Category : TEFL/ESL
Prior to arriving in Spain I knew 7 words in Spanish. This included the words Hola, Gracias, and the phraze “mi casa es su casa” which I had heard somewhere through popular culture. That was it. My entire knowledge of the Spanish language prior to coming to this country. After around 2.5 months in Spain in total, I am glad to say my Spanish has improved somewhat compared to what it was, but I do not know nearly as much as I would have liked to after all this time. My Spanish certainly could be better had I not made some major mistakes along the way in my bid to learn. It is with that in mind that I have created this Dos and Don’ts list of learning Spanish in Spain, both as a means to pass on the tips that helped me learn along the way, but also as a way to help other people avoid my mistakes… of which there were many.
Do
- Go to Spain, or another Spanish speaking country to learn. You need to be using the language you learn each day in real situations if you want to remember it, and talking to locals to get your ear accustomed to the fast paced Spanish language with all it’s different accents.
- Try pick up some of the basics before you go. It really does make things a lot easier even just knowing a little bit before you come.
- Make friends with locals, or other people who speak Spanish, and get them to speak to you in it everyday.
- Write down any words you don’t know that you hear or read somewhere, and when you go home that day look them up in your dictionary.
- Carry a mini-Spanish to English dictionary with you at all times to help you when you get stuck out and about.
- Get a native Spanish speaking boyfriend or girlfriend. Same purpose as finding local Spanish speaking friends except you’ll have more motivation to learn Spanish this way, and they can teach you words you won’t learn in Spanish class!
- Set at least an hour aside each day to go over any new words you’ve learned, and to learn some new vocabulary. I didn’t do this nearly enough when I was in Spain!
- Find out if there are any places to learn Spanish for FREE where you are (ask locals, tourist information, or local council). I opted to learn independently when I first arrived into Seville because the language schools were charging a fortune. I found out on my 2nd last day however, that there was a place I could have learned for FREE! This sucked big time. There might not be a place in your area, but it’s worth doing all the research first because why pay money or struggle on your own when there is a course you can go to for free? I don’t know if it will be as good as the paid courses or not, but you could always do a paid course after if you like too, and get in some extra learning beforehand that doesn’t cost a penny
- Do put the hours in. At the end of the day, the more time you put into the learning, the more you will get out of it. The most common reason why many people fail to get fluent in a foreign language, I believe, is because of a lack of motivation.
Don’ts
- Don’t live in a house, apartment, hostel, or hotel with other native English speaking people! I made the mistake of doing this, and ended up just conversing all the time in English when I was at home. Even if you think you will still talk in Spanish, there will be moments when you get lazy. If there are only Spanish speaking people around you though, then this forces you to talk in the language at all times, and you therefore learn much quicker.
- Don’t stop practicing. I found in my personal experience, in the very beginning I was extremely motivated. After the first few weeks though, that motivation began to lull a bit. I also had commitments with work, and was also wanting to get away from the books for a bit and outside. You have to try ride through that lull after the honeymoon period wears off, and just keep going. Of course, you should take breaks, and don’t burn yourself out, but make sure to keep a consistent study schedule, and stick to it!
- Don’t stop learning once you get back home. One thing I am glad at is since I’ve got home I’ve actually continued to work on my Spanish. I have much less exciting distractions here, and to be honest, I’ve probably learned more at home this last week than I have the previous 2 or 3 in Spain simply because I’ve really put the effort in. Also, having had time to come home and digest everything, as I am learning things are beginning to click, that I seen, experienced, or heard while in Spain, but have only sunk in now that I’ve come home and picked up the books.
I hope these dos and don’ts help anyone new to learning Spanish or a foreign language to make the most of their time learning. As for me, I am continuing to learn now while I am back at home, and look forward to going back to Spain or another Spanish speaking country in the future, being much better than I was the last time I arrived!
Since moving to Sevilla for the summer, a city where very little people speak English, my skills at getting over the language barrier have been tested to the max! Anywhere I travel that isn’t an English speaking country I use these skills, but in many cases in the past there has always been someone who spoke English if I was really stuck. In Sevilla, outside of the hostel I stayed at this is almost impossible to find. This has therefore meant that during the times when my Spanish was not so great (it’s still not great, but it’s getting better) I have often had to resort to these tactics! Maybe you can relate to some of these..
