Heading to a Greenheart Travel Homestay Program in Spain, France, or South Korea? Here are 3 quick teaching tips to keep in mind as you begin tutoring!
1.Use Teacher Talk
What is teacher talk? Teacher talk is a technique that uses focused language when talking to your student. By using deliberate and precise language with your student, it helps to ensure that they are following along with you and are not lost in the “fluff.” What is meant by fluff? You can think of fluff like filler words that distract your student from the main point you are trying to make, here is an example:
Today we will be reviewing articles. Articles are helpful but I also think they can be confusing depending on the person. Do you remember articles? We talked about them yesterday during our lesson, anyway, please take your workbook, open it and turn to page 37.
Vs.
We will be reviewing articles. Please open your book to page 37.
Adding “fluff” is something that every teacher does from time to time, and it can be difficult to realize you are doing it, especially if you are feeling nervous. Our recommendation is to be very intentional with the words you say. If you’re starting to get too wordy, pause and check in with yourself. Take a deep breath, re-center, and remember that less is more.
2.Ask Questions
During your tutoring sessions you want to give your student as much time to talk and practice English as possible. A great way to keep your student talking is by asking questions, questions, and more questions! Keep in mind the 5 W’s (and 1 H).
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Asking questions not only helps get your student talking, it can help you, as the teacher, better understand their areas of strength and improvement, here is an example:
Teacher: What is your favorite color?
Student: I like purple.
Teacher: Why do you like purple?
Student: It is nice.
Teacher: Where do you see purple in this room?
Student: There.
Teacher: What is that?
By asking additional questions about the student’s favorite color, the teacher has now broadened the scope of the lesson. It not only just about colors, but the objects in the room, what their names are.
3.Consider Context and Keep it Relevant
Consider these two sentences:
Earlier today, I walked down Addison and got on the Brown Line heading towards Kimball to go to The Perfect Cup. I’m glad I took the L because it started pouring as soon as I got on!
Vs.
Earlier today, I walked down the street and got on a train heading north to go to a café. I’m glad I took the train because it started raining really hard as soon as I got on!
While these sentences are technically conveying the same information, the first one uses a lot of Chicago specific words and phrases. Words that could easily confuse someone not from Chicago. When teaching we want to consider our student and the context they might have for certain words. A good rule of thumb for this is to keep it general and limit your use of region-specific language, colloquialisms, brand names, and idioms/figures of speech.
Examples:
Instead of Kleenex, say facial tissue
Instead of Chapstick, say lip balm
Instead of feeling “under the weather”, say feeling sick/ill
Instead of “whatever floats your boat”, say “whatever makes you happy!”
Skylar is one of our First Time Traveler Scholarship winners. She’s arrived in Thailand for her Teach Abroad program and writes to us about her first few weeks there.
Settling down in Thailand
Under Thailand’s Test-and-Go COVID policy, as soon as my COVID test came back negative, I was able to walk around Bangkok as I desired (I still would have to take an at home test on the fifth day). However, I have to admit, I did not take full advantage of this. While I know of friends who explored Bangkok well, I spent my first few days severely jetlagged by my +11 hour time difference. Instead, I chose to spend most of my days lounging by the pool, getting Thai massages, and eating all of the fresh mango, and dragon fruit I could get my hands on. This ended up working out, because my next week of orientation would consist of Muay Thai boxing, cooking classes, an excursion to a Thailand National Park, multiple trips to the beach, and hiking up a local mountain to watch the sunrise: aka, I was EXHAUSTED by the end of it.
On to Hua Hin and Orientation
At the beginning of the last week of March, I made my way to Bangkok’s airport to be picked up by a large coach bus with the rest of my group to make our way to Hua Hin. The drive went smoothly, and before long we were at our accommodation. I took in the view of my apartment, and felt ready to take my week on!
Orientation was A LOT of sitting through classes, although, I did learn some useful cultural tidbits. One thing that came in handy later in the week as we took a night to attend the movies, is that there is a montage dedicated to the Monarchy of Thailand, and you have to stand to pay your respects, even being a foreigner. We also learned about the West’s influence on Thailand, largely due to Thailand never being colonized by another country. However, without a doubt, my favorite parts of the week were some of the excursions we took.
Learning The Thai Culture
Have you ever heard of Muay Thai? It is Thailand’s version of boxing, and involves a mixture of martial arts and combat to invoke serious damage. Although I didn’t get in the ring myself, the punching bag definitely felt my wrath. It was so much to train with local Muay Thai trainers, and it even inspired me to want to look into Muay Thai gyms in my placement city to learn proper self defense, while also blowing off steam.
We also took some time to attend a cooking class where we made Papaya salad, one of my favorite dishes since being here. Papaya salad (called Som Tum) includes papaya, long beans, tomatoes, peanuts, garlic, dried shrimp, and fish sauce all mashed with a pestle to combine. Traditionally, it includes chilies as well, but my palette has not yet adjusted to the level of spiciness here! I’m working on it!
Most nights were filled with walking to the beach, or attending many of the night markets around the city. I had a chance to try crickets, mango sticky rice, coconut pancakes, fresh coconut juice, butterfly pea juice, fish cakes, and fresh spring rolls. The food here is too flavorful to not try everything, and with portion sizes being relatively small, it is easy to do just that!
