A Particular Set of Skills

    Living in Prague for nearly a decade has given me a unique skill set that only other Prague Expats can truly achieve. The city will hone your body over the years and give you nearly superhuman attributes leaving friends and strangers back home in wonder and awe. Remember people, with greater power comes greater responsibility. If you decide to live abroad for a number of years, you too will gain these powers. 

I couldn't possibly list them all, but here are the main ones.

Tram Grip Strength (Raw Power): From years of riding Prague trams and giving my seat up to the elderly, my tram grip strength borders on the level of being superhuman. Nothing can break it. Whether it's holding onto a tree branch to survive a deadly tsunami or riding a bull, my tram grip strength will never fail me.

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Bagging Skills (Blinding Dexterity): In Prague you have to do all of your own grocery bagging. It's intense in the beginning and you will fail miserably the first time. The years of practice will give you lightening quick response times that will make others marvel at your new skills. I'm a lefty by nature but when it comes to bagging groceries, both of my hands are skillfully equal. I can do the one hand feed and other hand place technique or I can double stuff with both simultaneously with lightening speed and efficiency. Grocery baggers at Trader Joes or Whole Foods ain't got nothing on me. 

Eating While Walking (Expert Multi-tasking): The nature of English teaching is that you might not really have a proper lunch hour. You're going to be eating on the go a lot. I've reached the level of multitasking where I can maintain a brisk walking speed while talking on my phone, chewing gum, planning a lesson all as I wolf down a smazeny syr in a matter of seconds and giving the occasional bewildered Czech a high-five. 

Drinking Hard Liquor (Improved Constitution): Czechs make their own form of plum brandy moonshine (Slivovice) and man is it rough. Worse off (or better off if you're an alcoholic) is that they always want to share it with you. If you ever are invited to a Czech's cottage (and you will be) you are going to be offered this stuff and you are going to be offered it often. Everybody seems to make it from uncles to grandmothers and the older the generation's concoction , the more powerful and vile it is.  If you think you can look the ninety year old Czech granny in the eyes and tell her 'no thanks', you are surely mistaken. The first time you drink homemade Slivovice, you will believe with all your soul that you are about to die. After years of giving into Granny and the rest of the town folk (they all make their own) your body will become a steel trap. You will have the ability to ingest and digest any liquid or solid with ease. 

Eyes of Cold Blue Steel (Dominating Presence): Czech's like to stare and they will stare at you often. In the beginning of your training you will try to stare back, but you will lose. Years of training though will give you this same ability and your stare can be used as a weapon. No more will you be intimidated by snobby waiters, office bureaucrats, rude drivers...etc Flash them your  Cold Blue Steels and they'll turn away with their tails between their legs.

Resistance to Body Odor and Other Nasty Smells (Improved Toughness): It's getting better with the youth in the city, but the older generation, especially men, like to lay off the Right Guard or any other kind of deodorant. The smell sometimes on a hot summer day in a crowded metro can be overpowering. Dozens of men with years upon years of deodorant neglect - their body odors mixing and combining to make a vapor more potent than riot tear gas. At first it's unbearable, but in time your sense of smell will toughen to that of a police K9 dog unit. Nothing phases me now.

Dog Poop Avoidance (Improved Eyesight and Tracking):  Czechs love dogs, have dogs and walk dogs all over the city. These dogs poop everywhere and their owners seldom clean up. Every Expat in Prague at sometime (usually multiple times) has stepped directly into a hot steamy pile of dog poop. There's a lot in the city and your untrained, novice and dare I say pathetic eyes,  can't possibly notice it all. And God help you if walk off the beaten path of the cobblestone sidewalks...God help you. Walking on patches of grass in Prague is akin to walking through a minefield in Afghanistan. 

Years of sidestepping and scanning for the brown, orange, yellow, yellow-brown, brown-black, black, orange-yellow-purple substance, has given my eyes hawk-like observational abilities. I could play ultimate frisbee for a 5 weeks straight in Letna Park and you ain't seeing nothin' on my white sneakers.

   There are so many more that I could list, but I don't want to overload anyone's brain with the possibilities. Take caution young students and heed my warning.  Keep these abilities to yourselves and use them responsibly. The world is often afraid of people with powers that they don't understand.

Cheers

TEFL Prague Courses The Language House 

A Little Less Conversation-A Little More Action!