Point and wave!
The most obvious one, and by far the easiest! Who knew the index finger would be so useful while travelling!! When you want something in a shop on most occasions you can simply point at what you want. I won’t talk about this one any further as it’s when you want something you can’t point to, something which may not even be an object per say, or when you need to go into detail that things start to get difficult!
Act out what you want
This is usually the next step in trying to get over the language barrier. If you can’tpoint to what you want, then sometimes acting out a scenario can help! For instance, I couldn’t find the isle with deodorant in the supermarket a while ago, so I simply made a gesture of spraying a can under my arms to the shop assistant, and she pointed me in the right direction. Also, I’ve used this in conversations with people when I don’t know the word in Spanish. For instance, to signify driving, or eating etc. Some things are very easy to act out in order to communicate what you want to say. However, even still, sometimes you can’t act out or point at what you want or are trying to communicate like this. To give you an example, my friend had to go to the pharmacy to ask for the morning after pill, after a slip up during the night before, but how to you ask for that when you can’t speak the language?? None of the pharmacists spoke English, and her attempt at asking for it in Spanish didn’t seem to commute. After all, the gesture of taking a pill doesn’t signify exactly what pill you’re after. After many gestures on her part at acting it out, and many funny looks from the people in the pharmacy, one of the staff managed to click on to what she was asking for. This was after going into 6 different pharmacies!
Find a translator
This is the lazy mans option, but sometimes if you need to communicate something really important, like at a police station or for something medical, then sometimes it’s just best to find someone to translate from your hostel, hotel, a friend, or even a paid translator if it’s something absolutely necessary and urgent. I’ve been very lucky in Sevilla, in that although almost nobody outside of the hostel I stayed at spoke English, everyone inside it did. I made good friends with the staff there before I left, so on occasion when I need to do something which requires speaking a lot of complicated Spanish, and that is important, then I can pop back and ask my friends to help out. This has been great for things like when I was viewing flats, or translating some important documents.
Nodding and smiling!
I don’t know if its just me, but I get a lot of people coming up to me in the streets most places I go to who just want to chat. It’s usually old people, or people out on their own passing by, and not wanting to be rude and interrupt with the “sorry, I don’t understand, do you speak English” etc etc, I usually just nod and smile! In most cases they are just making a general remark about the weather, the bus being late, or something else which doesn’t actually require a response back. Just some sort of gesture to show that you’ve been listening. Occasionally they will be asking you a question, and in these instances they just look at you a bit strange when you just stand there nodding, followed by them usually walking off, but in many occasions you can just get by with a reassuring smile, a “hmm”, and a nod!
Becoming a yes person!
Particularly when I first came to Sevilla, I really had no idea what people were saying. I didn’t know any Spanish, and even when I first started to learn, the accent here is so strong it was sometimes hard to understand for someone new to the language. On many occasions I would be asked a question in Spanish, for instance after ordering in a restaurant, or in a shop, and rather than stop and ask them to repeat slowly, or explain that I couldn’t speak much Spanish yet, I discovered that on most occasions it was a yes or no answer! Usually it was someone just clarifying what I had ordered, or asking if I wanted <insert food or drink related item> extra with my dinner. I decided to cut time I would could just answer yes or no to whatever question it was they asked. I’ve always been a yes person rather than a no person in life, so every question I would just answer “si” and see how it panned out. On most occasions nothing would really happen, although occasionally I’ve been given something I didn’t order, or I’ve upgraded to first class on a train and not realised until after I checked the ticket price! It does sometimes lead to variable results, but usually it helps cut time for me, and it can be fun sometimes to see what you end up with!
