How Long Does It Take To Get Your Teaching License

Thailand is a central Asian country enjoying a tropical climate with 3 distinct seasons - summer from March through May, rainy with plenty of sunshine from June to September and cool from October through February. The average annual temperature is 28 C (83 F), ranging, in Bangkok, for example, from 30 C in April to 25 C in December. The exchange rate for the Thai baht is around 30 to the US dollar. The night life, friendly people and the air of tropical paradise all make Thailand very popular amongst ‘traveller teachers’ and, hence, wages are quite low at around B25,000 to B40,000 for schools, but up to B60,000 working for private companies. Nevertheless, living expenses are extremely low, and it is important to recognize that as a teacher you will be going native and not paying...  [Read more]

ITTT’s TESOL course in Germany is based in the city of Leipzig in the state of Saxony. Leipzig was once an important trading center in Europe and has a long and interesting history dating back to the Holy Roman Empire. Today the city has grown to become an important economic center once again and is also and important cultural hub. Classical music plays a vital role in the life of the city and you can hear world-class musicians play at the Gewandhaus concert hall. The Oper Leipzig is one of the most famous opera houses in Germany and one of the oldest in Europe. Bach worked in Leipzig for several years and his life here is documented at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. Modern musical tastes are catered for in the clubs of the “Südvorstadt” area and in May each year, Leipzig hosts the...  [Read more]

Mighty big place, Partner. As Ferdinand Braudel, the great French historian observed, ‘the land dictates the people’, and it is a good idea never to stray too far from this theme. If you want to know what ‘cold’ is then head up to Minneapolis, north of Toronto, in the mid winter. If you want to know what ‘hot and humid is’ then try Orlando in the height of the summer. If you transcribe a line from Los Angles to Miami and turn this into a road trip then the number of different peoples and environments you will encounter is immense. By all means there is a thin veneer of Americanism, and everywhere you will find both McDonalds, and the presence of the Federal Government; however, you shouldn’t let this take your eye off the ball of the fact that the people and environment of...  [Read more]

Volunteer Teaching As I began my TESOL course in Phuket, I met all types of people wanting to be teachers. Some students needed to work immediately after graduation and others were going on to a college or university to further their academic careers. I was in the position of having to return home and finish other work commitments before I could embark on a teaching career. I soon realized that if I was going to be confident in my new found teaching skills and to have the opportunity to build on what I had learned, I was going to have to do something proactive in the area of teaching English as a second language even though I was not in the position to take a full time teaching position. In pondering my predicament, I realized that I did have an option that would serve me and people...  [Read more]