Introduction
Let's go back to 2010. I was 25 and sure that I had finally found what I wanted to do with my life. I had always wanted to be a teacher, but when I finished my degree in English Literature and Sociology, at 21, I didn't feel ready to become a school teacher. I worked various jobs in banks and insurance companies and was mostly quite bored! I met people who trained to teach English in the UK and I was intrigued. I moved, became a bookshop manager and met people who had moved to the UK and had varying levels of English competency. Their dedication, tenacity and struggles impressed me. When another work opportunity fell through I made my decision: English teaching! But why do it in the UK? I researched, researched and researched and decided that CELTA was the course I wanted to do, and Thailand was the place I wanted to be.
CELTA
CELTA is an initial teacher training qualification offered by Cambridge English. It is one of the most recognised and valued English teaching qualification out there. There are others, but I can't tell you as much about them. That's because starting to become a teacher is the most intense experience I have ever had. To explain it I think you have to have been through it. CELTA courses are delivered all over the world, so I was able to apply for and get accepted onto a course in Phuket, Thailand.
The First Day
From Day 1 of the CELTA course we were teaching. Not each other, but real students! It was perhaps the most terrifying work-based moment of my life. Although it might have been superseded by other high stakes teaching experiences which came later. I can't recall exactly what I had to teach, but it was essentially a game-like task which needed a brief set-up and feedback session. It was awful! I finished with about 10 minutes left of my time and eyes like a frightened rabbit. Our trainer had to step in and improvise a quick task to keep the lesson going to the end. But it didn't put me off and from that moment I resolved to become a confident, organised and professional teacher. One Diploma in English Teaching; a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers, and 13 years of teaching experience later I'm so glad I didn't run away from that initial first fear.
What Comes Next?
Through this blog I want to share my journey from fresh-faced trainee in Thailand, through teaching at a rural Japanese English Conversation school, to working at a chain English school in an English city, to becoming an EAL teacher and eventually Director of International Students at independent British schools, and finally to running my own business teaching and working freelance on materials and testing. I could never have imagined there were so many career paths available when I first started...let me share what I've learnt.