     Challenging Higher Education in Education

Many times as educators gain more experience and qualifications, the teaching game becomes less about skill work and more of an intellectual pursuit. Regardless of what advanced degree you get in TEFL or really any field of education, there is change from skill work to theory and research.  We start out as brand new teachers knowing nothing. Our TTT is horrible. We have no classroom presence. We can't lesson plan. We have zero understanding of error correction. This list could go on and on.

When we start our first training in TEFL we learn some skills. I think these days probably a majority of ELT teachers begin with some form of TEFL course. These skills are great and we start practicing. We bomb our first lesson, but over the course of the training we keep improving. We practice our TEFL skills from concept check questioning, to graded language, to effective monitoring...etc. We get better, and by the end of the course/training, we can at least hold our own the classroom.

    Then we graduate, and that's really where our skill training ends.

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If you take a look at any advanced degree in TEFL, you find only a smidgen of skill training. The DELTA for example only has 4 hours of observed teaching practice compared to 300 hours of assignments and paperwork. It doesn't end there, MA programs in education are the same thing. Tons of methodology research, paper writing, form filling - nearly nothing in observed teaching practice.  This would be great if teachers want to work in a lab and do research or write papers,  but it's not helping them to actually teach.

 Look back at your educators throughout your life. Some were great and some really missed the mark. How is that possible? How is that you can have two teachers who have studied TEFL or education to the advanced level and one is amazing and the other appears to never have taught a good lesson in their life?

 The reason is that often teachers and universities forget that there is a complete difference between knowing and doing. Knowing how to teach, means nothing. I know how to do a back flip and I know how to throw a baseball. It doesn't mean that I am a gymnast or pitcher. I could read every book, attend every lecture and ace every written test on these subjects, but I'm still going to have the same ability as I did before.

Education is exactly the same, but for some reason, it is ignored. Take aviation where it is not ignored. What if pilots only received 4 hours of actual observed flying practice and the rest of the time was spent in a lecture or writing an essay. Would this be acceptable? Would you consider this pilot to be an expert?

My own feeling why this is, is that it would be too hard to set up practice teaching sessions for hundreds of graduate level training classes and that a significant number wouldn't pass. Setting up 12 hours of practice teaching for 15 TEFL trainees is hard, doing it for a graduate level course of 100 students would require about 20-30 classrooms. Universities of all kinds simply wouldn't be able to do it, so they don't. You would also need dozens of observers to watch the teachers and a pool of hundreds of students to set up practice classes. Then you have to account for teachers simply not being good. How many would fail out? How many educators have the ability to learn these skills and do them to the advanced/expert level? Probably not a whole lot.

 Whether it's an MA in TEFL or PHD there seems to be a disappointing  correlation between how that translates into the classroom and being 'good'. I've met PHD level TEFL teachers that were very impressive and knew their stuff and I've met some that were literally afraid of doing a practice lesson because they had major holes in their skill game.

 There needs to be a change. There needs to be a little less conversation and a little more action in TEFL and education as a whole. Universities and other forms of higher education in ELT need to incorporate a lot more hands on training into their curriculums to shape up or weed out lackluster teachers.  Teachers of all backgrounds and educational levels on their own need to return to the things that make us solid teachers and that is the return the practice and improvement of ELT skills.


TEFL Prague Courses The Language House 

Best of Prague

   I posted the question to some graduates living and teaching in Prague on what they felt were the 5 best things about living in the city (with negatives as well) 

Courtney:

 Likes: the ex-pat circuit is close and like family. public transportation is fantastic (until they're striking). Opportunities for entertainment and fun social experiences abound. Parks!

Michelle:

Likes: lots of paid holiday -- although that might not be typical for teachers.

Indigo

Likes: 1). Ease of travel around the city and around Europe! 2.) Its a safe city, overall if you are wise to the night freaks. 3.) Lots of culture and tons of festivals- architecture, music, dancing, opera, theater, literature - in many languages. 4.) Great beer and breweries to visit, and great places to drink said beer all over the country. 5.) Not only are you in a big city, but you also have the nature. Plenty of huge parks and forests in and out of the city. Many places to do outdoor activities all year round.

Adam

Likes: 1) The interesting culture/food/traditions/language, 2) the willingness and enthusiasm Czechs have when learning/speaking English/hanging out with Anglo-speaking people, 3) the beauty of the city, 4) how openly "lustful" Czechs seem to be, 5) how easily accessible the "nature" is.

