco (my alma mater) asking about the job, the move to Vietnam, and the kinds of questions to expect in an ESL interview.

So I thought I’ll list some questions I remember being asked, and some my trainers at St. Giles had warned me about. Hopefully, if you think about these questions before your big interview, you’ll be a little more prepared, a little more confident, and that much closer to getting that job.

1. Why do you want to teach?
2. Why do you want to teach in Vietnam/Prague/Istanbul?
3. What ages and levels have you taught before?
4. What was the size of classes you have taught?
5. Have you taught one-to-one?
6. How do you think teaching a group may differ from teaching one-to-one?
7. Have you taught any exam classes?
8. Which books did you use during your CELTA/TESOL?
9. Did you enjoy the CELTA/TESOL course?
10. What was the most important thing you learned during the CELTA/TESOL?
11. What are your strong points, and what do you need to work on in your teaching?
12. What languages do you speak?
13. Do you think ESL teachers should try and learn their students’ first language to be able to communicate better with them?
14. Which teaching methods do you prefer while teaching?
15. Are you ready to deal with the madness of a third-world country?

Make sure you read the post on things to do before you accept an ESL job offer

It’s really simple too and does not need any resources. I hate using games which can’t do without soft balls, or baskets, or blindfolds. Well, this one needs no prep at all.

Walk into class. Draw a grid (3×3 or 4×4 or 5×5) on the board. Elicit question words and fill them into the grid randomly.

Divide the class into 2 teams. Give each team a symbol (e.g. , * , $ )

The team to go first chooses any square and uses the question word in it (e.g. how) to form a question. For e.g. How old is the teacher? or How old is Tracy (a student)?

If the other team guesses the correct answer, it can put its symbol in that square. If they don’t guess the correct answer, the team that asked the question can put its own symbol in the square. Now, the other team chooses a grid and asks a question. And so on..

The team with the most number of squares under its belt wins the game, or the team which gets 3 symbols in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) wins the game.

Gets the kids really competitive, as they ask wild questions to trick the other team.

And it works for all levels and ages – pre-intermediate to advanced, little kids to adults!

There are a few lists of useful ESL websites but as time went on, I had my own growing list of sites I referred to almost on a daily basis. There is such a wealth of information out there, but it’s frustrating how many websites need registration, or worse, contribution!

Heavens.. if I were an experienced teacher with worksheets and games to contribute to the ESL world, I wouldn’t be trolling the internet desperately searching for the same.

So here’s my list of the most useful ESL websites. Most of these don’t require registration and NONE of them require your contribution, thank goodness for that. Plus, I hate lists that go on for 43 pages, so this one is short and sweet. In all probability, whatever you need – be it games, grammar clarifications, worksheets, or ESL songs – you can find it at one of these addresses. But of course, if you wanna just troll.. that can go on forever.

Anyway, here goes -

GENERAL:

1. http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ The BOMB website – Instant lesson plans.
2. http://www.usingenglish.com/handouts/
3. http://bogglesworldesl.com
4. http://www.eslflow.com/Fillers.html Good stuff

READING:

1. http://www.rhlschool.com/reading.htm Reading Comprehension
2. http://www.miguelmllop.com/practice/intermediate/readingcomprehension/readingcompindex.htm
   
3. http://a4esl.org/q/h/holidays.html
   
4. http://esl.about.com/od/englishreadingskills/English_Reading_Comprehension_Skills_for_ESL_EFL_Learners.htm
   
5. http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/ Audio books and other free books

SONGS:

1. http://www.esl4kids.net/songs.html
   
2. http://www.songsforteaching.com/esleflesol.htm Songs for teaching
3. http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems.html Lots of songs and chants.. pretty awesome

GRAMMAR:

1. http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/confusing_words_come_go.html Students in Vietnam really need this grammar point drilled into them
   over and over again
2. http://englishforyounglearners.org/funny/ English for Kids
3. http://www.eslflashcards.com/ Free flashcards
4. http://abcteach.com/directory/languages/eslenglish_as_second_language/esl_grammar/ A few free posters to explain grammar points

VOCABULARY:

1. http://www.eslall.com/exercises_66_l0.html Hangman Online finally! phew..
2. http://www.saksena.net/partygames/bingo/ Bingo Generator. Pretty Awesome!
3. http://www.learnersdictionary.com/ Webster’s ESL dictionary. Perfectly graded language to explain even the most complex words
4. http://www.english-test.net/

Nothing has really worked enough to excite my students. Has anyone had more success using the internet as a viable teaching tool to produce language in ESL classrooms?