My favorite thing I’ve done in Thailand thus far I did the first weekend in Hua Hin. It involved going to The Phraya Nakhon Cave. This cave was quite a hike, over and back down a set of mountain steps, across a beach, and then steps up again, before descending down steps into another cave. It also was slightly misting the whole time, making the rock steps a little slippery. But the magnificence of walking through the cave entrance into the large cave itself– which had a temple inside –was something I will never forget. The awe I had could never be put into words.
New Adventures are Still on the Way
Although my orientation week is over, and I am now in my city where my school placement is, I know that new adventures are still on their way. As I am beginning to adjust slowly to Thai Culture, build a support group, and find what I define as ‘home’, I feel myself settling in. But with all of the things I’ve done, and all I have to look forward to, it is hard not to be excited about each and every day.
by Skylar S – Teach Abroad Thailand
Thank you Skylar for sharing your experiences so far in beautiful Thailand! Teaching Abroad is a fun way to learn about another culture, and to immerse yourself in it. You can see all the countries Greenheart Travel offers for Teaching Abroad here and for Working Abroad here.
The Leap of Faith: Adapting to Life in Another Country
by Vinicius Storck – Teach in Colombia
When I first heard the news of my acceptance to Greenheart’s Teach in Colombia program, I was excited to be getting the chance to work abroad. I had a desire to see more of the world, and to have the kind of experiences only possible through intercultural exchange, so I was eager to finally chase that dream.
It was only a few days before departure that the reality of what this meant dawned on me–and anxiety started to flood my mind. I was actually going to be moving to a whole new country, living in a city I didn’t know, speaking a language I had hardly used outside of school!
How would I deal with so many changes in my day-to-day life? What about Colombia’s reputation for being unsafe? Would I be able to make friends and connections in such a different culture?
Luckily, there are things you can do to ease the transition to a whole new life. Many people have been in those shoes before; if they were able to get through it, so can me or you. If you’re willing to make this leap too, and prepare yourself for it, you’ll grow so much through your experiences abroad!
Center of Cali
Learn About the Country You’re Traveling To
Doing some research beforehand did wonders to put me at ease. During the past twenty years the Colombian government has worked hard to tackle issues of crime, violence, and drug trafficking, and as a result most urban centers are pretty safe to be in. You should still take the same precautions you’d take when traveling to any other tourist hotspot: things like being vigilant if you need to take your phone out, avoiding poorly lit areas at night, and watching your bags when out and about. Colombians even have an expression for these self-protective measures: no dar papaya.
Odds are you’ll be able to rest even easier if you’re staying in one of the small rural towns of the Valle del Cauca department. I felt safer in Sevilla, my placement city, then I did in Boston or New York.
It also helps to look up interesting places to visit before you go. Colombia is an enchanting country, rich in history, biodiversity, and culture; and imagining all the places I could see lessened any fears I had left. Personally, I was smitten when I found out about the Lost City, ancient indigenous ruins hidden deep in Colombia’s forests, and which can only be reached through a three-day hike. It gave me something to look forward to at the end of the program, and turned anxiety into anticipation.
Canastao
Take Things One Step at a Time
Once I arrived in Cali, it proved useful to take things slowly, one day at a time. At the hotel where I spent my first week in the country, I would practice Spanish using mobile apps (Duolingo and Lingodeer) and watch TV to provide more immersion into the language. During that time most of my daily interactions were limited to ordering food and explaining directions to cabs. The program coordinators inside Colombia also provided enormous support in those first few days: they helped me open a bank account, figure out transportation to my placement city, and provided me with local contacts to assist in the search for housing.
Teaching entire classrooms was a new experience for me too, but taking baby steps also helped in that area. For the week in Cali, I just focused on learning as much as possible during orientation. In Sevilla, I concentrated first on understanding the way my co-teacher taught English to her students, and then on coming up with lesson plans or activities that could best support it.
People in Colombia are very welcoming, so neighbors and coworkers often introduced me to new people or informed me of special events happening around town. Eventually I reached a point where I could shop for my own groceries, have conversations with other teachers at my school in Spanish, make some friends, and even direct a couple of classes of my own.
Sevilla
Have Fun!
Once I had become more comfortable with getting by in Sevilla, it was really time to experience full-on cultural immersion. I find that if you keep your mind open, and are always willing to try new things, then you’ll absolutely love your time abroad.
For example, whenever eating out I’d look for genuine local food, whether it’d be the arepa or the coffee that are famous for being Colombian staples; or dishes unique to Sevilla, like the canastao and the plato montañero. These last two were common plates made by the settlers of this mountainous region, hefty enough to support their vigorous lifestyle.
When possible, I’d also go to special events held for schoolteachers, from chess competitions to a hands-on workshop on planting coffee. And even though I have no rhythm, I just had to try dancing when heading back to Cali, the capital of Salsa! I did make sure to visit the Lost City too before I left, and it was just as gorgeous as I expected it to be.
Parque del Café (Coffee Park)
Life is a Highway
Sometimes life can be like driving a car in the night. We might not be able to see what the entire highway looks like, but our headlights illuminate the next few hundred meters in front of us, and that’s more than enough for us to navigate safely to our destination.
It’s my belief that traveling abroad is like this too. Even if things seem overwhelming at first, and we can’t tell what the whole path ahead of us will look like, we can gather the knowledge and skills to deal with each obstacle as they arise. And before we know it, we’ll have gone so far and seen so much!
