Yulia Lukashova

My name is Yulia, I’m 27 years old. Here is my story!

After graduating university in Russia, I found myself very lost. I struggled to find a job in my field of; art history. Instead, I ended up becoming a manager. Since I had an interest in English (I’ve been learning it since kindergarten) and a degree in interpreting, I landed a job at an American language centre, where I got to work with native English speakers. Soon enough I felt like my managing job was more stressful than rewarding. I wanted to try something new, and I started tutoring English on the side. I felt connected to this new job instantaneously. It felt like a breath of fresh air after a whole day of dealing with administrative tasks. A few months after, I realised that I would like to try and teach English full-time. 

That’s how I found a teaching job in China. Although this experience taught me a lot, I realised that I was lacking some professional knowledge. I wanted to find something accessible, a teaching course that I could complete in any country with just an internet connection. There were a lot of companies that provided TEFL courses, but I felt like the TEFL Academy’s course, approved by Ofqual, was a good fit for me. 

Right now, due to the current situation, I am unable to go and teach abroad. After coming back from China, I found teaching jobs in Thailand and Turkey, but I couldn’t go because of the pandemic. So, I found an online teaching job and now work from home in Russia. I teach children aged 4 - 11 (individual classes). Teaching online was something that I had to get used to - it’s different, but I really enjoy it. Now, there’s always a whiteboard and a toy on my desk. I mostly use Leo, my lion plushy, for demonstration. If I need to use some realia, I prepare it in advance too. Not all the games translate well to an online setting, but there are still plenty to choose from, i.e. hangman, read my lips, Simon says, I spy, etc. 

One of my favourite things has been seeing my students dress up for holidays. This Halloween, there were a lot of fun and scary costumes. I’m excited to see what Christmas has in store!

Having completed the 168-hour TEFL course and the 30-hour teaching English to young learners’ course from the TEFL Academy, I can definitely say that I feel more confident in the classroom. I learned a lot about classroom management, the dos and don’ts, different teaching approaches, and, overall, got a lot of ideas on how I can improve my classes. 

Teaching can be challenging, but it’s also so rewarding. Seeing my students’ progress, hearing them thanking me for the class, seeing their smiles - things like that make me really happy. 

In the near future, I plan to keep teaching children online. As the situation with COVID-19 gets better, I hope to find a teaching job abroad again.