Roy

Likes: 

Beer, women, transportation, architecture - but not necessarily in that order.

Andrea 

Likes:  1.Things to do! From cultural events, restaurants, pubs, beer gardens, day trips, the list goes on and on. 2. Architecture & history.... I'm on year 3 here in the C.R. and I don't get bored walking the streets and learning new things. 3. Czech interest in language and different cultures. 4. Size of Prague... its' big enough, but not too big. It's a very walkable city. 5. Once a Czech decides they like you, you are in. They are very loyal and awesome once you can crack that shell.

            ***************

  

Negative things that they mentioned were 

a.  Czechs can be pretty stoic when you first meet them

b. The visa process is tasking 

c. Lack of air conditioning 

d. Government bureaucracy 

e.Costumer service 

f. Technology is still backwards 


Hope that helps,
Chris 

TEFL in Korea - the best and the worst

    

  I posted a question to a bunch of Language House TEFL graduates asking them to list their 5 favorite and least favorite things about working in Korea.

Here's what they posted

 Heather L.

The Good

1. People compliment you in the streets, good self-esteem booster.  

 2. Awesome food, if you love spicy food.

 3. Drinking in the streets is legal.

 4. Noraebongs are actually fun entertainment.

 5. Strange dancing girls, or mimes, or men on stilts performing things to advertise a company on random street corners.

 The Bad

1. Pollution, gray skies nearly every day, which leave a strange smell that takes awhile to get used to.

 2. Lack of organization in many hagwons and you`re expected to change your plans to meet the new classes or meetings. 

3. Asian style expectation that westerners should work as hard as they do....which is all day every day. 

4. Illness - caused by Koreans feeling the need to work when they are sick and spread germs making you sick every month.

 5. Strange game children like to play which involves sticking their fingers together like a gun and shoving them in your butt crack, called dong chim or something like that, it's always unexpected and awkward.

Matt L.

 The Good

Public schools in Korea: 

1. 2-3 hours of prep/lesson planning time a day.

2. 22 classes a week and you get paid for full time. 

3. Huge online community with tons of resources.

4. Korean co-teachers who can help with classroom management. 

5. Great vacation time, usually almost a month for summer and winter break. 

 The Bad

 1. Some co-teachers don't contribute. 

 2. School politics can get a little bizarre, the principal and vice principal are like gods in the school.

 3. Class sizes can get a little big, I've had 40-50 student classes.

 4. There can be huge differences in levels among the students, depending on who goes to hagwons and who doesn't.

 5. Co-teachers and the textbooks sometimes try to teach some very strange English. Korea is a great place though, I just signed up for my 3rd year at my schools, the people are great, the food is awesome, great expat community, the basics of the language and reading are pretty easy, and its really easy to get decent flights all across Asia.

Mike B.

  The Good

1) You will gain an immense appreciation for having a normal/real childhood. 

2) The pay is great and start up costs are super low.

 3) In Busan or Seoul there are many foreigners and a pretty lively nightlife. 

4) You can drink in public.

 5) You get to live in the twighlight zone. There are more things that will make you say "wtf" than one can even imagine, and It is more often amusing than annoying. 

  The Bad

 1) Its way more expensive to travel to a different country than in Europe.

 2) There are alllll kinds of problems you can have if you choose the wrong hogwan or get placed by epik in the wrong public school.

 3) pollution and the garbage system. 

4) Everything is backwards here. Even the count in a baseball game. I could go on all day on this one but thats a whole nother thread.

 5) Ajummas - A vast fleet of eldery korean women who believe that their superior age not only entitles them to automatic respect but also gives them the right to disrespect all those younger than them.

Rebecca L

   The Good

1. The pay is good and the jobs provide apartments for you to live in. The utilities, gas, and internet are usually below $100 for all three combines. So cost of living is low.

 2. The beaches are just a subway ride away. Great in the summertime. 

3. Costco and Homeplus or Tesco provide western food to buy, so I can cook the same food that I eat in the US. 

4. The cost of flying to other Asian countries is fairly low and the cost of hostels or hotels is really low too! And you can get massages really cheap too!

 5. The public transportation rocks! So cheap!

  The Bad

1.No matter your size, if you are a foreigner, you are considered fat. LOL! I know a girl who is size 4, but she is called fat. It's crazy! They are so vocal to you about dieting and exercising. 

