ESL teaching was something that I found interesting but immediately dismissed as an option because there was no money in it and the good opportunities were abroad (although this was the basis of the appeal). Many of my friends had done it and had the time of their lives. So I was faced with the dilemma. Do I stay in the rut that I had dug myself or sign up to an online TEFL course that would be the start of something new. I choose the later. I signed up to i-to-i's TEFL online course and weekend taster. The weekend taster was an eye-opening experience where I was put on the spot a few times and was quite nervous when I had to give my own lesson. I also became dedicated to my online course treating it as if I was a university student again. While I was doing my course, I found work where the hours were from 3pm to 10pm so I did my prep and lesson work during the day. When I finally passed the course, I set about looking for ESL jobs abroad. I had a few interviews lined up in October and November for schools in Spain,China and Indonesia. Spain appealed to me because it was closer to home but the drawback of not making a lot of money quickly dawned on me and with China I was not in love with the city - Harbin which was not my first choice - as it was famous for its awful winters was a resounding hell-no! So that left me with Indonesia, admittedly it did not feel like an interview just a just with a nice old man. In the end the nice old man offered me a job and agreed to come at the end of January. The rest is of course, history.
I threw myself into the role and relished the challenge that greeted me everyday when working for a franchised language school. By throwing myself into the role, I had to adapt to certain situations that frequently occurred throughout my tenure and in that I learnt a great deal about myself. One of the things I had to deal with were my students' tardiness and lack of attendance.This had an affect on my carefully laid lesson plans as I had to switch things up in the way of activities and ideas to do with limited number of students, this would work most of times as I had ideas but sometimes did not come off as well as I had hoped.The thing that remained though was that I maintained Therefore, I was surprised at how flexible and creative I was in my approach in teaching, this creativity manifested itself in some fun lesson like the one where I introduced the game of Pictionary for a production activity on modal verbs with my elementary pre-teens or using flashcards as my sole resource in a Beginner Business English class for different presentation and practice games and activities in learning office vocabulary. I was shocked at how well my moments of ingenuity turned out. I suppose I always had it in me.
I enjoyed teaching younger learners ( age 10 and under) because the classes were easier to plan and my students; were for the most part, willing and enthusiastic participants oh and not to mention stupidly adorable! These classes required a lot of energy and patience (qualities I thought I lost in my years as an admin worker) plus a love for children. I also had great time sharing my 'inner child' with them by playing ring games and singing songs from my childhood in Jamaica all in the name of learning English. Being around children made realize my latent desire at some point in my life that I want to be a mother. Doc and I have always talked about our future and getting married and starting a family are definitely on the cards. So watch this space perhaps the next adventure I'll be on is one down the aisle and starting a little brown tribe with Doc. But I digress, working with younger learners has made me realize that working with children is an option for whatever path I choose in the near future.
ESL teaching also allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills. I became friendly with of course my fellow teachers but most importantly the local staff and students. While it was great to have stuff in common with fellow teachers, it was my conversations with students and local staff I enjoyed. Why you wonder? Because we exchanged and compared life growing up in different countries and cultures which helped me gage a new perspective on how life is for Indonesians. Many of the members of the staff were not born and bred Jakartans, they came from all corners of Indonesia to make a life for themselves. I could relate to their struggles as this was how life was for my family and friends in Jamaica having to leave their lives in their villages to live and work in Kingston, Jamaica's equivalent to Jakarta.,same could be said for London as most of my friends headed there for work after university. Some of the stories I heard both astounded and shocked me in some respects but the beauty of meeting new people is that you become more sensitive and less judgemental towards the circumstances of others.
My year in Indonesia has taught me a lot about myself as a person. I realized that I am a far more empathetic than I thought. I can be a cynical cow most times; however, by allowing myself to be sensitive to those around me as this helped me get to know people and their needs which made me a better teacher. I also found that when necessary I can be creative which will keep in good stead in whatever I choose as a career path. I always felt that my creative juices were stifled due to my years doing routine desk jobs but now I have found a new confidence of not being afraid to allow my creative juices to flow. I am sure that this experience has helped me grow as a person and will keep in good stead in whatever path I choose.
This is my last post as Chocolate Bule. Thank you so much for following and random ramblings. I hope you enjoyed it! Watch this space as I will return.
I enjoyed teaching younger learners ( age 10 and under) because the classes were easier to plan and my students; were for the most part, willing and enthusiastic participants oh and not to mention stupidly adorable! These classes required a lot of energy and patience (qualities I thought I lost in my years as an admin worker) plus a love for children. I also had great time sharing my 'inner child' with them by playing ring games and singing songs from my childhood in Jamaica all in the name of learning English. Being around children made realize my latent desire at some point in my life that I want to be a mother. Doc and I have always talked about our future and getting married and starting a family are definitely on the cards. So watch this space perhaps the next adventure I'll be on is one down the aisle and starting a little brown tribe with Doc. But I digress, working with younger learners has made me realize that working with children is an option for whatever path I choose in the near future.
ESL teaching also allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills. I became friendly with of course my fellow teachers but most importantly the local staff and students. While it was great to have stuff in common with fellow teachers, it was my conversations with students and local staff I enjoyed. Why you wonder? Because we exchanged and compared life growing up in different countries and cultures which helped me gage a new perspective on how life is for Indonesians. Many of the members of the staff were not born and bred Jakartans, they came from all corners of Indonesia to make a life for themselves. I could relate to their struggles as this was how life was for my family and friends in Jamaica having to leave their lives in their villages to live and work in Kingston, Jamaica's equivalent to Jakarta.,same could be said for London as most of my friends headed there for work after university. Some of the stories I heard both astounded and shocked me in some respects but the beauty of meeting new people is that you become more sensitive and less judgemental towards the circumstances of others.
My year in Indonesia has taught me a lot about myself as a person. I realized that I am a far more empathetic than I thought. I can be a cynical cow most times; however, by allowing myself to be sensitive to those around me as this helped me get to know people and their needs which made me a better teacher. I also found that when necessary I can be creative which will keep in good stead in whatever I choose as a career path. I always felt that my creative juices were stifled due to my years doing routine desk jobs but now I have found a new confidence of not being afraid to allow my creative juices to flow. I am sure that this experience has helped me grow as a person and will keep in good stead in whatever path I choose.
This is my last post as Chocolate Bule. Thank you so much for following and random ramblings. I hope you enjoyed it! Watch this space as I will return.
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