So if you’re aching to travel somewhere new, and are still hesitant about the challenges that may come, I encourage you to take a leap of faith. You have what it takes to make the most of this journey!
Lost City
***
Thank you Vinicius for sharing your story! If you are interested in taking your own leap of faith, visit GreenheartTravel.org for a big menu of travel options. Hope to see you out there!
Today, I embarked on the next level of my teaching English as a Second Language journey by attending orientation for new, adjunct faculty at a local community college. Two weeks ago, I was nearly crying my eyes out about leaving my host family in France. Teaching English in France was an experience like none other. I was so passionate about my mission, that I wanted it to continue after I landed back in the U.S. Returning has not been easy, but by continuing to teach English, in some ways, I’m not giving up on my dedication to learn about other cultures and help others achieve their personal and professional goals by learning English.
So, after 12 years of experience teaching in and out of the classroom, what advice can I offer my fellow teachers and prospective Greenheart tutors and teachers that might not be found using Google?
The following is my little list of things that I did not learn in Education 302:
Keep a quote handy or something to inspire you. Always, remember your “why.”
I’ve taught Title 1 students in the inner-city, and most recently, I’ve taught tweens in France. Teaching has left me with amazing days when I felt overjoyed and it has left me with exhaustion and frustration from time to time. Teaching is rewarding by all means, but it also demands your best. While serving in AmeriCorps, I learned a quote that has refueled me every time that I think about it, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Remember, that each and every learner that you touch will be forever changed, because of you and your commitment to them!
Cookie cutter teaching just won’t do! Start from scratch.
I’m not saying that you should “reinvent the wheel”. I am saying that it’s critical that you view each teaching project and each student in a unique way. Each opportunity is a new one. Use an icebreaker and get to know your student or ask them a few questions that help you to get to know their learning style and interests. Remember to customize your lessons to meet your students’ level and needs. There are tons of online lessons and Greenheart Travel provides tons of teaching resources, so manipulate these resources to meet your needs.
Never, ever, ever feel stuck! Use your resources and ask for help.
I’ve had a variety of roles within the field of education, from being a program manager at a children’s museum to an instructional designer for a corporation. However, teaching is the one role that I’ve had where it’s so easy to get “in your zone” and not ask for help. It’s easy because it’s just you and your student, or class of students in a room. There’s no one hovering over your cubicle to see how you do things and offer on the spot advice, there’s rarely anyone asking you to share your ideas to a room full of people. While I taught abroad, I took an active role in connecting with the Greenheart Travel community on social media. I found solace in connecting via LinkedIn or Facebook with those who were teaching abroad as well. Remember, you do not have to be an island. Connect with the Greenheart Travel staff, other teachers or tutors and search for online groups or local meetups to connect with others who might be of assistance.
Thus, two degrees in education and 12 years later, I’ve learned that anyone can learn how to teach and anyone can search the web for educational games, high-quality ESL lesson plans and other resources. The web offers a wealth of resources, don’t get overwhelmed by the web. Look inside yourself, the best resource is you!
Wishing you an amazing teaching and learning journey.
Deciding to teach abroad in Myanmar eight months ago was one of the best decisions I ever made. Teaching English seemed like a fun and achievable way for me to foster my travel bug and I wasn’t wrong! Since leaving home, I’ve been able to travel around Asia, meet incredible people, and eat some delicious food. It really has been quite the adventure.
That being said, there have definitely been moments here when I felt frustrated with my job or uneasy being so far away from home. I’ve found that to help cope with these feelings, it’s imperative to have a fulfilling work/life balance. Teaching is of course a huge part of your journey living abroad, but it’s equally important to fill your time with adventure and things you loved to do at home.
Below is a list of six ways to create a healthy balance of your work life and your free time so that you can make the most of your teaching abroad experience:
Be flexible, in and out of the classroom
One very important thing I’ve learned living between Myanmar and Vietnam for seven months is that things change all the time. Classes will get canceled, you’ll be asked to cover someone else’s class last minute, people will send you the wrong schedule, locations change, kids won’t respond well to your lesson plan… The list goes on.
Simply put, you have to be ready to adapt.
Ali Haymes teaching English to novice nuns in Myanmar.
I’ve learned the hard way that trying to control all these situations just leads to more stress and anxiety. It can definitely be frustrating when things don’t go as planned or you don’t feel prepared, but this is all part of the charm of living in Asia.
Once I learned to accept that things constantly change and that nothing is ever as organized as you may hope it will be, teaching here became much more enjoyable. If you’re flexible in your schedule and in your mindset (and always have extra games to play in class), you’ll be able to lead a much happier life abroad.
An empty classroom in Vietnam.
Take a break
Being a teacher abroad you will quickly find that there is an abundance of teaching positions available. You’ll constantly be offered new jobs and cover classes. This can be a great source of additional income! But, you can always say, “No.”
It’s great to have the option to fill your time with more classes, especially if you’re hoping to save up some money. But, I’ve found it equally as important to remember that you aren’t solely here to teach. You aren’t obligated to teach on your day off or to pick up that early morning class on Sundays. You can take a break. Giving myself this freedomhas really allowed me to enjoy the time that I do teach even more.
A scenic view of Vietnam.