2. Everybody takes public transportation, so people get pushy and crammed on the subways and buses. You learn to get pushy back. LOL! 

3. They put chili sauce in everything! Even if you order fried chicken with no sauce, you get chicken that was first coated with chili sauce then had the breaded stuff put on, so even that;s spicy. 

4. If you work in a Hogwan, or private institution, you have very little vacation time. 

5. People burp and spit freely here. It's GROSS! If they are sick, they hack up loogies, too! Right in front of you!

    So what can we take from these comments? It seems as if the pay and teaching conditions are quite good. You just have to be able to put up with the locals calling you fat while spitting on you, old ladies cutting you in line, and the ever sneaky Korean kid trying to cram their finger up your butt. Don't worry though, since alcohol is allowed in public, you'll be drunk most of the time and won't care.

  Count me in!

  Chris W

TEFL Prague Courses

 The Language House

 http://www.thelanguagehouse.net

TEFL Course Preparation Tips

   How to Prepare for your TEFL Course


Internet forums are always abuzz with future TEFL students asking what they can do to prepare for their course. Here are some of my tips on what you can do to make sure you have an edge over your classmates and help make the transition into teaching and living abroad  easier.

I. Things to Improve your Teaching  Pre-Course

 1. Learn your own Language  - You need come into your course with some kind of grammatical base. It will make everything easier. Know the tenses, perfect tenses, continuous vs simple forms, structures and functions...etc. Know at least the basic kinds of verbs and parts of speech. The more the better if you ask me. There is a plethora of websites and books out there dealing with grammar. Start learning it.

If you don't know where to start, ask your TEFL provider for some assistance. If they can't give you a sheet or anything to help you learn the grammar, you've picked the wrong program. At The Language House TEFL, we have a grammar test at the end of the course and require an 80 percent on it to pass. It's difficult, but guess what? An ESL teacher not knowing grammar is like a chiropractor not knowing the names of bones in the body.


2.  Work on Public Speaking - Language teaching is all about presentation. You are going to be up in front of a lot of people for the rest of your life or career teaching. Work on this if you are afraid of speaking in public. Teaching is not like giving a speech or a lecture. You are not going to have a podium to hide behind. Getting some speaking practice in before your course will help you get rid of those jitters that can crop up during your practice sessions.


3. Work on Voice Control - Communicating as an ESL teacher requires excellent voice and language control. To illustrate, how do you communicate with beginner English language students? You speak slowly, clearly and basically to them. All of this is a slap in the face to our educational upbringing where we have been taught to speak eloquently, use complex language and sentence structure.
  This seems like an easy thing to do, but you would be surprised. If you can't control your voice, you won't be able to teach well. Period. I've seen dozens of teachers simply break and drop out of teaching because they were unable to control their voice and output (TTT). As you get nervous, your voice speeds up. The faster you talk, the more your students cannot understand you and the more nervous you get. This begins a downward spiral of TEFL failure.
  I actually force my TEFL students to practice speaking slowly and basically to each other. The trick is to not sound like a caveman or unnatural. So my advice - sit in front of a mirror and work on speaking slowly. Voice should be clear, speed should be slow, vocabulary should be basic, and intonation should be audible. The rule is thumb is to be able to communicate what you want as directly as possible.


4. Read up on TEFL  
Jim Scrivener's "Learning Teaching" is my favorite book. Spend the 25 bucks and buy it, read it, learn it.

5. Get in Contact with Past TEFL Graduates - Makes sense to do this. You'll probably get a lot of great inside information regarding the course and tutors. If a school cannot get you in contact with at least a dozen past graduates, there's something up, and the TEFL school should be avoided. I've heard schools say things like because of privacy issues they cannot give out graduate contact. Bullshit, simply bullshit. In my experience, our TEFL graduates have always been helpful with potential students and as long as you ask them if you can use their personal info they are totally fine with it. If a school can't give you a list of students who you can contact on facebook, there is something really wrong with them.


6. Practice Being more Animated - This can be paired up with public speaking, but it's often an important skill. Teaching requires you to use your body and hands to gesture and mime things to your students. A lot of new trainees are very uncomfortable doing this and tense up. Practice it. Teaching a course, especially to lower levels, is almost like playing a 90 minute game of charades. Get used to using your body. I know it sounds basic, but it's so important.


