April 27, 2006
Living on a Budget – Extra Sources of Income
Dear Readers,
Let’s face it, few people go into ESL to make money, but when you’re being paid a pittance by your academy to work your socks off, you might start wondering why you didn’t choose a more lucrative career.
So why not think of alternative sources of income to top-up your pay? For most teachers this may mean taking private classes, an unpredictable venture at the best of times, and one that could get you in trouble with your employer if your visa depends on their sponsorship . . .
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Posted by ESL Lesson Plan at 06:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (4)
April 25, 2006
Jobs - Obtaining a Working Visa for Japan
Teachers,
How do I get a working visa for Japan? It's probably not as complicated as you think. Generally, the majority of teachers come to Japan with programs like JET or with an eikaiwa or English Conversation School who will walk you through the steps and oversee the process. But for others, here are a few things you need to know . . .
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Posted by ESL Lesson Plan at 09:01 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
March 11, 2006
Living on a Budget – Free Movie Rentals?
Readers,
Living abroad? On a budget? Love to watch movies or read? Spend too much money on entertainment (a standard movie ticket in Japan is approximately $17 US!)? It’s time to checkout your local library!
Ok, so maybe this seems like pointing out the obvious, but I’ll tell ya, though I like to think I’m pretty quick, it took me a few months living in Japan before learning about the library and I couldn’t have been more surprised! Not only did I not expect English language movies and magazines, but the book selection was pretty impressive! To get a . . .
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Posted by ESL Lesson Plan at 08:10 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (1)
March 01, 2006
Life - The Spring Doldrums: Staying on Track
Hi all,
For many of us, March signifies that the spring semester is into full swing and the schoolyear is more than half over...Tired yet?
Here in Japan, the schoolyear actually begins in April, and so I'm actually on vacation...Jealous yet?
Yes, it's true, I'm on vacation, though I'm not exactly lounging poolside with a cocktail, not yet anyhow. For those of you who are looking for a rush of energy and renewed enthusiasm, I dedicate this post on the ever-evolving ESL-Lesson-Plan Blog to "staying on track" during what some people often refer to as the spring doldrums . . .
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Posted by ESL Lesson Plan at 01:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (3)
January 21, 2006
ESL Life - When ESL Teaching Gets Lampooned!
It seems true, based on the numbers of self-important ESL websites out there, that we belong to an extremely "proud" and apologetic profession, always en garde to defend our raison d’être. However, as ESL instructors, do we sometimes take ourselves too seriously?
Sorry, but I just can't help but shout out a good laugh after discovering this new parody website about the ESL career-field. I don't mind laughing at myself, but I realize that some people find it painful to examine themselves critically.
Continue reading "ESL Life - When ESL Teaching Gets Lampooned!"
Posted by msimmons at 03:58 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (1)
December 11, 2005
Teaching ESL WITHOUT An Employer
"Early to bed, early to rise. Work like hell and advertise." ~Ted Turner
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Posted by lhobbs at 11:06 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack (2)
November 29, 2005
Workplace Issues - A Dystopian Future for ESL?
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future." ~ George Orwell
Hello readers,
Any science-fiction fans out there? Ok, forget Orwell's thought-police and NewSpeak for the time being.
In Ridley Scott's bleak film Blade Runner, the futuristic world society of planet Earth has evolved into one with a distinctly Asian cultural flavor. In the short-lived television series Firefly, the future is one where the English language has become synthesized, to certain degree, with the Chinese language (especially for profanity). In the also discontinued series prequel to Star Trek, Enterprise, a multicultural crew of near-future Earth denizens (who routinely speak English) frequently employ the services of their star linguist in an attempt to communicate with the "other" (who are not interested in the English language in the least). So, even in fiction, it seems, Western civilization critiques its own history with linguistic imperialism.
It comes as no real surprise then that . . .
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Posted by lhobbs at 03:49 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (3)
November 20, 2005
ESL Italian Style
"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." ~Anna Akhmatova
Continue reading "ESL Italian Style"
Posted by lhobbs at 11:56 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (2)
November 11, 2005
Teaching Spots - Zakopane, Poland
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~ Annie Dillard
A Slavic Garden of Eden & A Winter Wonderland
Fresh, homemade cheeses sold from baskets on the street, colorful costumes and energetic, country dancing. Horse-drawn buggies, honey vodkas and mushroom picking in the forest. Long, scenic hikes with breathtaking views and mountaintop taverns with locally made brews. Friendly faces, Belgian waffles and fresh, fruit-filled crepes around every corner.
Dear readers,
This is my picture to you of . . .
Continue reading "Teaching Spots - Zakopane, Poland"
Posted by lhobbs at 10:22 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (1)
November 09, 2005
ESL Classroom Observations
"This inescapable duty to observe oneself: if someone else is observing me, naturally I have to observe myself too; if none observe me, I have to observe myself all the closer." ~ Franz Kafka
Continue reading "ESL Classroom Observations"
Posted by lhobbs at 03:33 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (3)
September 01, 2005
English Language Teachers: In Debt? Snowball It!
It’s not too difficult to rack up huge credit card bills on a teacher’s salary, and if you’re in this position, you are likely desperate to get them all paid off!
Continue reading "English Language Teachers: In Debt? Snowball It!"
Posted by msimmons at 08:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (1)
August 30, 2005
Time to Begin Again
Hello everyone!