Find your spot
One thing I think can be helpful in a positive work/life balance is finding different spaces for these two worlds. Hanoi in particular has an incredible coffee culture, there’s a cafe almost every other store front. Finding a place where you can only lesson plan and do work can be very beneficial.
I’ve found a couple cafes where I often go and sit with my laptop for a few hours, lesson plan, blog, and get brunch. I’ve also found some cafes where I go to just enjoy being outside and have some fresh juice, maybe read a book. Having these spaces outside of home is very helpful to ease your mind and create a healthy balance of how much you work each day.
I can go to a cafe knowing that I will work for a little bit and then I can be done and enjoy the rest of the day, or I can go to the place knowing that I’m taking a break from work. Whether I’m going for work or to relax, setting aside this time has been a great benefit to organizing my free time.
At a cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Connect with other teachers
Connecting with other teachers is not only a great way to ease yourself into life abroad, but it can also help you balance and blend your work and free time. While it’s great to have separate spaces for where you work and where you relax as mentioned above, in some cases, mixing the two can also help you feel more at home while living abroad. It’s quite easy to connect with other teachers in Myanmar and Vietnam, and I’m sure equally as simple on any Greenheart Travel program!
You will be surrounded by lots of other people having very similar experiences to you and this can be used to your advantage. Fellow teachers will likely become your dear, dear friends while living abroad. These can be people you go to if you have a difficult student in your class, or people you go to if you are feeling homesick. You can talk to your fellow teachers about what games work and don’t work in your classes, or you can plan weekend trips together.
Living and interacting with other teachers outside of work has been greatly rewarding for me in this sense. Being able to have a great connection to so many teachers has helped me through tough times at work, and also been a great emotional support while I’ve been here.
A group of teachers exercising together in Yangon, Myanmar.
Make time for your passions
This is one of the most crucial things you can do while living abroad. Create a perfect balance of work and play. While teaching can be fun and it’s an excellent way to contribute to a society while also supporting yourself in another country, it may not be everyone’s passion. As such, it’s important to also fill your time with things you would enjoy doing at home.
For example, I’ve found a yoga studio in my neighborhood that also offers aerial classes, something I did growing up in Chicago. It has been so wonderful to be able to take an aerial class in the morning before my lessons in the evening. This helps me relax before class and not get too stressed about lesson planning. It has also helped me meet more expats and teachers to connect with! If you work evenings and weekends as many people in Vietnam do, it’s especially easy to fill your days with your hobbies and then work in the evenings, creating a nice mix of working and relaxing.
Ali doing aerial yoga in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Get out of the city
My last recommendation to have a full life teaching English abroad is to get out of the city you’re placed in. Living in Yangon, Hanoi, or somewhere equally as busy can get a bit overwhelming. It’s wonderful to have so many amenities around you, but the crazy traffic, crowded streets, and pollution can take a toll on your well being. And sometimes this can have a negative effect on your teaching ability and how you feel in the classroom.
Taking a day or two to get away from it all can be rejuvenating and make you feel ready to take on teaching with a whole new attitude. Luckily, there are incredible mountains and gorgeous landscapes to explore only a few hours outside of Hanoi, and many other cities in Southeast Asia. Especially if you are feeling overwhelmed in the city, taking a short trip can be a perfect way to gain some perspective and feel ready to jump back into the classroom.
A vibrant street view in Yangon, Myanmar.
Greenheart Travler, Ali Haymes, taught English in Myanmar through Greenheart Travel for three months, before venturing off on her own to find a teaching position in Vietnam. Follow along on her Southeast Asian adventures!
I first fell in love with the Spanish language and culture when I was student in high school. I can remember my Spanish teacher, Mrs. Moyer, showing us photos of her experience living abroad in Seville, Spain. I instantly felt the excitement of what it might be like to have a similar experience somewhere in the world, even though I had never stepped foot outside of my small hometown.
I continued taking Spanish classes, and had yet another amazing Spanish teacher, Mrs. Soha, who helped me realize my potential as a language learner. Together, these two teachers encouraged and pushed me to be a better student and to appreciate everything the Spanish language and culture has to offer.
Fast forward to today, and I am entering into my 13th year as a high school Spanish teacher, and I’m able to be both a student and educator during my teach in a homestay program in Spain. This travel experience offers the perfect combination of culture and language learning that I had been searching for. Not only am I able to learn more Spanish, I am also teaching English and creating relationships that will last a lifetime! Oh, and the scenery of Mallorca is not so bad, either!
The following tips will focus on how to get started tutoring English once you arrive to your new host family home and prepare to teach your first lesson, along with how to establish your role within the family.
Establish goals for both yourself and the host family
One of the first things I did was talk to my host family about what their expectations were in learning the English language. It was important to me that they knew that after only one month of daily lessons, they would not be fluent in English. I was direct when asking what they wanted to learn, and they very much appreciated this.
Set up a weekly schedule and plan your lessons
The first night, I gave myself the time to adjust and get acclimated with the family. The second day, I asked them to sit with me and create a weekly schedule. We decided on 2 hours every morning, but if there was something else going on with myself or the family, we would make the proper adjustments to make up for lost time.
I do spend some time planning my lessons beforehand. I bought a book that we did not end up using too much, but it was a good ice breaker because it gave me an idea of the level of English they already knew. I am always sure to ask myself, “How can I improve my next lesson to make it more meaningful?”