Like any place where you may find there is a language barrier, learning the language is always the best solution. The above tips are really just meant for those early days where you are just beginning to learn the language, or where you may only be in a country for a number of days. Speaking to people in the local language is always the best thing to do, as aside from it being common courtesy when you are in someone elses’ country, the local people are also usually more responsive to it too. I laugh at some of the ways I’ve communicated with the people here in Spain, and also in many other countries too, but sometimes you just don’t have a choice until you can pick up more of the local language. In a way though, I sometimes feel going through the struggles of a language barrier sort of adds to the experience of travel too. For me, it has also made me appreciate how difficult it may be for foreign people coming to my own country, and not being able to speak the language. I now know how hard it can be for them, and will always try to take more time to help them out.
I’ve been learning Spanish now in Spain for around 2 weeks. Officially, I’ve actually been in the country for around 2 months travelling around, but it’s only really that last 2 weeks where I’ve actually sat down, started on a course, and if I’m being really honest actually tried! Already I have learnt so much more than I did in the previous 6 weeks, that I do feel ashamed for having been this slow. Nevertheless, I have picked up a lot of priceless tips already, which in hindsight, could have helped me learn a lot more Spanish than I currently know already if I had just had started from day 1.
Motivation
What I have quickly learned is that with learning any language, the key to success stems very much so from how much motivation you have. Back when I was a high school kid I “studied” French. After 2 years of classes I have come away with being able to say about 5 sentences, and a handful of words. In 2 weeks teaching myself Spanish in Spain, I already know more than that. The difference is that right now I WANT to study Spanish. Back in high school, I really did not want to be in French class. The repetitiveness of going over and over words until they sink in, is probably the hardest part of staying motivated for me personally. Even more frustrating is that sometimes, even when you go over a word or sentence a dozen times, the next day when you try to use it you still may forget it! Other times however, just saying it once makes it stick. It really makes no sense to me sometimes how the memory works, but it’s something everyone has to go through when learning a foreign language.
For me, the best ways to try stay motivated are a) make sure you take lot’s of well timed breaks (so you don’t burn out), b) remind yourself constantly of why you’re wanting to learn a language, and c) put yourself in a position where you will be forced to learn! Not being able to communicate what you need is a big motivation to learn because it becomes a necessity for your daily life!
Start practicing with native speakers right away
As soon as you start using the language you will get better right away. For a start, if you’re speaking to native speakers then your pronunciation will become much better as you get used to listening to the way they talk, and also they can help you when you pronounce something wrong too. I have also found that by getting out there and speaking Spanish, I remember the words I have spoken more easily the next time I have to use them. Where I may have to pause and think of a word or phrase in the past, the more I talk to people, the more it comes faster to me. I hope that eventually it will become like second nature, but how long that will take who knows..
Test your knowledge constantly
For the most part, I am teaching myself Spanish, in conjunction with an online video based course. Unlike in a classroom environment where you teacher will give you little tests to check up on your knowledge, I don’t have that, and therefore have to find ways to gauge how fast I am picking things up. One thing I do that has proved very useful is that each day, whenever I find a book, magazine, sign, poster, or anything with Spanish words on it, I try to read it. If I can read and understand it, or at least understand the basic gist of it, then I know I’m doing ok. If however, there are a lot of words I don’t understand, then I write them down, take them home, and look them up. The next day I try to read the piece again without my notes and see how much I can understand. For me personally, it has proved to be a good way of learning, as I can read so much more now in Spanish in just a few weeks than I could before.
Don’t worry about mistakes
The first 3 or 4 days I was here I didn’t attempt to speak to anyone in Spanish. Even my friends who speak Spanish, I was too under confident to speak to them as I thought I would make too many mistakes, wouldn’t know the right words, or they just wouldn’t be able to understand me. This was silly as when I make mistakes they are the first people to help me. Also, provided people can understand the gist of what you are saying, they don’t care so much about grammatical errors etc, and can appreciate that you are clearly new to learning the language. So many people it seems lack confidence at first when trying to speak a foreign language, but if you get it wrong so what? What’s the worst that can happen?
Go somewhere with no English speakers!