Any suggestions will be welcome.

And, if anyone wants to use http://www.wix.com/ to have students create websites, I’ve got a whole tutorial written up. Just ping me.

FOR KIDS: Divide your class into small groups of 3-4. The smaller the group, the more speaking practice the kids get. Have the kids sit in a circle. Give each group a line to start with. For e.g. – There was a little boy/chicken/monkey. The first person in the group must come up with a sentence in the past tense to continue the story. And so on..

Monitor all the groups to make sure all the kids are using the past tense form of the verbs. I’ve used this with my pre-intermediate 8-10 year olds who are in the process of learning past tense.

To give them a little impetus, you can do a board race with past tense verbs on the board so students don’t run out of verbs to use.

FOR TEENS AND OLDER: In my experience, older intermediate and advanced ESL students tend to get somewhat bored with the somewhat slow pace of story telling. Make this a fun writing exercise for them. Give each student an A4 sheet with the first line of the story printed on top. For e.g. – There was a crazy boy with five feet. Each student writes the next line of the story on their papers and then passes it on to the person on their right. The person on the right must now write the next sentence in the story, also using past tense, or more complex verb forms. Pass it on again. And so on..

In the case of older students too, small groups works best so everyone gets a chance to contribute to familiar stories. Anything larger than 5 people in a group has never been quite as successful in my classes.

**Remember to reward the best story for added motivation!

Take a flashcard to class. It could have any picture on it, but I prefer something with a scene, not a single object. The last time I took a picture of a blue lake surrounded by mountains and a small yellow fish jumping out of the lake.

Show your SS a half-second glimpse of the picture. Elicit what they saw and let them discuss and debate. Obviously, different SS will end up seeing different things. Flash the picture again, this time for a little longer, perhaps a second. This would give them a lot more to talk about.

In small groups, SS must start writing notes or a short story about the picture flashed at them.

Believe me, SS come up with some hilarious stories. One of my best classes – intermediates, ages 9-11 – came up with a story about the teacher’s (my) pet shark marrying the tiny yellow fish and then eating it up when it was hungry.

With younger, pre-intermediate kids, you could have them draw what they saw while talking about it. They still have to discuss what they saw and the best way to depict it on paper. e.g. The fish was very big. No, it was small. I think it was yellow. I think it was red.

Much as you want to step in and correct errors, the point of this exercise is to develop fluency, so try and restrain yourself, and let the students direct their discussion. As long as they don’t revert to L1, that is.

Preteach Language -
1. What’s your name?
2. When’s your birthday?

Round 1 -
Have all SS stand in a semi-circle in the classroom. On the floor, write down January 1 at one end of the semi-circle, and December 31 at the other end. Now, ask SS to rearrange their circles based on their birthdays. SS will have to ask the same question many times, and there will be a lot of discussion about who stands where.

Round 2 -
Add another level of difficulty. This time, write a large ‘A’ at one end of the semi-circle, and a large ‘Z’ at the other end. Ask students to rearrange themselves in alphabetical order of their names. Also teach them that if two students have names beginning with ‘A’, they should then consider the next letter of their names.

For added urgency, get a stopwatch to class and time the students.

SS really start opening up with this ice breaker. They’re all forced to talk and there’s no room for shyness. My students enjoy this so much, they often ask for a repeat in the second lesson!

In my classes of 12-18 students, I divide them into groups of 3-4. Bring as many chairs as there are teams to the middle of the classroom, and arrange them in a circle.

One student from every team comes to the middle and sits in their chair.

Now, give the students any category. e.g. animals.

One student starts off by naming any animal. The others must not repeat this name, and must go on to name other animals in turn, without spending much time thinking, until one student can’t think of any animals’ names. Then, he’s dead and the other teams go on playing the game. The winning team gets a point.