I would also recommend bringing a dictionary in both English and the language to be studied. It is very helpful for vocabulary. Two of my favorite phone apps to help with this are Duolingo and Word Reference. Check them out! They are both free.
Make time for yourself
Traveling abroad and living with a host family is a big adjustment for most people. You will most likely feel tired in the beginning, especially if you are not accustomed to the language. Your brain will be on overdrive! Be sure to take the time you need to rest so you do not get burnt out in the beginning. In addition, it is okay if you want to spend time alone exploring or meeting up with new friends.
Accept that something embarrassing will happen
You are living with a family in a shared space. Make sure to be respectful of this, but also understanding that sometimes awkward moments happen, and that’s completely normal and okay. My advice is to laugh it off and move on with the day!
Speak up and communicate with your host family
When the family asks you what you prefer, or how you want to spend your time, be honest! If there is something that you are uncomfortable with and it is effecting your daily life during your homestay, say something! The last thing you family wants is for you to be uncomfortable.
Be flexible and open minded
Choosing to have the Greenheart experience is choosing to embrace a way of life that is most likely very different from yours. While it is important to speak up if there is something making you uncomfortable, it is equally as important to be open minded and willing to try new things.
Spend time with family and help out with chores
Bevin with her host family’s daughter in Spain.
I spend most of my time with the family. I have grown very close to them, and we have created a bond that we will have forever. They are now planning a trip to come stay with me in my home, and I cannot wait to have them!
One way to help create this relationship is to always offer to help out around the house. At first, the family would not let me, but be persistent. Now that they are more comfortable with me, they are more comfortable asking me to help out. I am also more comfortable just taking care of certain things like the dishes or sweeping because I know the routine of the family. They are always very thankful for the help, and I am happy to contribute and be a helpful part of the family.
Take the initiative to plan activities with your host family
The family doesn’t have to do all of the planning, and they might really appreciate it if you take the reins for a day/night! It does not have to be anything big or expensive, but here are a couple ideas:
The youngest daughter and I put on a play in English for the family
I brought a puzzle of the United Stated to work on together
I offered to cook dinner for a night
If I see a place I want to check out, I ask them if they want to go.
This takes some of the pressure off of them and helps them relax a bit, as well.
These are just a few tips to help make your homestay tutoring experience successful and comfortable. Do you have any additional tips? Share them below in the comments!
There are countless options to teach English overseas, but not all offer the chance to truly immerse in another language like Greenheart Travel’s Teach English in a Homestay programs.
A huge perk of teaching English to a host family is that your classroom is also your dwelling space. This makes coming up with real-life situations to help your host family naturally practice English quite easy. However, living with a host family comes with all sorts of potential challenges as well, so it’s best to know some helpful tips to make the most of your experience before you go!
Continue reading for advice from Greeheart Travel alums about living with and teaching English to a host family!
Using a recipe to teach English to a host family.
Helping Students Practice English Reading and Writing in a Homestay
Ingrid Bocanegra is a Greenheart Traveler tutoring English in a homestay in Italy. She’s found that Italians are very proud of their cuisine through her teaching experience so far, and dishes up some great insight for incorporating talk of food into English lessons.
Using a Recipe to Practice English
I encouraged my host family to write down some of the most popular recipes from their region. We started by cooking a recipe. Then, I announced sentences describing the cooking procedure step-by-step. Once we were done with the recipe, I asked them to write down the list of ingredients used along with the instructions. After they finished, I corrected their grammar and gave them some feedback.
I find this approach very appropriate as it helps learners to establish associations between real-world events and written sentences. It also helped them to expand their food vocabulary and improve the use of the past tense in a sentence.
Ingrid’s host siblings studying English.
Survival Tips for Living with a Host Family
Lela Ferrigno studied high school abroad in Spain with Greenheart Travel, and is currently an English teacher in a homestay in Brazil. In the USA, her family has hosted an exchange student once, and she has lived with a total of three families during her adventures abroad.
I can say with complete certainty that living with a host family and being a host family, is the most rewarding cultural experience I’ve had.
– Lela Ferrigno
Lela taking a selfie with her host mother.
The following are observations Lela has made and learned that have helped her navigate the ins and outs of living with a host family:
First and foremost, when in doubt or worried/confused about a situation with the family, I always remind myself that hosting is most likely a new experience for them too, and they are trying their best.
Being a host family also takes adjusting and compromise, and they probably wouldn’t have signed up to host if they didn’t want to share their life and culture with you.
Whenever there’s confusion about something—just ask! A host family wants you to be just as comfortable as you want to be.
The first weeks will be awkward at times as each of you learn more about each other.
To help fit in, observe your host family’s routine and try to find your place in that.
Participate and be open to what they offer, and share your own home-life with them. Show pictures of family/friends, talk about hobbies you enjoy, and make small-talk over meals.
I’ve also found that making friends and participating in activities outside of the family can help give each of you some space—as long as it’s not all the time.
Keep in mind that a smile goes a long way!
Living with a host family will be difficult at times, but it really is an amazing experience that reveals the best of people and a better understanding of yourself and your own family.
Lela with friends in Brazil.
Living with and teaching English to a host family is an incredible opportunity to immerse in the culture and language of another country, while at the same time help share your culture and language. Get ready for loads of beautiful and awkward moments, as they go hand-in-hand with living with a host family. Just remember the ups and downs as well as rewards and frustrations are all part of the overall recipe for a life-changing experience.