I made this mistake upon arrival, and that was to stay in a hostel. Everyone in my hostel spoke fluent English, and it became so easy to just speak in my native tongue, that it wasn’t until I moved out 2 weeks ago that I really consider the start of me learning Spanish. I’ve been fortunate in that I chose the city of Seville as my place to study Spanish. The reason for this is that the local people of Seville speak very little English, if any at all. Even the doctors don’t speak it. I had to go for a doctors appointment here when i first arrived, and found it almost impossible to communicate what I needed to. This was a huge motivation to learn Spanish faster as it really became a necessity. In bigger cities, or places that attract tourists, you may find it harder to learn the local language as you just don’t need it. It is possible to get by on English alone in most big cities around the world. The most important thing you could do in my experience so far is to find somewhere that your native language is not spoken.
I’ll be chronicling my experiences of learning a foreign language in future posts, but if anyone has some tips or thoughts they would like to add please do share them in the comments fields. Aside from adding to the article, I would also just be interested for myself! 
Before you read this post you may want to read “what’s involved in a TEFL Course”.
I recently took part in 2 TEFL courses, one of which was based completely in the classroom, and the other online. I wanted to compare the difference between the two, as there were many advertised online, as well as some conflicting advice dotted all about the internet on which type of course was better or actually needed. Below is a comparison of the two based on my own experiences, which hopefully should make the process easier for anyone else thinking of taking a TEFL course.
Pro’s of taking an “in the classroom” based course
One of the most important benefactors of taking a course based completely in the classroom, was for me, the fact that you actually got some hands on experience taking a class like you would if you were actually teaching. This is something which I can not emphasise enough, as particularly with someone who has no prior teaching experience; it allows you to get any first time nerves out the way, without any repercussions you may have in an actual job. Also, you go through the whole process of planning the lesson, right through to actually executing it, teaching students, and finding out first hand what works and what doesn’t. Your course tutor and your fellow classmates can then give you feedback on how they think you did, how you can improve, and also letting you know what worked well. Each day that you are in the course, you also go through the process as if you were the student learning English too, as you course tutor takes you through a typical class for every level of English. This then also offers you a first hand example of how a class should be taken, and also allows you to see how certain techniques work particularly well. For me, unless you have specifically taught English or another language before, this is a really a process you shouldn’t go without, and for that reason I found the “in the classroom” based course to be particularly positive. Other added benefits however are the friends you make in the class itself, and also the fact that it is a more enjoyable atmosphere to learn in, a apposed to staring at a computer all on your own.
Cons of taking an “in the classroom based course
The one main con of taking a course such as this is by far and away the price that most of them cost. To take a 4 week CELTA course, which is the most recognised of the courses, can cost in the region of £900 – £1200 (approx $1411 – $1881, or 1084 – 1442 Euros at the current exchange rate). For any budget traveller that is a huge amount of money, yet it is travellers they are aimed at as they are the ones who are willing to relocate at the drop of a hat. There is also the downside of people having to take time off work in order to complete the course, which is unrealistic for a lot of people. The company I went with, TEFL Scotland, offer courses much cheaper, anything from £60 – 375, which is much more affordable, but with that you get much less days in the classroom as you would with a CELTA course. This makes it easier to fit in with your lifestyle, but then provides you with much less experience to show to employers. Either way, if you can afford to take an in the classroom based course I would highly recommend it, regardless of which company or certifier you choose to go with.
Pros of taking an online course
The online course has obvious advantages in that you can do it from home, at your own pace, and it usually a lot cheaper as there are fewer resources provided by your course provider. In my opinion, I think the online course can act as a great buffer, or addition to another course, especially when it comes to increasing your confidence in general.
