Troy's Blog - 29th May 2009

How did you get here?

My career as an EFL Teacher

At the beginning of each TESOL course, and at several points during it, trainee teachers ask me how I got started teaching English in Asia, and how long I have been teaching in Thailand.

Now I have a colourful and interesting story to tell, and it would take a long and exciting coffee break to share much of it. But while I love talking about myself, questions like these mask more personal concerns for the question-asker that I willingly admit have nothing to do with my roller-coaster-ride epic.

Teaching English abroad is a fascinating, rewarding (though challenging) and exciting career choice. If you are thinking of coming into the English-teaching clan from another profession, or have just finished studying and are contemplating teaching English as an opportunity to explore foreign countries and meet wonderful people, then two questions that you may validly be asking yourself could be:

“What is life like as a career EFL teacher?”

and

“How far can I go with TESOL as a long term career?”

I'm quite sure that these questions and the myriad of others that are in the minds of trainee English teachers will be almost identical to the types of questions you may have if you are considering moving to Asia to teach English for a living. So with that in mind, each time I'm asked a question during the TESOL course I'll write my answer to it here for you to read too, and hopefully your questions will be answered, and some of your concerns assailed.

Now, before I go any further I need to say the following: I don't claim to be any sort of motivational success guru, and I'm not going to embark on the sort of 'Ten Tricks Terrific Teachers Use' type of self-help story. I can't tell you how to get where you want to go, and I can't say that the way things worked for me will be the same for you. What I can do however is share with you how I went about getting to where I am now, and some of the reasons why things worked (or didn't work in some cases), and hope that the central point is essentially self evident, or that I remember to point it out along the way.

So, let's go back to the beginning. I'm going to take you back a bunch of years to when I was green, but adventurous and keen to explore the wonderful world of ESL and the opportunities that teaching English in Asia had to offer. Perhaps my stories will shed some light on what awaits...

28th February 2010

How to be prepared for an interview

6th December 2009

The Asian fascination with appearance

25th November 2009

What does a teacher look like anyway?

28th September 2009

Three simple pointers to avoid becoming a nervous wreck

5th September 2009

Ten easy pointers to reduce stress during your TESOL course