While teaching English in places such as South Korea and Thailand, it’s common to be responsible for facilitating “English Camps” when school’s out. The ideas below are perfect for a summer themed camp, or for teachers looking to add some summertime sun and fun into their English lessons by practicing vocabulary and expressions associated with summer plans and common summery things.
Here are five ways to add some summer fun to your English lessons:
Bags of ice in the freezer to make ice cream.
Shake Things Up with Homemade Ice Cream
Making homemade ice cream gets students up and moving around the classroom, and helps them practice action words associated with a recipe such as add, mix, shake.
Materials (per group of four students):
One small plastic bag
One large plastic bag
Newspaper for padding
Spoons
Cups or dishes
Ingredients (four servings):
One bag (or two trays) of ice
Six spoonfuls of salt
Two spoonfuls of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
Students adding ingredients to a bag of ice to make ice cream.
How to Make Ice Cream:
Mix milk and sugar in the small plastic bag.
Add ice and salt in the large bag.
Put the small bag inside the larger one.
Wrap the bags within newspaper for insulation (and so hands don’t get too cold).
Have students take turns shaking the bags for a total of ten minutes.
Open up the bag and serve your homemade ice cream!
Students running to look for clues during a schoolyard hunt.
All Around the School Hunt
Having students hunt for clues all around the school gets them out of the classroom, and hopefully outside to soak up some sun. A school-wide hunt works well for lessons focusing on prepositions of place, and/or vocabulary words associated with items around a school.
Recommendation: Have the clues lead to some type of snack, prize, or reward at the end for an added incentive.
Notes: Give yourself plenty of time to plan your course(s) ahead of time, and ensure you have all clues hidden around the school beforehand.
A clue for a school scavenger hunt taped to the side of a wall.
Some More S’mores, Please
If you or your students have never tasted s’mores before, you’re in for a real treat. S’mores are a popular snack that go hand-in-hand with summer. In the United States, for example, s’mores are most often eaten while camping, or really any time there’s a fire to roast marshmallows. Why are they called s’mores? Because when you eat one s’more, you almost always want “some more”!
Making s’mores during a lesson provides an opportunity for students to practice using some more when asking and answering questions. S’mores also go along with units on camping, or just cultural summertime activities in general.
Materials:
Candles (or a portable electric/gas burner)
Chopsticks
Plates or tissues
Ingredients (per s’more):
One or two marshmallows
Two graham crackers*
Chocolate
*You can substitute various sweet crackers, or even chocolate-covered biscuits for both the chocolate and graham crackers.
Making s’mores in the classroom with different ingredients.
How to Make S’mores:
Stick the marshmallow(s) on the end of a chopstick and roast them over a flame.
Put the chocolate on one half of the graham cracker.
Place the roasted marshmallow(s) on top of the chocolate.
Set the other graham cracker half on top of the roasted marshmallow.
Lightly press down to sandwich together the s’more.
Enjoy the yummy, sticky mess!
Recommendation: Metal chopsticks (or other utensils) are safer than wooden ones.
Notes:
Ask your school/colleagues for permission to make s’mores prior to building a “campfire” in the classroom.
Closely supervise younger learners so as to not burn the building down.
Students roasting marshmallows over small candles in the classroom.
Jiggly, Giggly Water Balloon Fun
On a particularly hot summer day, or perhaps the last day of your summer fun English Camp, throw in some water balloons to help cool off. There are many ways to incorporate the use of water balloons into an English lesson. Below are two ideas to help students practice target vocabulary and language while competing in a friendly team competition.
Materials:
Two buckets or large bowls (per team)
Many water balloons (at least 12 per team for each initiative)
Students toss a water balloon during a class activity in the summer.
Water Balloon Toss
How to Play:
Divide your class into teams of five or six students.
Have two teams stand in a straight line with at least five feet of space in between each student.
Set two buckets or bowls at the beginning and end of both lines.
The first student in each line picks up a water balloon and tosses it to the next.
This continues from student to student until it makes it to the end of a line.
If a water balloon falls and/or breaks, the team must start over with a new one.
Once a balloon reaches the end if a line, the last student must place it in the container and ask or answer a question with a teacher.
If he or she is correct, they can turn around and run to the beginning of the line to pick up the next water balloon.
All students move up one place in line so that everyone will eventually practice the English vocabulary and expressions for the summer lesson.
Whichever team has the most amount of balloons in the bucket or bowl at the end of a certain amount of time wins!
Two students carry a water balloon back-to-back during a team relay race.
Back-to-Back Water Balloon Relay
How to Play:
Divide your class into larger teams (of eight to ten students).
Have two teams stand in a straight line behind a bowl or bucket on one end, and set the other container to collect the balloons on the other end of the play area.
The first two students must stand back-to-back and link arms (as seen above).
A student behind them on their team places a water balloon between their backs.
When it’s time to start, the two students quickly try to reach the other end where they must carefully drop the water balloon into the container.
If the balloon pops or falls, they must run to the beginning and start over.
Once a balloon is safely dropped into a container on the opposite end of the start line, the pair of students then turns to face each other to practice the target language for the lesson before returning to the start line.
The next two students in line may begin only after the two before them have returned.
Whichever team has the most balloons in their container when time runs out wins!