  Preparing for Living Abroad

Doing well on the course is only half of the coin. You also want to plan for your new life abroad. I'll keep most of these basic, because they are basic.

1. Have Enough Money in the Bank. You'll need it.

2. Have a Passport and Visa (if you need it)

3. Buy your Tickets Early. I suggest paying a bit more money to have a ticket that you can cancel or switch the dates with ease. Things can come up, and plans get changed. Flexibility is always a good feather to have in your cap.

No matter where you go, she'll get ya

4. Take Care of all of your Issues Back Home Before Leaving. Don't leave your home in chaos and move abroad. It's just going to follow you wherever you go. Deal with it first, and then make the move. Addiction is serious. Family problems are serious. Mental health is serious. Leaving for a bit might sounds like a breath of fresh air, but your problems will chase you around the world

5. Connect with Expats living in the City. One of the most stressful things whilst (how British of me) on the course, is that you are going to need to eventually find your own place. You can start looking before you leave or you can start looking a day before you're going to get kicked out of our temporary accommodation. Look before. It will help you get a feel for the different areas and prices and what you want.

6. Start Learning the Language - Why not? Get a jump start on it. It will help you get around the city, impress your fellow students and tutors and make you focus on the move abroad. If you don't have the funds to take a proper course, then learn online. There are tons of videos, podcasts and free materials for most languages out there. Start learning and practicing.

   *Note: Don't assume that even if you live in a foreign country for years you'll automatically pick up the language. Most English teachers in Prague can hardly speak any Czech at all, even after years of living there. You learn by making the effort and practicing. Start now.

7. Read up on the Culture, History and Current Events  - Everything becomes more personal and more fascinating when you know the culture and history of your new country. Use the internet or buy a proper book on the country/location you are going to. It will make you value the experience and get you more excited about your new future life.

8. Ask your TEFL Provider if there is Anything you are Unsure of - I mean not everyday, that would be annoying. However, if you are confused about something, there's nothing wrong with simply sending out an email and having them help you.

9. Start Looking for Work Early - The demand in a lot of past TEFL hotspots is waning. That's the reality. Jobs are out there, but it takes more effort. Search forums, contact your TEFL provider, network with expats and past graduates, maybe even contact actual schools. You want to hit the ground running. During your course, you're most likely going to be overwhelmed. Get@it early and it will improve your chances of being successful.


  Cheers,
Chris Westergaard
TEFL Prague Courses - The Language House 

TEFL in Prague - Pros and Cons

 Making the decision to teach abroad is an important one. Wherever you end up, there are going to be positives and negatives to look out for. Each country is different, but a lot of the experience of teaching abroad can be applied to different locations. My speciality is obviously TEFL in Prague, Czech Republic, so let's start there. Perhaps later on I can get some graduates who I know to offer their experiences of teaching in Asia or other parts of the world.

 Let's start out with the positives 

9:30 am or 9:30 pm, it don't matter

1. You'll Most Likely Have a lot of fun (A LOT of fun during the first year)
Sure life is about work, but it's also about having a good time. My first year in Prague in 2002 was probably one of the most fun years of my life. The city has a great nightlife and if you are into staying up late and having Hangoveresque experiences, then Prague is a great stomping ground for you. Life can't and isn't always be about partying and having a good time, but to say this isn't a plus to the city would be  dishonest

2. The Teaching is Very Flexible 
 In a lot of other areas of the world you are given a strict schedule and contract that you can't really break. You are usually only able to work for one school and things like conduct and dress code are strictly enforced. Prague is different. It's way more flexible. Many people work for a variety of schools and you are given a lot of educational freedom on what and how to teach.

No I'm not kidding!

3. Great Balance between Strange and Familiar with the City/Culture
 Prague is a modern city, but it's still very different. It's easy to relate to Czechs and become friends with them, but the culture is very unique. I mean where else do young women get hit with sticks by the males on Easter to make them more fertile? Where else do people keep live GIANT carp in their bathtubs to fatten them up so they can have their Christmas dinner? I found that every year I was in Prague I was always learning more and more about the culture an there was always something new to discover.

4. Easy to Find a Place to Live and Get Around the City
 With websites like expats.cz and prague.tv, it's super easy to find a nice apartment in the city center or surrounding areas. Most teachers live relatively central.  I don't know anyone who lives out in the sticks and has to commute more than 20-25  minutes to their job unless they have intentionally chosen to. In many other countries a long commute is the norm. Also, no one is going to force you to live in a certain place. In most other countries, you are at the mercy of where the school houses you. In Prague, you decide all of it.
The public transport in Prague is ridiculously easy and inexpensive. It costs about 30 USD or so for a month long pass that can be used for all buses, metros and trams in the city.

