Rebecca Thatcher
Teach Enrich Empower
Teaching From Russia to Rimini
Spinning the globe around on the library desk at university I sighed. My friend had just asked me an impossible question, or so I thought. If I could go anywhere in the world right now where would I go? I couldn't think of an answer there and then because similar to the globe, my head was spinning too. I wanted to go everywhere!
I closed my eyes and stopped the globe with my finger. I opened them slowly and saw that my finger had landed in Italy, my dream destination! I closed my eyes again and smiled as I thought of the warm sun and colourful stone houses filled with freshly stone baked pizza and red wine. I had only ever been to Italy once for a few days, but it was still enough time to fall in love with the place.
A few weeks later I met a wonderful man who was studying Italian and he told me about a course called TEFL. Throughout the years I had gained lots of experience working and teaching children drama and music and had loved every second! It didn’t take me long to book my course at The TEFL Academy in Manchester.
I signed on to a 120 hour course and made my journey on the train to start my 10-hour weekend course. My tutor was friendly and welcoming and started the weekend course by introducing himself in Spanish. I thought it was odd at first, until he explained later in English that the reason why he introduced himself in Spanish was to help us to understand how our future students will feel in the classroom. The tutor himself had twenty years’ experience teaching in Spain and he was still so passionate about the job. The weekend course was intense but it taught me essential information and teaching skills which I still use today.
I completed many teacher training activities and found out what it was like to teach students of all ages English as a foreign language. Soon after the twenty-hour weekend course, I completed the online 100-hour course with the aid of an online tutor. Each chapter of the online course stimulated my knowledge of teaching grammar, writing skills, listening skills and speaking skills to students.
“I recommend The TEFL Academy course to anyone!”
After completing the course and gaining my certificate I soon was looking for teaching jobs around Europe. The TEFL Academy guided me in the right direction for finding the best jobs suitable to my requirements. I soon was able to find a great position at a school near Moscow in Russia. After my visa came I booked my flights and travelled to Russia where my Director of Studies met me and took me straight to the centre itself.
The members of staff at the centre were all very friendly and welcoming and it felt amazing to be part of a teaching team! My students were all so lovely, and I have had such an amazing experience there. Besides the freezing cold weather and the fact that my nostril hair froze in the winter, Moscow was beautiful. I will miss the friendly people and the festive atmosphere. During the summer it is quite easy to find a summer position via the right EFL sites. I managed to find an excellent summer camp position in Rimini, Italy where I taught for three weeks. The camp was set in the most beautiful location, on top of a mountain looking over a gorgeous lake. I made friends instantly! The food was to die for and the children were amazing to teach.
After my initial dream of travelling to Italy, I am pleased to inform you that my next teaching position will be in Sicily. I cannot wait to start teaching again and in such a beautiful place too! Seeing the joy and love in your students faces when they see you each lesson lights me up.
The whole experience so far has been amazing! I would like to thank The TEFL Academy for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dream of travelling the world whilst teaching English to students. I recommend The TEFL Academy course to anyone!
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