Well...it's back to school time. Most of us are already deep into our lesson plans, smelling the fresh pages of those new textbooks and getting to know our students. As I faced each of my new classes this week, I was struck by how it's so easy to determine what each of the students will turn out to be like. There are the typical over-achievers, the slackers, the ones who think they know more about English than the teacher, and of course, the class clowns.
Don't you just love them all?
Continue reading "Time to Begin Again"
Posted by msimmons at 05:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
August 29, 2005
Teaching Spots - Terrazas, Spanish and Running of the Bulls
Hello everyone!
Are you looking for a teaching location that’s as wild as the wind, as unpredictable as it gets, and requires a certain “Pizzazz” just to get along? Then maybe you should take a look at Spain.
Madrid, the capitol of Spain, is one of the teaching hotspots, but most people who have been there agree that not just anyone will make it there. To be a successful ESL teacher in Madrid, you’ll have to . . .
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Posted by msimmons at 12:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (1)
August 24, 2005
Avoiding the Scams
Hello everyone!
Do you often think that the postings for jobs you see are too good to be true? Unfortunately, not everyone in the ESL business is on the up and up, and more and teachers are wondering how they can find a position in a foreign land without falling victim to one of the scams.
Continue reading "Avoiding the Scams"
Posted by msimmons at 07:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
August 18, 2005
Single Teacher...With Kids?
Hello everyone!
How many of you dream of living in another country, but don't think you can because you have children?
After all, it’s common to hear about single ESL teachers traveling the globe and getting to experience all sorts of new cultures, tastes and lifestyles. But what if that single teacher has a kid?
Continue reading "Single Teacher...With Kids?"
Posted by msimmons at 07:16 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
August 14, 2005
Make That Teacher's Salary Stretch!
Hello everyone!
Okay, so you won’t become a millionaire teaching ESL, but it is possible to stash a few of those dollars away! As with any type of employment, the secret it to learn how to live comfortably on your salary—or better yet, on less than. Here are a few tips to make sure that your savings account isn’t closed due to inactivity!
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Posted by msimmons at 07:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
August 01, 2005
How Much Free Time Do You Have?
Good Monday morning everyone!
As I was going over this weekend's comments, I came across this one posted by Kenneth, and it raised some serious questions in my mind. (Hello Kenneth!)
"When I go to a new job, I'm afraid there's no time to sit in cafes drinking coffee and eating food because all my spare time is taken up preparing for my classes. If it's a year long course then it will take me one year to prepare, and providing I can repeat that course the following year, then I can go for coffee. However, that doesn't usually happen and therefore, I spend all my spare time, locked in my room, preparing for my next class and I have no time for dreaming about exotic places. I know, it is sad, but it is reality."
Continue reading "How Much Free Time Do You Have?"
Posted by msimmons at 05:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
June 09, 2005
All You Older Teachers Out There--Read This!
Hello everyone!
Now THIS is what I'm talking about! Thank you to Angela Homer for this terrific post. I couldn't have said it better myself.
'I was interested in your comments about older teachers as I went to South Korea to teach after retirement from the Ontario School system at the age of 59. I completed a TESOL course first as it came with a guarantee of a job. I soon found out that applying for jobs at that age was not easy. I wanted to teach Pre-School/Kindergarten age and was told by no less than three schools in Taiwan that they could not employ me because I "could not run fast enough to catch little children." I took matters into my own hands by doing as you suggested and posted resumes that really blew my own horn in terms of professional achievements, skills, love of children and parental appreciation of my teaching ability. Interestingly, the owner of the franchise of two of the schools which turned me down emailed me asking me to apply to one of his schools! However, I was offered the perfect job for me - designing and teaching an Immersion Pre-School program. My director was totally honest in terms of how much she could afford to pay me actually showing me the business cost breakdown and increased my salary as she was able to. Initially parents were a little uncertain of my ability to teach their children because of my age, but two years later many actually cried because I needed to leave due to family matters. The only problem the director had was coping with parental demands to place their child in my after-school class.
Continue reading "All You Older Teachers Out There--Read This!"
Posted by msimmons at 07:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (1)
Living on a Budget - The Hows and Whys
Dear ESL Teachers,
We all know that teachers need to live on a budget. The problem is that most of us try to keep a ‘running tab’ in our heads, and then call it a budget. Guess what? It doesn’t work!
If you want to get serious about making the most of your teacher’s salary, you’ll have to actually sit down and write it down. It takes a little planning to create a budget that you can actually stick to, but once you do, you’ll see those dollars stretching a lot farther than you ever imagined.
Here’s a quick guide to get you started . . .
Continue reading "Living on a Budget - The Hows and Whys"
Posted by msimmons at 04:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)
May 08, 2005
Call For Comments About Greece
Good morning all,
I'm looking for anyone who has worked or is currently working in Greece to contribute comments. Tell us what it's like, how you found your job, the amount of your salary, and oh, how absolutely wonderful it is!
Continue reading "Call For Comments About Greece"
Posted by msimmons at 02:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (2)
March 29, 2005
Living On A Budget - Accomodations
Dear Readers,
Quick! What’s the number one reason that most ESL teachers decide to go to another country to teach? If you think that it’s to experience another culture and see the world, you’re right! But many teachers find that, because of the low salaries offered in many countries, they can’t travel as much as they had hoped to.
Living on a budget can be a challenge for many teachers, but with some planning and savvy, it is possible to find a good balance. The biggest expense in anyone’s budget is living accommodations. Today, I'll offer two tips to help you reduce yours . . .
Continue reading "Living On A Budget - Accomodations"
Posted by msimmons at 03:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)