5. The Level of Teaching in Prague is Great
   Pretty much everyone now knows what they are doing in terms of methodology, practice and technique. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but you'll come out of your first year actually being a good teacher (usually) In a lot of parts of the world, training is not important at all. Most people who are teaching in Asia probably have no idea what they are doing and most schools have zero understanding of what works and what is important in the classroom.

6. Simply a Gorgeous City
 Prague is beautiful. What more could you ask for? Seriously, go on google and look at the place. It's one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.


7. Friendly and Curious Population

Czechs get a really bad rap for being cold. They might appear this way when you first meet them, but they really are sweet, interesting, honest and surprisingly outgoing people. Over the years I've met some amazing Czechs who were my students. I think this is possible in other parts of the world, but maybe not as easy due to formality issues. It's not uncommon for students to remain friends with you after their course and invite you to social gatherings. This usually entails 'going on the cottage to pick mushrooms in the nature'.

8. Jobs Are Still Available.
 To say it's same as it was in 2002 would be dishonest, but jobs are out there and the majority of people find work as teachers. The pay rate isn't as high as in some other places, and nothing of course is a guarantee, but work is available if you have the skills and ethic to make it


9. Living Full Time is Possible
 You can stay for a year or stay for your life if you're smart. Most likely it means getting a zivnostensky list and branching out from just working at a school, but it is possible. I know a lot of people who have lived in Prague for over a decade and are doing well. Due to the transitory nature of the city, you can also move up in the teaching world fast. This means becoming a Director of Studies or a Senior Teacher without many times needing higher qualifications.

10. Contracts are Flexible and Not Written in Stone
 If for some reason you have to leave the city and go back home, you are not usually legally bound to a school. You are not going to be fined or really penalized if you have to break your contract. Give them notice of course and that should be enough.


11. TEFL Courses in Prague do a Good Job
In general they all do what they are supposed to do and offer a lot of graduate assistance. This is not true in other places where I believe the training can be subpar. I think since the market is so competitive with TEFL schools here, we are all trying to offer whatever we can and do whatever we can to make people happy.  Also there is the understanding that our graduates are going to be teaching here and we want them and the schools where they work to be happy and satisfied. There are some bad apples out there of course, but it's pretty easy to find out which ones to avoid with a simple search.


12. Other Outlets Besides Teaching
There's a lot of things you can do besides teaching. If you like acting, join a theater company or do stand up or form a band and play at different venues. I know people who within a week or two of being in the city were already writing articles for the Prague Post. Yes it's not the New York Times, but it's still impressive. Get involved in other things. It's not too hard to do here  if you make the effort.

13. Expat Community
    There is an enormous Expat community in Prague of native English teachers. If you are worried about being alone in a foreign city - don't. You'll meet a lot of other fellow English teachers and they are usually great and interesting people. When you are abroad, you bond faster with people and develop stronger friendships. It's one of the things I really miss when I'm not in the city. It's simply a unique thing when you live abroad.
 *That being said, please meet Czech people. Don't be the typical expat who just hangs out with other Expats, you'll be selling your experience short.




Negatives - Yeah because life in Prague isn't always peachy 

1. Visas and Getting Legal
The days of working under the table and just border hopping are gone. You are going to have to get legal now if you are not an EU citizen. This means you'll have to have money in the bank or a bank note to show proof of funds along with other documentation, stamps and forms. It means waiting on lines and running around getting stuff done. You are also going to be on a time limit and if you don't get it done in time, you'll have problems most likely. You get 90 days to get stuff sorted and that's it. This means you need to work and work fast during your first and second month to know what you need and start getting it.  If you need help with Visas or want to get a Zivnostensky List I highly recommend a guy named John Mohr who operates a company called CFO 2 GO. Here is his contact information john.mohr@cfo2go.eu.

