What a few weeks it has been! I have been away for a few weeks with my Mom in Cyprus. It was amazing! I was job hunting while I was there; however, the level of English within the local community is amazingly high. However; I did find that it was much better within the Hotel and Tourist areas. There is a British School in the town we were staying but there were no vacancies for me! Oh well! I will keep searching…
I have also signed up to the thinkSPAIN website; which sends me email about jobs, accommodation etc from all over Spain. My friend; Chris, who is currently in Spain and has been for almost fours years now, told me that this was a good mailing list to join. I have seen a lot of rental properties – exciting right!?
I have some news about the Russian client I had; I used the word ‘had’. She has not re-booked me since the February Half Term. It is shame really; as I was enjoying my work with her. Not to worry; I will keep plodding along!
I have been feeding my Wanderlust recently – I have found a website called Twitch; where there are people who Stream games; their lives or even their crafting! I have become a member of the “Awkward Family” – I have been watching Awkwards Travel; a beautiful couple (Tallulah, 27, from Canada and her Gaspard, 36, from France) who travel all over the world and stream their adventures.
It is lovely to see where they are travelling and their share the “non-tourist” sights of the country they are in. It is amazing! It is good that they are helping me with my Wanderlust! Big love to G&T! I have been thinking about doing some IRL (In Real Life) streaming – just I’m all nervous. However; I do stream about my Creativeness – I cross stitch! Not that exciting…
Over the last few days, after writing “HiOffer – a new beginning?” I have found that I am truly missing out on the TEFL/ExPat lifestyle. So, to persuade my mind even more, I have been reading the i-to-i blog. It is full of testimonials, tips, hints and real life experiences of current or former i-to-i graduates. This also does not help that I was speaking with an British man, who had just returned from over years in the Philippines. He was passionate that I should go and live my dream (as he put it). ‘Go, teach in China’ – that is all he said as he left me thinking.
There are many posts about the three internships; but this one struck me the most – 5 Reasons to go on the Vietnam Intership – I was surprised on what i-to-i classed as the five reasons to go. Being a bit of a culture junkie; I would have written about the culture and the food – however, I am always thinking of food. It is what gets me through the day.
Currently i-to-i are having a “Save 50% off Paid Internships” sale. Vietnam is £595 and both China and Thailand are £971.25 – however, this is only until 28th April.
It is a shame that I do not have the cash ready to pay for my spot…
Yippie! It is July and soon it will be the end of the school term. But; what I am going to do in September? Well; I have been told that on Thursday I will be finding out where I am going to be placed – I have a few days off as of end of play on Friday (nice little sporting reference for you all!) and I will be popping into the office to have a meeting. I am nervous as I am having this feeling that I am not going to be placed in Secondary, however; I still have until July 31st to make my decision. I do have some options, that will enable me to teaching more online and save my cash for moving abroad.
As well as making decisions; I have been planning my trip to the USA. I am pretty excited as it is only 28 days until I fly out there! A year of planning has been amazing! I have created a TripIt itinerary, so all my friends (here in the UK and in the USA) know where I am going to be and when. I felt that this would be a good idea, as I am travelling by myself and using public transport. I have also been sorting out what I am going to pack; I have already done a “dry pack” and I am currently underweight (Yippie!); which is good as I am travelling for 22 days – which 7 are Girl Scout camp and 4 are at Disney.
I have decided that I will do some VLogs of my trip and I will upload them onto my YouTube Channel – My TEFL Adventures – as I will be using A LOT public transport
Hey everyone, I am sorry that it has been a while since I last wrote. I have been a little down in the dumps (a quick idiom for you there!) about my TEFL career recently. As you all remember, I have been applying for jobs all over the world as well as thinking about the internships.
I have been feeling a little let down, that the jobs I have applied to in Europe have not come through or that the companies have not contacted me about the positions I applied for. If, I am to start my TEFL adventures properly in September I need to hand in my resignation by July 31st. That is not that far away…I will need to keep hurting!
I am going to look on other TEFL jobs sites; like Dave’s ESL Café for example.
Is there anywhere you think I should look? If so, add it to the comments below!
Did you know that I-to-I TEFL have joined forces with Love TEFL? Amazing news right?! Congrats to everyone on this amazing merger!
I am wondering if the Internships that were available at Love TEFL will be coming to I-to-I? I will need to ask about that next time I send an email over.
Anyway; back to the actual post! After the my last post about job hunting (Some Job News…) I had my interviews for “schools” in china. However; even though I had applied to schools I was actually going through Recruitment companies – which I have heard some bad things about the companies out in China. I felt under a little bit of pressure and I did not fully understand if I had been offered the jobs or not. This is due to them not actually saying “Congratulations Jemma; welcome to the team!” Confusing right?! I decided to decline all three of the jobs and keep my options open.
This is the reason why I have been doing some more applications. I have applied to Tree House, My English School and LearnEng in Italy and EIS in Spain. All four schools sound very good and seem to be legit.
