What inspired you to work for TEFL Hero?
After teaching ESL in public schools in Shenzhen, China, I absolutely fell in love with teaching ESL. To see the impact you're having with students and be able to track their progress is an extremely rewarding experience. I love that I get to spread the word about teaching ESL as well as help aspiring teachers access affordable and quality TEFL certification courses to gain the confidence needed to be a rockstar teacher.
Describe a typical day at work.
As the head tutor, I consult with students every day with questions they have about the course as well as provide advice on classroom activities. After clearing up questions as well as providing any technical support, I move onto improving the curriculum.
We are always striving to improve our courses, and my goal right now is to add even more visual content to our 120-hour TEFL certification course. Finally, I spend the rest of the day working on our blog. I identify new content topics based on student feedback and demand and assign new articles to our expert writers.
This is me island hopping in Hvar, Croatia with my favorite travel buddy, my dog.
Why do you do what you do?
To help others who have a bent towards education to make a career of, or, at the very least a side hustle, out of this passion to educate. I did not consider teaching ESL abroad until a couple of years out of college and wish I had known sooner. Teaching abroad is such an amazing learning experience and a great launching point for those who are looking to travel and gain some exposure to the rest of the world.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is hearing feedback from our students from all over the world who have landed their dream teaching roles after completing our TEFL Hero course. It is extremely rewarding and humbling to get to be a small part of this process and to help individuals launch out on new ESL careers.
Had the opportunity to travel to Leshan Giant Buddha during the Chinese New Year Festival.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
I come from a marketing background, so I am able to utilize these skills in maintaining our website and creating promotional material for additional exposure. Additionally, I have taught English abroad for over 7 years and have a wide range of knowledge to share with students looking to teach English abroad.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
A challenge I face in the ESL industry is regarding the misleading information that many students find online about TEFL certifications and what is required to get a job online or abroad. Students regularly want to know about the Levels of our TEFL certificates or about practicum that is required to earn their certificate.
Ultimately, there are no Level requirements by schools or companies nor would they recognize practicum through a third-party TEFL certification course. These are all just marketing tactics in the industry to try to differentiate TEFL certificates and allow for a hefty upcharge.
I do my best to explain to students that, while practicum can be helpful in gaining real-world teaching experience before taking a job abroad or online, it is not a requirement, nor would any school recognize this practicum. We publish as many resources as possible on our blog to help direct students to the truth about TEFL requirements and how to make the best decision.
What are some current projects you are working on?
Right now, we are working on adding more resources to our blog about teaching English in South America. The ESL market in South America is growing and is a great option for teachers, especially those in North America, who are looking for a closer continent than Asia to teach ESL.
I am working closely with our team of former teachers who are putting together amazing resources for an aspiring teachers. These teachers will need to make a decision of whether South America is a good place for them to teach.
My second grade class while teaching in a Chinese public school in Shenzhen.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Always be a tourist. Try to spend time in your home town or on your next trip somewhere routine through the lens of someone visiting for the first time.
What is the history of the building you're standing in? What are the demographics of the people in your city or the history of the meal that your grandma is cooking for Sunday dinner? This will give you a better appreciation of where you come from as well as build skills on how to be a lifelong learner
Why should someone choose your organization over competitors?
This company was built and is run by real teachers with overseas ESL experience. We have taught in international schools, public schools, training centers, and in online settings. We have valuable experience teaching, navigating visas and bureaucracy, and in living and working in new cultures. We strive to offer the best student support in the industry and personally answer every question that comes in from students in a reliable and timely manner.
What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
Our mission is to offer affordable and effective TEFL certification courses to students worldwide. We make regular updates to our TEFL courses to reflect changes in the industry as well as based on feedback from students. All TEFL Hero students have access to these updated courses for life and can access their TEFL certificate immediately upon completing their course.
Spending time together in the downtown square with my host family in Sapa, Vietnam.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
I hope that students who complete our TEFL certification courses feel more confident in teaching their first ESL class. We want our alumni to feel equipped with the tools to deliver an effective lesson, manage the classroom, and evaluate and progress each week so that they can progress from a successful first class to a successful school year.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
Traveling abroad gives you more perspective and can help to make you more flexible and tolerating of others. If you do not travel outside of what you know, then there is less chance that you have considered different opinions or alternate ways of life that perhaps resonate with you and how you aspire to lead a happy life.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel is any travel that had a positive impact on your life or on the lives of others. The opportunities for positive impact are endless. For instance, creating new memories with friends and family, learning new information about a city or a culture, building new skills such as maneuvering a new metro system or bus line, trying a new food, or teaching a class.