2. Less Guaranteed Hours 
I used to tell all of my TEFL trainees back in the day that if they couldn't find work in the city with a TEFL certificate and a recommendation that there was something seriously wrong with them. We could literally guarantee work to graduates and most had multiple job offers before the course ended.
 No one and no course can do that now. The work is out there, but you have to run around to get it. This means working for a number of different schools in the beginning and trying to rack up a schedule. Generally though if you hustle a bit in the beginning you can get a good schedule in about a month or so after graduating your TEFL course.  Take this as a warning though. If you believe that you can just show up in Prague, not work hard, not take things seriously and believe that magically a job will be placed on your lap - you're wrong.

3 Cold Winters
   Never really bothered me much, but I'm from Minnesota. For some people who are not used to winters, it can be rough at times. Remember, you are going to Europe where people walk a lot. You won't have a car. This means that when you buy groceries, guess who's lugging them back to your apartment?
   Also, there's the sun, or lack of it. Days and weeks without any sun. Winters can be a bit depressing if you don't like cold weather. My advice, get outside, go skiing, take a trip to the mountains, go ice-skating..etc  If that doesn't work, just wait until Spring when things go back to being totally awesome again.

4. Depression and Anxiety Episodes 
    It, they happen. It's normal. You're abroad, away from your family and friends and living in a culture that is foreign to you and a language you don't understand. You are going to be spending a lot more time in your head than you're used to and it's not uncommon for the 'Carnival' to come out. The Carnival being all of your thoughts about what you are doing and what you should be doing and where you are in your life. It's normal and it happens, but for some people it can be a bit overwhelming if they are not used to it. This whole process can be a positive thing though. It allows us to look at our lives and question things and improve. Some people rise to the challenge and the experience of living/teaching abroad makes them better human beings. Others, unfortunately, can waste away.

5. Prague is not Cheap Anymore
Some things are still cheap, but the days of 37CZK per dollar are long long long gone. The city is probably still cheaper than most cities in the US or UK, but you're going to need more startup money. Don't come abroad or take a TEFL course if you're broke. I don't care what the TEFL provider you are in contact with says about you being fine or that things will work out for you. They won't. You'll be broke without a place to live and no money to help you get set up. I recommend having at least 3,000 USD or equivalent to help you get started If you can't get that, it's probably better to wait until you have the funds.

6. Pay
Teachers make enough to get buy and live a comfortable lifestyle if they work full time. However, you're most likely not going to be able to save a lot or anything really unless you budget or really crank up the hours. You cannot compare the money made in Prague to say that of South Korea. There are ways to make more money but it requires getting a Zivno usually and that's another investment.

7. Vegetarians Might Still Have it Rough
   Things have improved for sure on the Veggie front, but the city still has a long way to go. I remember many times a student ordering some vegetables only to find out later that there was bacon in them. Of course when confronting the waiter about it, his reply was 'Well it's only a little bit. There's nothing really there.' Which brings me to the next point -


8. Customer Service is Still Lacking
     Prague has seen massive, massive improvements, but it's not the same as in the UK, US or Canada (can't really speak for other English speaking areas) You will have moments where you will be a bit shocked at the rudeness sometimes of people in customer service. It's not intentional, but tipping is not really a big deal in the city so most servers don't have any real incentive to always be nice. Again, it's not horrible, but you will have, at some point, a 'WTF  Oh no she didn't!' moment.
  



   My overall thoughts are that Prague isn't for everyone, but it is for most people. Don't go into this venture as a life changing career move. You'll freak out and lose your mind after 6 months. It's better to take a year and see how things go. You'll know very quickly if this is place you want to be. If you realize that Prague is where you want to be, then you can start working on how to make a career and  enough money to make the idea a reality.
   I fell in love with the city from day one. Many of the people that I know feel about Prague the same way I do. There's an energy to this place and to the people and it's a city where I always had an undeniable feeling that anything was possible.

Cheers,

Chris Westergaard

TEFL Courses in Prague

The Language House TEFL

http://www.thelanguagehouse.net

Top TEFL Teaching TIps

   There's a lot of half assed teachers out on the market and there's a lot of good ones. My philosophy in regards to everything that I do, is to try and do it well and develop a deep understanding for it. I mean why wouldn't you? If you are engaged in an activity for most of the day, it seems like a waste of time to not try your best and be the best you can be.


   I had never thought that I would have a career in education or live abroad or develop a school or any of these things growing up. You never know what opportunities will come your way if you make the effort, take chances  and most of all try and be an expert in your field.


 This is all beginning to sound really hacky so let's plow ahead. Here are some tips for your first year teaching abroad.

