Teaching with LELI in East Timor - A diverse, enriching and inspiring experience

For the past twelve years, I’ve had the privilege of working at Lorosa'e English Language Institute (LELI) in the vibrant capital of Timor-Leste, Dili, East Timor. More than just a workplace, LELI has become a second home - a supportive community where I feel welcome and valued every single day.LELI is a warm and inviting place from the moment you step through the doors. The reception area is bright and welcoming, and our friendly staff greet everyone with genuine smiles, setting a positive tone that carries through the whole building...

Read more

New teacher abroad? Six vital teaching tips

As one term finishes and before we start the next, it's a nice time to reflect on not only the year just completed but also one's career to-date. After seven years of teaching English in five countries I can certainly say I've had a journey, and in the process learnt a lot about myself, the classroom, the English language itself and what it really takes to teach it effectively. Here are six tips which I hope will help encourage and guide anyone preparing to embark on their first trip abroad to teach English as a Foreign language or for anyone more experienced...

Read more

Protecting your mental health throughout Summer School Teaching

It’s that time of year, a heady June, in which summer contracts start to arrive and EFL teachers get ready for their annual summer school across the UK, and beyond. With English summer schools being an extremely popular and busy time of year, and for many, the most prosperous annual work assignment for EFL Teachers, it can also be extremely demanding both mentally and physically...

Read more

Academic Management and Teacher Satisfaction: What makes a school a rewarding place to work for?

A lot of online articles in the TEFL sphere are focused on teacher tips, classroom technology, finding happiness as a teacher abroad and so on. I want to consider the question of teacher satisfaction from a different angle, that of management. In my 5 years of experience, it’s the quality and style of management that makes the biggest difference in terms of how well a school is run, and how rewarding the job is for teachers. I’ll draw from my own experiences, while outlining some of the core management challenges which apply to TEFL, and specifically how...

Read more

Teaching English after lockdown, exploring our options in a changing world

A big hello to my fellow teachers across the world wherever you may be. The TEFL.com forum has certainly been a godsend to me while we have all been in lockdown and your inspiring comments and messages have kept me going in this strange and unprecedented period, as many of us were abroad and facing the strangest situation some of us may have ever encountered. I don't think any of us could have predicted the speed...

Read more

Online Teaching: The Digital Nomad

Adventure, new cultures, and our students, these are my favorite parts about being an EFL teacher. The opportunity to meet students from all cultures and engage with them in a way that most people don’t get to is by far what keeps me working in this exciting field. For me, becoming a foreign language teacher was to do just that, move to a foreign country learn about the culture and meet people. I had been a teacher in my own country, but the opportunity for some adventure was the greatest allure. Now, as I have started doing the majority of my teaching online, I often get asked – so can you teach from anywhere? And the short answer is yes. I can teach from anywhere, but there are some things...

Read more

Marketing yourself as an Online Teacher

Once you’ve made the leap from the physical to the online classroom, you will play a greater role in attracting new students for yourself. The competition online is stiff, so you will have to put lots of effort upfront to ensure that you are a credible, and a serious teacher. Many people are still skeptical of the quality of the online classroom, so be sure to bring legitimacy to what you are...

Read more

Work-Life Balance in TEFL

It's hard to disagree that everything works best in equilibrium. The growing popularity of ideas such as slow living, mindfulness and hygge suggests that the world has finally woken up to the fact that one needs more in life than work. According to Alex Clark, a researcher from Edmond University in Canada “We need to stop seeing hobbies and work as zero-sum games”, a view that is supported by the findings of  the Corporate Executive Board in the USA, which show that “Employees who believe that they have a good work life balance are 21% more productive”. Clearly, achieving equilibrium between work and private life ought to be win-win for everyone. For a teacher this means having the energy and motivation to work, getting new ideas and being full of enthusiasm in class. This in turn gives students...

Read more