I have been researching about flights to Italy and Spain and they are very reasonable compared to flight to Thailand and China. One-Way flights vary from £66 to £75; depending on where I fly from. I prefer Birmingham as I can use the train to get there and East Midlands as it is a direct route from my home.
I have emailed Fun Language Viseu and asked if there is any news, but there is nothing yet. I am getting nervous; a I need to let my current workplace know when I am finishing!
Being a Guide (yes, I am still in the Girl Guides) I am always most of the time ready for anything; being a teacher abroad I will still be prepared for all that will happen abroad. I know that I will need to pack a lot of things; here is what I would pack in my suitcase (or cases):
I will definitely need some of this in my bag;
Aloe Vera Gel – I swear by it! Excellent for everything!
Factor 50+ Sun Screen – You can never know how strong the Sun wherever I go to teach; also I do burn even though I am a brunette.
My Jamberry Mini Heater, some wraps and Plug Adapter – I have got to have pretty nails wherever I am!
All my TEFL teaching resources – I have QUITE a lot of items; from lesson plans to Register Books and stationery.
Solar Chargers – I love my solar chargers; one of the best things I have ever bought as they work even in low light. However, I would to love to have more!
I have been researching what other people have done when they have been moving abroad. I found Her Packing List; which is a travel blog/site that is aimed at women and gives us girls tips about traveling. Brooke and her team area amazing and I have saved it to my ‘TEFL Bookmarks’. I will spend some more time and work my way through the site. Of what I have found it is very interesting and informative. Another site I found was Frugal Frolicker; another female traveller, called Lindsey, who blogs about her adventures. The image at the top of this post is what she packed for one of her trips in Asia. I have also been using Jackie’s website – The Budget Minded Traveller and all of tips and itinerary lists for some ideas. Not forgetting her amazing Podcast that have hints and tips!
I know that packing “my life” into my 70ltr backpack and my “daysac” is going to be hard. I have already decided that my “daysac”; which will be my carry on, will have my Laptop (as it is designed for laptops), passport and all my paperwork (tickets, visas, cash etc.). I cannot go anywhere without them; in theory. Talking about paperwork; I know that I will be including the following:
copies of my passport – at least two copies.
medical prescription (as am an EpiPen carrier – Nut allergy) – at least two copies
a letter from doctor – I am thinking of doing a medical check; but as usual with the NHS here in the UK, there will be a charge.
copies of any visas I have – some will be in the passport but I will photocopy them just in case.
However; what about my things that are staying back here in the UK. Currently, I am still living with my mum and as time goes on my things are reducing. I know that what things I do have left will be okay; as hopefully my family will look after them. The house is fully insured as is the contents of it. I know that it will be mostly Guiding items (my camp blankets etc.). There are other options to be; for example putting all my things into self storage. However; I am a little nervous about that as you don’t know who has the Master Key and have access to your belongings. I have already started to reduce my clothes; I have been losing weight for the last year and a half – lost two dress sizes – and therefore most of my clothes do not fit me anymore. There are products in the market that can help myself and others protect their homes – for example like a Wireless Alarm System from Simplisafe; an American award winning company. With the Simplisafe Free Apps for iPhone, Android, & Windows smartphones we can take control of your security with a more sophisticated personal Command Centre. A fab idea right?
While I am abroad, I know that I will have to keep myself healthy and safe. I do some self defence moves and I am willing to learn the language so I am able to communicate with the locals.
Every now and again I apply for some jobs on the i-to-i TEFL Jobs Board; sometimes I get an interview and sometimes (well, actually most of the time) I do not get a response.
However, recently I applied to three schools in China and one in Portugal. I thought that I would keep my options open just in case, I cannot save enough money for the Thailand Internship.
I have had emails from all four schools. How exciting? I have replied to all and two days ago I had an interview with Fun Language Viseu in Portugal. Sadly, I had been called into my current workplace, luckily the girls were fine for half and hour when I had my interview over Skype. I am now starting to find the Skype interviews easier and I am not as nervous when I am carrying them out. I try to be myself and answer the questions truthfully. I did not have to carry out a mock lesson like the last time I had a Skype interview. All that I was asked were the standard teaching experience questions. I have also replied to the three Chinese schools with some questions. Hopefully I will hear back from all four of them soon.
I am now an official Jamberry Nails Consultant. You may have seen the image appear upon the sidebar of the blog. It is very exciting. I am one of the first people to have this opportunity here in the UK; I hope that you all have a look at my website; just click the image and it will send you to my site. I may not be a ‘girly girl’ but the Jamberry nail wraps are amazing. I have never seen anything like them ever. I was introduced to them by my long-time friend, Amy, who I have known since 1999. She was in the Girl Scouts (the same area that I am going to camp with this summer) and she was my Host for the camp. She is a ‘sister from another mumma’! I am going to see her too this summer, can’t wait! Jamicures will be taking place when I am there for sure! Here are some examples of the wraps; they are cute right?