      Tips For Teaching  

Learn as much as you Possibly can

  * The idea that proficiency in teaching or anything really is based on time and experience is nonsense. I've graduated teachers with zero prior experience that left the course amazing and better than the majority of language teachers out there. It's not about experience. It's about talent and working hard on improving. Make that effort to get better and to learn as much as you can and you'll be better than a lot of teachers out there.

Keep your Lesson Plans

 *Reuse them. You'll save a lot of time.

Learn how to Adapt and Modify Material

 *Again, it saves time. Learn how to change a 45 min lesson into a 2 hour lesson. Or, how to change a lesson for pre-intermediates to a lesson for advanced students.

Share Lesson Plans and Learn from Others

  * A lot of my versatility in the classroom came from watching other teachers. Find out who the best teachers in your school are and watch them. You'll learn a lot.

Learn how to use a Textbook

  * Again, it saves time. Adapt, modify, expand... Textbooks on their own are some of the most boring creations of mankind. Make the stuff interesting!

Explain Methodology Briefly

    * Most of my students have no idea about TEFL methodology or why we do the things we do. A little explanation to your students about TTT/STT, CCQ's... etc., will help them understand why you are doing certain things.

Be Visible at your School

   * If you are around, you will be offered more work and more responsibility.

Seek Advice from Experience Teachers and help new ones

    * Kind of like the other one above. You can learn a lot from other people.

Use the Internet

   *  Easy to understand. There's a lot of great resources out there. Use them.

Publish Material

    * You may not get a book deal or anything, but post stuff online. There are tons of people interested in what it's like to live and teach abroad. Post these things. I'm sure people will read it and you might make a name for yourself.

Change your Schedule

   * When you first start teaching you will usually be given a bad schedule. Try and change it after your first semester or year. Go for blocks of classes and have your hours concentrated. Nothing is worse than having your classes spread out over the morning and night. It will feel like you are always working.

Get Feedback from Students

  * Have them fill out a private form with a grade for you. It will help you work on what's wrong and give you some more confidence if you are doing a good job. You can also use these evaluations to get a pay raise.

Push a Career

   * The DELTA and Trinity DIPLOMA are both good 8 week intense or 6 month low intensity courses. Not too overpriced and will help get you better jobs. Also you can make your own path by creating your own school or being self employed as a freelance teacher. These things don't come easy and most people do not have what it takes to set something up that's successful, but anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Don’t be afraid of your Experience

   * Once again, the biggest mistruth in education is that years in the field and qualifications matter more than anything else. Yes they do matter, but talent and hard work trumps both of these things. Don't be afraid that this is new to you. Just work on getting better. Try and develop a deep understanding of what you are doing. Look at teaching as being a set of different skills and work on trying to master them. You'll be better in year then most people are in their lives if you take this approach.

Don’t Upset your DOS

   * Director of Studies. Yeah why do that?

Quit if you want, but do it Professionally

   *If you are unhappy with the job, give them some notice. If you have to leave early or cancel your contract, give them some notice. 1-2 months is fine. 

Inform School about Absences 

   * That wedding that's coming up... tell them a month or more in advance and it won't be a problem. 

Don’t Tell your Students that this is your First Class

   * Doctors, don't tell your patience that you have never performed the operation before...Pilots, don't tell your passengers that this is your first time going over the Atlantic. You are going to scare the bejesus out of your students. Just focus on being good. If they ask, tell the truth though.

Create Goals and Realize them!

   * What do you want out of this experience. Do you want to learn the language, write that book you always dreamed of...Start working on it now. Time will move fast. 

Ask for a Raise if you think you Deserve it

  * Nothing makes a school cringe more than paying you more money. You are going to need to be a bit (A bit) pushy. If you are getting great feedback and have full classes with students signing up again to have you, ask for a raise.

Find out about Mobility

   * Do teachers move up the TEFL ladder at your school? Are they being paid more? You want to work at a school where you can grow as a teacher and grow in your career. 

Stay in Contact with your Students

   * These people are your friends and if you've done a good job they have a lot of respect for you. They will help you. Don't feel as if you can't remain friends with your students after the course/class/semester.

Keep in Contact with Us

   * At TLH TEFL we are all about community. I don't know what other courses are like, but you should feel comfortable contacting your TEFL provider and asking for help or advice if you need it. 

 Thanks guys,

  Chris 
http://www.thelanguagehouse.net