Good morning/afternoon/evening or as we would say here in Indonesia Selamat pagi/siang/sore. I hope all you new or experienced teachers are well and good. The purpose of my blog will be to give you an insight into what life is like as a TEFL/TESOL teacher, I will be reporting on the goings on in Indonesia.
First Let me tell you about myself; I am 23 years old and come originally from Derbyshire, Alfreton if you want to be pedantic about it. Before I became a teacher I had been working in call centers or sales since I was 18 years old. The last of my jobs back home was working for an international online casino company in the heart of London earning, with commission, a very acceptable salary.
Now I know what you’re thinking, why would someone leave a well paying job in the middle of a recession? Well keep reading, all will be answered in good time.
What will I talk about in my blogs?
Well I’m going to tell you specific information about what you need to know about Indonesia and I am will also keep you updated on more social things such as what I did at the weekend or where I’m going on holiday along with more educational based things such as my classes progress and teaching tips that I have picked up ‘on the job’.
Who will read/subscribe to this blog?
Anyone who is interested in teaching TEFL, Those who are interested in traveling to Indonesia, some of you might just be interested in what I ate for breakfast…The latter we call stalkers, but hey if you want to stalk me go ahead it will make me feel like a celebrity!
As well as blogging about what I have done recently I will also be posting videos and pictures of school, classes, trips out, the other teachers chilling out after work at home. My mission is to give you a REAL feel into what it will be like living here if you decide to come here.
Finally to answer the question you asked about me leaving in the middle of a recession. I decided to teach almost a year before I did my training, I was between jobs at the time and had the urge to travel, however being out of work meant I had little funds to be able to afford such an adventure so I waited, I found a new job working as I say as in Camden.
There I was able to save enough money to take my training with i-to-i, in Oxford. I booked the training on Friday morning 18hrs later I was on the shuttle coach to Oxford. At my training I met some wonderful people and the trainer was first class!
After the training weekend I had to complete the rest of the course online, It usually takes a couple of months to do but if you really want to get through it you can study a couple of hrs a day and complete it in approx. two weeks like me. After that I spent six weeks in Spain doing volunteer teaching and traveling at the same time, GREAT way to get some experience, before I was offered the position here in Indonesia.
So I guess the reason I wanted to leave a well paying job was simple to travel and see the world.
So I welcome you to my blog, I hope you enjoy reading what I have to write about and if you have any questions or comments please contact me I will be happy to offer the best advice I can!
Selamat Datang di aku blog TEFL Indonesia
Welcome to my blog of TEFL Indonesia
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Hi, as someone looking to get a career in teaching next year, I really enjoy reading your blog and it made me feel quite at ease with the process.
I did have a few questions, first of all, you didn't have a degree? I understand you completed the TEFL and then managed to find a job through the i-to-i placement service? That would make things a lot easier if I knew there was the possibility of getting a job through their services.
Thanks for any help :)
Dan :)
Hi Rin,
Don't worry about the experience, apply directly to the EF school or an agency rather than direct to EF headquarters. The school will make exceptions like they did for me. You could use the i-to-i job placement service too, that's how I got my first teaching job here. They do often ask you to extend the contract as long as you have met the teaching standards throughout the year and if you agree you will be able to negotiate a pay increase for the second year, or you can choose to move on like I have. I will definitely continue to write the blogs as I really enjoy it and love reading your feedback! If you have any other questions just drop me a post and I will give you my best advice!
Hi Robert :)
I have just started to read your blogs and am really enjoying seeing what life is really like in Indonesia :)
I have noticed EF seem to want a years experience for all their teacher job advertisments?
I hope you keep writing when you move onto your job in China!
Just a quick question...If you had wanted to stay on at your job in Indonesia, could you have extended your contract? I was wondering if the schools generally ask you to stay on longer after you have completed your first year?
Thanks! :)
Hi.Just started reading your blogs.Thanks for giving us an idea of what life is like teaching in Indonesia.I'd like to teach in that area so I'm reading with interest.
Hi Lena, believe you have the chance our group of schools (EF Swara) employs two Polish teachers and a South African who's first language is Afrikaans. So don't worry, if you're English is good enough and like you say you have 3 years teaching experience you will do fine!
If you need any help or have any questions I will be glad to help you!
Me too) Still ... I am not sure if not a native speaker, moreover not an EU citizen (that completed the course and has 3 years of teaching background) has a chance to experience that)
Looking forward to reading all of your updates Robert!
Hi Antonia, Thanks for reading my blog post. I have only been to Paris once and that was for one day on my way to Spain to volunteer, I took the bus from London to Paris, unfortunately for me it rained the whole day! I will definately come back to France/Paris one day maybe to teach, who knows? I would love to hear about your experiences teaching in France! What ages do you teach? do you teach in a school or private?
hi robert, I've just signed in and read your writing. I won't be as long as you since it's almost 11:30 pm in France. After a day of work... I live in Colombes, it's in the suburbs of Paris. I lived for many years in Kamerun as a French teacher, and when I came back to France (ten years ago), I was not so much interested in being a French teacher in French schools. That's why I decided to become an English teacher to French people. For me, it is much more fun like that.
So good night for today
Awesome!
Looking forward to hearing all about it!
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