Hello everyone,
I'm going abroad for the first time and will be a volunteer English Teacher for a language institute in Bolivia for 3 months. I just graduated with a Bachelor's in English Literature with a minor in Spanish, and I've worked for 3 years as a Writing Tutor at my university's Writing Center. The problem is that I've never taught English as a Second Language; some of the students I tutored were ESL students, but they were advanced and I didn't work extensively with them. Because I don't have TESOL certification yet and I want to get my feet wet to determine whether or not I want to pursue TESOL as a career, I decided to volunteer rather than obtain a paid position. I will be teaching adolescents in a formal classroom setting alongside a Bolivian teacher. I do not know the students' capabilities in English yet, and I have no idea how to construct lesson plans. Are there books or other resources that you would recommend for individuals like me who are just entering the field of TESOL? I'm feeling overwhelmed right now. I understand everyone has to start somewhere, but I don't even know where to begin. I also welcome any personal experiences related to my situation. Thanks in advance.
I would normally tell people to avoid short online courses (no in-depth training, no classroom experience, rarely recognised by language schools etc) but... as you've already gone ahead and found a teaching position, it may be the best (if not, the only) way for you to get a crash course in TEFL teaching. Writing and literature qualifications are great... but probably useless when it comes to teaching a class of pre-intermediate teenagers how to use the present perfect.
Get hold of a good grammar book (Murphy' English Grammar in Use was a bit of TEFL bible) and study it.
Presumably, if you are working alongside a teacher, you will not be producing lesson plans, just assisting the students and correcting them. Bear in mind you will not just be correcting but telling them WHY something is wrong - hence the need for grammar.
I also found the "Five Minute Activities" book really useful - great for fillers when the students get tired, and you can expand them into longer exercises if needed.
Find out as much as you can about the students and courses before you go - their level, age, how much you are expected to do in the classroom. Suerte!
You don't say when you're actually leaving, so if you have time (min. 1 month) beforehand, contact your local literacy organization, library, etc. Find out if there are ways you can volunteer locally to help foreigners/immigrants with their English. If you can, this will give you a good idea of what you'll encounter and how it is to teach English. If you can't, then do remember that you're volunteering, so you can only do your best (which is what they expect from you as a volunteer).
Murphy produces good books as does Betty Azar. As for activities, there are a million sites out there, some with free activities. A good site to check out is: iteslj.com
Assume you'll be a teacher's aide or teaching assistant and should not have to prepare lesson plans. I too recommend Penny Ur's book "5-minute activities". Cut out magazine pictures to make flash cards and conversation starters. Print out enlargements of your favourite photos eg of your kitchen, bedroom etc; of supermarkets, street scenes etc. I collected pictures of different people - different hair colour; beards, glasses etc to practice vocabulary. I pasted pictures from supermarket shopping catalogues onto cardsto play shopping games: "I want a loaf of bread", a kilo of apples etc.
Any big book shop in a main centre, will probably have a section on EFL. Have a browse in the books, to get an idea of what is deemed as typical for a lesson plan - to get an idea on how to break an hour long lesson into sections, mostly. Apart fro that, I agree - have a good grammar book with you so that you can learn the reasons behind the language we take for granted ( EFL Students will often have a better grasp on English grammar, then we have) and be prepared with visuals for games and interactive activities. ( newspaper pictures obtained locally are always pertinent.)
Wow, all of this is great advice. I've ordered a used copy of Murphy's English Grammar as well as 5 minute activities. I have well over a month before I leave, so I contacted my local Adult Education center and hopefully I can shadow one of the ESL instructors there. That would be the most valuable resource right now. Thank you for the advice!
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