Some categories I’ve used while playing Word Tennis in my ESL classrooms –

1. past tense verbs – ate, drank, played, wrote etc.
2. past participle verbs  - eaten, drunk, played, written etc.
3. adjectives – beautiful, tall, handsome, loud etc.
4. prepositions – on, in, at, over, along etc.
5. advice (e.g. I have a cold) – You should see a doctor. If I were you, I would stay in bed. etc.
6. already – I have already eaten breakfast. I have already seen ‘Avatar’.

This is one of those games I learned during an observation, and was so surprised to see how well it works. The students really love it.. they’re on their feet thinking of words.. producing language.. and being competitive.

If you’re having students produce whole sentences (You should.. If I were you..), make sure you write the process language on the board as a visual cue. And drill it pre-game. Enjoy!

Hell man, I’m gonna get a job in China/France/Haiti/Brazil and I’m gonna be gone while you guys clean up the mess around here!!

Uhmm.. wait. Did you sign your contract yet? Did you get the figures right? Are you sure you’re going to have the weekend off? Just some of the questions that your daddy might ask when you’re trampolining and telling him all about your new job.

So what are the loopholes you should look out for in ESL contracts? What are the benefits you must insist on? Find out..

If you are smart, you probably did the CELTA, which increases your chances of landing that purrrfect job you want so bad. If you are smarter, you probably did your ESL certification from a school that guarantees you a job. You, my friend, will (hopefully) have a job offer or two before you walk out the door with your TEFL/TESOL certificate.

Don’t get me wrong – I haven’t switched allegiances over a triviality such as job placements. Ha, yeah!

No seriously, I do honestly think CELTA is the best possible certification available, just because it’s so widely known, accepted and respected. I mean, believe me, the ESL world is partial and sexist and racist enough (though some insist that’s changing) for you to want the best possible certificate under your belt.

With a CELTA or equivalent certificate (120 hours of in-class instruction and at least 6 hours of teaching practice), you will be in a better position to demand a better salary, more benefits, and will definitely be the prize catch for any ESL school out there.

Be warned though – there are so many shady paan ki dukaans (Hindi term for a small pop shop around the corner) cropping up everywhere around the world, promising to teach English to the Queen herself, and giving ESL teachers as raw a deal as you can imagine.

Which is why, it is so important to

Step 1: check whether the school you’ve just heard from (offering you a plum job) is legit. Google the school name. If they have a website, scan it carefully. See if they have contact information of anyone apart from the person you’re in touch with. Get in touch with some of the others – maybe the academic manager, or a teacher. Ask for the contact information of other ESL teachers at the school. Email them and talk to them.

To find out if they’re for real, see if you an find them on Facebook or MySpace. A lot of the times, you might find the blog of someone who has taught or is teaching at the said school. Don’t forget your course tutors. Ask them if they’ve heard about the school. Your tutor has probably been in the ESL world for at least a decade. If s/he has heard of the school, go to

Step 2: read the fine print of the contract. The reaaaaally fine print. Here’s a list of some of the questions you must consider before signing the dotted line.

1. The details of your duties and the hours of the job. The norm in the world of ESL is 24-30 contact teaching hours per week, plus 3 hours on standby to fill in for absent teachers.
2. The amount and currency of your pay.How often are you paid? What is your gross salary vs. net salary? Are there any deductions on your paycheck?
3. The length of your contract. Is it a renewable contract? Are there any terms and conditions associated with the renewal? Most importantly, do you get a resigning bonus?
4. Accommodation. Does your school have apartments for teachers? Are you responsible for your own apartment? Does the school give you a housing allowance? If your school is not going to help you with housing, can you at least get an advance to pay your deposit and rent for the first month?
5. Your tax liabilities. Check the local laws.
6. Provisions for healthcare and sick leave pay.
7. Pension and insurance contributions.
8. Bonus, gratuities and perks.
9. Days off, statutory holidays, vacation times.
10. Visa, Airfare ad transportation from the airport.Reputed, legit schools almost always arrange for visas. They’ll probably reimburse your tickets from your home country. And they’ll always meet you at the airport when you arrive.
11. Probationary period and length of notice which you or the employer must give before you terminate the contract.
12. Penalties for breaking the contract and circumstances under which penalties can be waived.

Once, you’ve nitpicked your contract and shot a million emails to your contract at the school (and  irritated them to the extent they’re considering withdrawing the offer), you can safely go to

Step 3: the beautiful country you’ve chosen to live and work in for the next few months. Go, go, go…