Recommendations:
Fill up the water balloons before class, and have everything set up in a designated area outside.
Have your students bring a change of clothes or at least towel to dry off.
Depending on time and the size of your class, try doing both the water balloon toss and back-to-back relay as a tournament. The winning team for each round goes onto the next and competes with a new team until there’s only one winner.
Note: Having no more than two teams compete against each other at once helps ensure students are correctly practicing their English!
A student eats watermelon in a classroom.
A Bite of Summer Sweetness
Watermelon is the perfect snack to slice up and share with your students when temps heat up. It could also be utilized in a summer-themed English lesson in various ways.
Try doing a seed-spitting contest
Have your students create a silly story about what happens if a person eats a watermelon seed
See which team can make the most creative watermelon carving
Watermelon also serves as a way to practice summertime fruit vocabulary. And the best part is, it’s refreshing after spending time outdoors!
A bucket full of water balloons for summer activities.
Who’s excited for some summer fun!? Your students will most definitely be, especially if they have to attend a summer English Camp, summer lessons, or are just antsy to start their summer holiday a few days too soon.
The more time you put into preparing these summery activities for your students the more effective they’ll be! Keep in mind most of them are better suited for younger learners, but all could be adapted to fit a variety of ages and levels. Although the activities featured in this teaching tips blog post call for a minimal amount of materials, you might not be able to find everything you need where you’re teaching English overseas. Be resourceful and check out these other teaching tips for more ideas!
What favorite summertime activity would you use in the classroom? Share below!
Teaching English abroad can be a very rewarding and transformative experience. Many of our Greenheart Travelers continue teaching overseas much longer than they planned, and others even end up redefining their career path or finding their calling as an educator.
Teaching abroad can also be quite stressful and frustrating at times. There are cultural differences and language barriers to deal with. And it involves a lot of learning as you go, especially if you haven’t had a chance to gain a TEFL certification before you go.
Here are a few tips to help you get through the tough days:
1. Overcome your nervousness.
Sometimes the last thing you’re going to want to do is face your students. Perhaps it’s your first time in front of a class, maybe you haven’t fully prepared for a lesson, or you’re just not feeling well from something you ate the night before.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Find a moment to collect yourself, and begin your class by facilitating a centering activity.
It’s always a good idea to start with an active warm up. Chances are your students will also feel nervous about practicing English. When anxiousness abounds, overcome it through laughter and movement.
2. Seek out a community to be part of, and do fun activities together.
Some days it’s probably going to take a friend or two to pull you off the couch and out your door. Teaching can be exhausting, especially if you’ve had a particularly rough day. Thankfully, you’ll likely be placed in a city with other English teachers from all over the world, and one of the perks of teaching overseas is making life-long, international friends.
Seek out a community of locals and other foreigners to be part of, and do fun things together such as. Spending time with others is a huge stress reliever and a great way to boost morale.
3. Blog about the good days and the bad days.
Dealing with cultural differences or trying to communicate through a language barrier is going to get to you. In fact, you may even feel downright angry about everything when it happens. Keeping a journal has been known to be an effective stress management tool for many.
Jot down some of your thoughts on paper
Ponder what’s causing you to feel how you feel in that moment
Acknowledge the negatives, but focus on the positives
Come up with proactive ways to respond what’s stressing you out
Blogging gives you the opportunity to be transparent about your overall experience, the good and the bad, and invites others to relate to and help you through the hard stuff.
Let us know if you want to blog about your teaching abroad experience while on one of our programs!
4. Stock up on motivational activities to keep your students engaged.
Avoid boring your students to sleep during lessons by keeping them entertained while improving their English skills. The more ideas you have up your sleeves, the better. Trying to think of activities on the spot can be highly stressful, and repeating games too many times (unless requested by your students) makes them less appealing.
We know it takes a long time to build a stash of exciting motivators, so here are lots of teaching tips to help you start stocking up!
5. Make the most of your time off. But, also rest.
Long weekends are the best, aren’t they? You’ll get three-day weekends in other countries, too. Likely for holidays you haven’t even heard of before. Making the most of extra time off doesn’t necessarily mean trekking all over the place, and then rolling into your first lesson right after hoping off an overnight bus.
Give yourself some cushion. Travel for two days, and leave the third one open to relax and prepare for the week ahead. Seems like common sense, right? But, when your time abroad seems limited, you’re going to want to see and do as much as possible.
Be intentional about getting enough rest.
“A challenge I hadn’t anticipated was dealing with burnout and not taking good care of myself mentally. For the first two months, I was bringing work home almost every night and traveling most weekends, so I never really gave myself a break or time to relax.” – Kara Menini, Greenheart Travel Program Manager and Teacher in Thailand
Teaching abroad is the journey of a lifetime, complete with all sorts of ups and downs along the way. You’re going to feel stressed and frustrated every now and then, but you’re definitely not going to be alone in riding these emotions. We’ve been there. Our Greenheart Travel teachers and alumni have been there. Take a breath. Seek out friends to spend time with. Let your thoughts out. Always come prepared for class. And rest.
Do you have other tips for reducing stress while teaching abroad? Share below!
Perhaps you’re just starting to consider teaching overseas. Maybe you’ve already applied and are anxiously waiting to hear if you’ll be tutoring in a homestay in Chile. Or, you’re going to teach in China, but you’ve got a few months to prepare before departure. Getting ready to move to another country with a Greenheart Travel teach abroad program is thrilling, but there’s so much to do!
Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered.
Take a breath. Realize you’re making an awesome life decision. Share your intentions on social media so everyone can be excited for you, and most importantly, prepare for teaching English overseas by hitting the books, gaining more experience, seeking advice, and grabbing a few items you may need in the classroom.
Here are some proactive ways to prepare for your teach abroad experience before you go:
Give Online Tutoring a Try
Online tutoring is becoming more and more popular, and this is a great means to gain real teaching experience—while getting paid—before you go abroad. Lots of online tutoring providers offer training and teaching materials to boot. Another plus side of doing online tutoring is you can do so from nearly anywhere with a decent Internet connection.
Volunteer as an ESL Tutor with a Local Organization or School
A young student in a classroom in Thailand.
There are so many volunteer opportunities out there to help you gain actual in-person English tutoring experience, and the best part is you get to give back while doing so. Several of our Greenheart Travelers have volunteered at refugee centers, alongside working adults who speak English as a second language, or within special programs at underserved inner-city public schools.
Try doing a quick Internet search to find reputable organizations in your area offering volunteer ESL tutoring hours. Many are one-on-one instructing gigs, but if given a choice we’d recommend working with a classroom of students; if possible, as oftentimes while teaching English in another country, you might find yourself in front of a room of 30+ students.
Brush Up on the English Language
Sometimes you just know something, but you don’t really know how you know it. You know? This is likely a common situation for several of our English teachers overseas. At least it was for me. Countless times my students asked me a question about grammar, and I simply couldn’t put into words why I knew what I knew. I just knew.
“Because it just is…” only works so many times.
Basically, I’ve had to relearn how I learned English in order to be a more effective teacher over the years.
It seems when you naturally acquire a language you don’t always know what many of the terms are for what you’ve been doing right (or possibly even wrong) all along (even if you paid attention during English classes in school). What are conditionals? Would you confidently know the correct past perfect form of all verbs? Could you help your students practice future progressive sentences? Brush up on your English!
Get TEFL/TESOL Certified
Kara studying for the Online TEFL certification course.
Even if you it isn’t required for you to get TEFL certified to teach English abroad, it’s a very good idea to do so. Having a TEFL (TESOL) certification makes you a more competitive applicant, increases the chance you’ll have a higher starting salary, and indicates you know a thing or two about teaching English as a second or other language.
In addition, not only do you gain classroom teaching experience, even while taking our online TEFL certification course, you learn necessary management techniques, the basics of lesson planning, and you become part of a larger community of people just as passionate as you are about traveling for a change by teaching English overseas.
“As an already licensed teacher, I wasn’t sure if this certification would be strongly beneficial to me or not. I was applying to teach English in Thailand, and since Greenheart Travel’s program offers the certification course in Thailand, I decided to go for it. I’m very glad that I did because there were many new and useful techniques I learned throughout the certification.”
– Lindsey Gall, Greenheart Travel teacher in Thailand and Colombia
Raid the Dollar Section at Your Retail Store of Choice
Greenheart Travel alumna, Lindsey Gall, with her students in Thailand.
You know how discount retailers such as Target have specific sections where everything is under a few bucks? It’s that stuff that usually lines your walk to the checkout counters with things you suddenly, absolutely need to purchase. Well, believe it or not, many of these last-minute ‘toss ins’ are perfect to take with you to use in the classroom! You never know when you’re going to need those little mind puzzles, the animal flashcards, or that mini dry-erase board. So, look out!
“Come with some supplies or simple games… The dollar store is a great place to go to find things like stickers with English words on them. …Additionally, there are many great flashcards and card games that are fun to bring along, as well, such as ‘Spot It’. I used these often when I tutored students after school.”
What better way to prepare for teaching abroad than to reach out to others who’ve gone before you, or are currently doing a teach abroad program. Connect with other Greenheart Travelers to get answers before you head out! We have a large number of teachers who’ve blogged for us, or are just a Facebook post, comment or message away.
“I think one of the biggest things that helped me prepare, was reading all of the blogs posted by current/previous teachers on Greenheart Travel’s website talking about their experiences and tips that helped them.”
– Lisa Dershowitz, Greenheart Travel Teach in Thailand alumna
Ask Your Friends, Family, or Even Past Teachers for Advice
One of the most meaningful moments I had during my first years of teaching overseas was when it dawned on me how much I had gained from a particular teacher who helped me learn how to read when I fell behind my peers in elementary school. It had been years since I had even seen this teacher, but I reached out to her nonetheless to not only thank her for teaching me how to read, but to also ask her more about the curriculum she used to get me to where I needed to be in regards to comprehension.
Ask your friends, your family members, and connect with your past educators for advice on their teaching and/or learning experience. Your personal network of connections is an absolute wealth of knowledge and resources, and it’ll mean a lot to those you know to get to be part of your overseas teaching adventure in this way. Later on you could even ask them to correspond with your students!
We share teaching tips every Tuesday on our blog and Facebook page to help you feel as ready and as excited as possible to step right into your classroom abroad. Whether it’ll be your first class ever, or you’ve lost count of how many students you’ve taught, we hope the guidance of our Greenheart Travel community is useful. Do you have any other ideas for ways to be proactive about preparing to teach in another country? Tell us in the comments below!