Cons of taking an online course
Before I started my online course, I knew that it would not be able to cover areas like the classroom based course did, however what I did think was that it would be a good way to learn all the grammar, teaching terminology, and go over the planning aspect of everything in more detail. Unfortunately this was not the case, and I was left very disappointed with the online course, after what was an insightful and fun experience in the classroom. For a start, there were many technical faults with the programme I was using online. This may have been just bad luck on my part, but so many times it clicked through an answer I had not picked, did things like make every available answer in multi choice come up wrong, or just completely crash. This happened several times, on different computers, on various occasions, with different internet supplies. What was more disappointing however was when I contacted my course provider by email about this, I did not receive a response on any of the 3 occasions I sent them an email. In the end I decided not to continue with the course, and I have yet to hear from them almost 2 weeks on from when I left my last message. This does not mean to say you will have the same problem with your course provider, as they are all different, but unless a system is full proof – which nothing ever is, then you may end up feeling completely frustrated like I did, so be sure to check what kind of system they use for the online course, what feedback they have received, and how many years it has been running. Also, when there were questions I had relating to grammar for instance, you would have to wait a few days for a response, as apposed to in a classroom where your tutor would be able to answer you immediately. Also, sometimes it’s a lot harder to explain something in an email, than just to show someone in your class or explain to your teacher, something which you do not have the benefit of on an online course. I found a lot of time, that if I had a simple question needing answered, I would have to wait several days for someone to get back to me, which meant delaying the course for that period untill you got an answer. Aside from that, I found the online course to be nowhere near as engaging as the classroom based course, and there was nothing in it that provided you with any teaching experience, which is after all, what employers are looking for!
If I had to pick between the two, it’s probably obvious by now that I would go for the classroom based course. For a start, it’s a much more engaging way to learn, and therefore you will pick up things a lot better. Aside from that however, you actually get teaching experience, and you experience a class and a variety of teaching techniques and activities first hand. The online course may be a good way to build confidence in you knowledge of grammar and so on, assuming you are not plagued with technical faults like I did on my course. Nothing however beats that real experience, and also the fact you can bounce questions of your tutor quickly, and receive feedback based on your actual teaching ability.
Today’s guest post is by Honor Baldry, editor of i-to-i’s TEFL Community Chalkboard. As well as being editor of i-to-i, Honor is an experienced EFL teacher, having taught to University students in China. You can also download i-to-i’s free ebook TEFL Uncovered: How To Teach Your Way Abroad With TEFL here.
If you believe what you read on the internet, teaching abroad is the easiest thing ever – there’s huge demand for English teachers, you speak English… how hard can it be? Well, pretty tricky actually. So, to help you on your way, here are a few insider tips and tricks to make sure you’re a big hit in the classroom.
1) Keep quiet
No one ever learnt how to drive by watching their instructor cruise round the neighbourhood. Similarly, no one ever learnt how to speak English by listening to their teacher bore on for hours. You need to give your students as much time as possible to practise their own English. With a bit of guidance and a few nudges in the right direction now and then you’ll soon see them growing in confidence and ability.
2) Check the small print
This isn’t so much to do with your teaching skills, but preserving your sanity. It’s always really important to check the job conditions to avoid spending your entire time abroad running English corners. Check how many contact hours you’ll have, how much preparation and marking you’ll have to do, whether you’ll be doing split shifts, what holidays you’re entitled to and whether you’ll be expected to get involved in extra-curricular activities.
3) Be neat
This one is a bit of a no-brainer, but employers in most of the major TEFL destinations (China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea) place a massive premium on teachers looking neat, shiny and presentable. You’ll find your students (and manager) are much more willing to take you seriously if you don’t look like you’ve crawled out of some smelly backpacker’s hostel.
4) Take a TEFL course
I tried, and failed, to teach English in China without doing a TEFL course first – I had no idea what I was doing, lost all control of my students and generally didn’t manage to teach them very much. Since starting at i-to-i, I’ve taken a TEFL course and had something of a light bulb “ahh, so that’s what I was meant to be doing” moment! You don’t need to go the whole hog and do a 4-week CELTA course – there are loads of online and combined (online plus a bit of classroom learning) courses out there that will give you a good idea of what to do in the classroom and give you access to the better TEFL jobs out there.
5) Look out for local customs
Did you know that writing a South Korean person’s name in red is a big no-no?
“On writing the kids names on the board with a red marker, to my surprise, Candy my best student, erupted into convulsions! I exaggerate not! According to my other students I had wished death and bad luck upon her!”
Every country has different quirks and customs. Ask some of the local teachers at your school what they are and ignore them at your peril!
