What inspired you to join the Asian College of Teachers?
One of my distant friends encouraged me to join this organisation based on an advertisement in a newspaper.
Can you tell us about your role as Assistant Manager of Academics?
My role as an Assistant Manager includes in-class trainings full-time in Bangkok, Thailand, conducting workshops for both in-house and external requirements, evaluation of assignments, query handling, developing new courses, editing existing course content and course videos, conducting webinars, and counselling students during the course.
Teaching and training is real fun
You have work experience within the field of education in India, Thailand, and New Zealand. How have those experiences influenced your current work?
My New Zealand work experience has helped me to keep a professional attitude, to be organised, being meticulous about my work, how to handle crisis management, and more importantly, learn the psyche of native speakers and their work ethics. My Thailand work experience has helped me grow as a trainer per international standards, to be able to handle trainees coming from different countries, and how to deliver training with an effective learning outcome. As for working in India, it has helped me learn how to simplify lessons and meet the needs of students who come from different cultural backgrounds.
How does your current work lead towards your goal of improving learning environments and developing young minds?
My current role gives me an opportunity to train teachers who shall be able to teach and touch lives of countless people and young learners. Thus, my work certainly gives me enough scope to train young minds and to inculcate the right value systems.
What do you love most about your job?
It’s simple—I love to travel and teach!
Why is teaching abroad a great tool for meaningful travel?
Teaching abroad is a great tool for meaningful travel because it not only gives an opportunity to travel, but to contribute something as noble as teaching to many hearts and minds.
Why is it essential for future teachers to have their TEFL certification before teaching English abroad?
It is essential because it is of huge help to the new teachers who have minimal-to-zero knowledge about classroom dynamics. It is also equally helpful for experienced teachers because TEFL teaches you about the finest details, modern techniques, and new methodologies about how to teach a language.
At the office
What qualities make up the ideal TEFL teacher?
The ideal TEFL teacher has exuberance, an open mind, a mammoth’s patience, and a willingness to learn.
Why is it important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?
It’s important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures because it broadens the horizons, and seeing new cultures helps to experience new diversity. More importantly, language and culture go hand-in-hand. Immersion in a new culture is the best way to acquire and learn a new language of that same culture!
What advice do you have for future TEFL teachers?
TEFL teachers must enjoy the process of teaching a new language, and come what may, they must not lose heart or feel baffled if the learners take a longer time to produce the desired language or results. However, it is also a must that TEFL teachers be energetic, organized, and good planners; language classes can be quite frustrating for the students, and it can be especially difficult for them to remain motivated and glued to the lessons if there is no element of fun. Teacher-student rapport plays a huge role for TEFL teachers.