Yes everyone; I have made a decision! I’m going to Thailand in October. I have found out hoe much the Thailand Internship with i-to-i TEFL will be for me and how much I will need to pay for my flights – I’m aiming to go for the beginning of October (as the dates have still NOT been released on the site!) and do some volunteering. I just need to save LOADS of cash now! Car boots and my eBay store here I come! I have too many LP Travel Guides; so I have put all of them (expect the Thailand one) into my store. I have also advertised them on the LP Thorn Tree forums.
As you know, I joined Workaway in the post “Common Practices in Thailand and a bit more…” and I have been looking at what I can do before starting the Internship. There are many placements in Thailand; but I have decided to stay in Bangkok and the surrounding areas. It will be cheaper for me to get to the hotel etc. for the Internship. I have saved only a few Hosts (100+); that is what the people looking for Volunteers (or Workawayers) are called. I cannot believe that I could just contact the hosts and tell them when I am in Thailand and I could work (and play) with most of the time, Bed and Board free. How cool is that? I cannot believe if I had not found The Budget Minded Traveller, Jackie I would have never found Workaway!
Workaway says that:
Workawayers typically are interested in cultural exchange and learning and will help out for a few hours a day in exchange for food and accommodation, with visits lasting anywhere from a few days to a few months.
Travel cheaply and stay for free, whilst making a difference to the communities you visit. Put your existing skills to good use, or try something new you‘d never normally get to do and pick up new skills along the way.
There is an ever growing list of 1000s of active hosts in over 155 countries offering all kinds of places to stay.
I am super excited about this now that I have finally made the decision; so please feel free to head over to my eBay store and see if there is anything that takes your fancy!
I have been thinking about what I can do while I am on my TEFLing adventures. I have come to the conclusion that learning the lingo would help me the most in whatever Country I go to work in. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I am a user of Sign Language – currently fluent in British Sign Language and I am brushing up on my American Sign Language ready for my upcoming trip to the States.
I have been doing some research on the languages that are used in the three counties that i-to-i TEFL offer – Thailand, Vietnam and China. Sadly the Vietnamese and Chinese internships both start on the same day (20th August 2016) and I am unable to go, as I will have only just returned from America. The Thai internship does not start until October (I still don’t know the actual date; as it is not on the website yet!) and the May internship is still being advertised. I wonder if there has not been enough interest in the internship. I want to get all my finances in order; if it means I have to do some extra work either online or with my “real life” jobs, I will do it!
I have been looking at learning Thai when I am on the internship; we are going to be given some Thai Language lessons that GES will provide me with some basic and fun Thai Language training to help you with your day-to-day life in Thailand. However, I want to learn Thai Sign Language (TSL). I know that I would have to have the basic understanding of the “spoken” language before I could fully understand the Signed Language. I wonder if GES could point me in the direction of being able to learn TSL when I am out there.
I have a very basic knowledge of Nepalese Sign Language (NSL) and I would if I will be able to pick up TSL as quickly as I did NSL. It has been a few years since I did any NSL; as I was at University.
Has anyone else learnt the lingo of the country that they are working in? Would you recommend that I do learn the language?
Now I remember why I found the first Grammar course hard; as what I see as “errors” in the text given to me to not “errors” seen by the Tutor. This saddens me a little.
Has anyone else who has completed the Advanced Grammar Course had problems with the course? I am on the final part of the course; the checkpoint and I have already done one attempt (we are given only three attempts!)
Overview
You will complete an error analysis of a student’s piece of writing.
Assessment criteria
All task requirements are met
Twelve errors are identified.
All twelve corrected forms are accurate.
Rules are described with sufficient accuracy.
Task instructions
Read the following text written by an advanced student of English. It contains fifteen grammatical errors. All the errors reflect rules you’ve studied in the Advanced Grammar course.
This is the start of the Checkpoint; simple enough right?
Mobile Devices and Language Learning
Most young people use the mobile phones in their everyday lives, and now they want using them to learn English.
Do we can learn that way? I think we can learn that way.
There are many uses of mobile phones technology which can help us improving our English.
Some learners use them to look up and translate words, that they see. This is much more convenient than carrying dictionary around with you.
Some learners record English on the street so that they listen to the recording later. Because they can replay it to understand every word.
Other learners enjoy to use mobiles to practise reading and listening, or even to connect with other English users and practise communicating. They ask other students where can they find the best sites for this.
Some teachers think that mobile phones are a distraction, and so do not let students to bring them to class. I ask them to stop thinking: mobiles can be a great way of practising English. Students will love English because of love technology.
This is the text; there are TWELVE errors; the feedback from the Tutor says that out of the twelve I found two are incorrect. *sad face* Also two of the suggested corrections for two items are not accurate.
There are to parts to the question; finding the errors and correcting them is the first part of stating the rules of six of the twelve errors. The tutor stated that all six of the rules I stated were incorrect.
Anyone willing to help me out here?! I don’t want to waste £50 for extending and £35 on the module!
Did you know that 
I have been looking at learning Thai when I am on the internship; we are going to be given some Thai Language lessons that 
mytefladvertures.com 