6) Stick to the rules
One of the best ways to keep control of your students is to split them into teams and have a points system – it motivates them to do well and fear of losing points for their teammates generally keeps the little blighters in check. But, woe betide the teacher who forgets or bends the point system rules – you face all out mutiny!
7) Don’t take it too seriously!
The first few weeks of teaching are pretty hard – the mix of a new job, a new country and a whole load of new students is a recipe for feeling overwhelmed. When it all feels too much though, relax, play a few games with your students, go out for some beers with your colleagues… after all, it’s meant to be fun!
Are you teaching abroad at the minute – what are the secrets to your success?
Whether you are a backpacker, flash packer, RTW traveller, or doing any other style of long term travel, funding your trip is always going to be something you have to think about. These days it seems, one of the best ways to do this is by teaching English as a foreign language abroad. There are so many benefits involved in this for any traveller out there. For a start, you actually get to live and work in a country, allowing you to really get to know it from a local’s perspective. In most cases you also get a good paying job, and low cost of living expenses (depending on which country you pick), therefore giving you the ability to save for your next trip without having to go home!
One thing however, that prevents many people from becoming a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher, is they either don’t think they would have the right qualifications needed for such a job, or are confused about which one’s to take. It is for this reason that I decided to complete a TEFL course myself. I wanted to find out exactly what qualifications where actually needed, what the course was like, and how easy it would be to then find a job overseas Teaching English. Also, there are many different types of courses, including some which are “in the classroom” training, and some which are online, or a mixture of both. I decided to go with TEFL Scotland as my choice of certifier.
TEFL Scotland for those who don’t know, are a fully accredited and international recognised TEFL provider. By the name, you have probably guessed that they are based in Scotland, however one thing I liked about them was that it was possible to take a course even if you didn’t live anywhere near Scotland. They offer a combination of both in the classroom and online learning. Even if you are not based in Scotland, you can still do an online course with them from anywhere in the world or you could even make a trip out of it, and come do one of their weekend courses where you get the in the classroom experience many employers are looking for. Another reason why I chose to go with them was that they are also on of the most affordable, with courses ranging from £60 – £350. They also have many jobs listed within their website for TEFL Scotland graduates all around the world with some of their sister colleges.
The course I took covered a variety of topics. Everything from classroom techniques, activities, what seating plans work best, how to gauge the ability of your class, English grammar, visual aids, teaching theory, good teaching resources, and a host of other things… I went into it thinking it would be really hard to teach someone English without me being able to speak their language, but I came out realising how remarkably easy it could be if you apply a few certain techniques, activities, and teaching skills. Probably the most valuable aspect of doing an in the classroom type class (as apposed to all online) was that you actually got to take a class as though you would in a real teaching job. Having to actually get up and teach something got rid of any first time nerves that may have cropped up in your first teaching job, and also showed you that with proper planning, teaching English can be fairly straight forward, and also fun! It also allowed the teacher and other classmates to critique you and give feedback before you started teaching real students, and allowed you to fix any glaring mistakes, or make improvements.
Overall I found taking a TEFL course very rewarding. I may have been lucky, as our TEFL course teacher Rachael was excellent! However, the course covered so many topics, and showed me that teaching English is much more in depth than I thought, but also something that is very doable.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need to take a TEFL course to get a job teaching English. There are many people who get teaching jobs without one however it does definitely help when getting a better paid TEFL job. More importantly however, it really does help prepare you for the job. After my course at TEFL Scotland I have since decided to top up my knowledge with a short online course to get me up to the 100 hours that a lot of TEFL employers are looking for. I will be comparing the two on here, and detailing how successful I found attaining a teaching English job afterwards. One of the major problems I found before picking my TEFL course provider and course was being able to determine what course was best for me. Hopefully in me continuing to document the process on here it may help you or anyone else interested in TEFL to pick the right course for them.
This will be a 4 part post on RunawayJane.com, so be sure to sign up to my RSS feed if you are interested in finding out the results, or in doing something similar. You can also find out more about courses at TEFL Scotland in particular by clicking here.
