United Kingdom
UK
Claire Wagemans
Teach Enrich Empower
One Of The Luckiest Teachers In Bali
My name is Claire and I am currently 23 years of age. My journey to become an English teacher began in my bilingual education in the Netherlands.
During my education I discovered my passion for the language and my admiration for my native English teachers. After my Bachelor’s in Child Development I realised that I do not want to participate in categorising children in terms of learning disabilities or disorders. Instead, I started to believe that the way children learn depends highly on their environment and a massive part of that of course is the teacher. It became a priority to me to become the best version of a teacher that I could imagine.
Therefore I decided that a TEFL course would help me in the first steps of my journey. I have been teaching at the Slukat Learning Center in Keramas, Bali. It is located in the south east of Bali, where tourism hasn’t had its inevitable impact yet, although it is clearly spreading. It is useful for the locals to learn English as their dreams mainly involve working in the tourism sector. I am teaching a variety of students, from 9-year-olds to 20-year-olds. The school does not only value the English language, but social interaction, sports and cooking as well. Next to these subjects, they place a high importance on environmental consciousness.
My TEFL has helped me in such a way that I am now confident in my teaching abilities. Next to that the structured lesson plans and the learning aims have helped me to prepare for my lessons. Without these tools, I wouldn’t have known where to start. The TEFL course has even helped me to advise my fellow teachers who get lost quite often. Lastly, the TEFL has increased my admiration for each individual learning style and has inspired me to respect all different types and tempos of learning. I really enjoy teaching and I am so happy to have joined the TEFL course.
One situation you might find interesting, is when I was teaching while wearing an authentic piece of clothing called a sarong. The way you wear it is you have to tie it at one side. One time I was running late for class and I had to tie it very quickly Suddenly during the class I felt something was missing……… You can fill in the rest. I tied it as quickly as I could. Maybe next time I will stick to my Western clothing customs a tad more.
“I decided that a TEFL course would help me in the first steps of my journey.”
Anyway, it will always be amazingly beautiful and relaxed to live here, no matter how stressful teaching can be. Close to a beach and far away from tourism (for now), I am prbably one of the luckiest TEFL teachers out there. I am hoping that I can find another TEFL career in another country as my aim was to travel while working. What I know and what is a great piece of advice for anyone thinking of or already enjoying a TEFL course right now: Do it!
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