TEFL Testimonials from Asia
We have included in this section letters recieved from former Kristal graduates who have gone on to work in Asia using our TEFL certificate.To Brian
We have been here [Hong Kong] for 2.5 months. Work is easy to find & we both have our own private 1 to 1's, which we charge £15 an hour.... But just to let you know your course was very, very useful and I highly recommend it to all.
Bye from Lee & Marie
To Brian
I've made it to [Hong Kong] at last & Having a great time! I'm doing some secretarial work & doing private tuition in the evenings £15/hour. Lots of work for TEFL over here esp. 'conversation classes'
Thanks for your help!!
Anne
To Brian
I attended a TEFL certificate course in Brighton in September 2000 and would like to ask your assistance if that is ok? I am relocating to Malaysia in early July 2000 and although I have bought publications such as Teaching English Abroad and realise that more opportunities should be easier to locate when in Malaysia, wondered if you would know of contract details any language schools/contact?
It appears that Malaysia does not have the requirements that some other South East Asian locations currently have, but as my fiancé has been offered a role in Malaysia with his current employer and we have an ‘expat’ deal, for the present moment, Malaysia it is!
If you did want to discuss any issues with me please don’t hesitate to contact me on this mail address or at work on 01111111.
Many thanks for your help.
Regards
Maria S
Brian
We attended your weekend introduction course last summer in Cardiff.
We arrived in Bangkok on the 28th of March and after just one week of looking we found a job! We were offered the chance to work in Bangkok or work upcountry for the same pay. As money goes much further up there we jumped at the chance. We are currently teacing in a place called Lampang for ELC International and are loving every minute of it.
We thought we’d send you a message just to say thank you for your help and the confidence and ideas your course gave us.
Richard W
Mark H
(Bangkok boys)
Hey there Brian!,
How is it going? Over here in Hong Kong, everything is fine. Still studying and teaching on a ‘one to one’ basis or small groups of children. It’s fun but the money you can earn goes really fast in Hong Kong!
Hope that everything is going well with you.
Thanks again
Regards
Hello Brian
My name is Louise Walker, I came on your course in Cambridge 26th/27th May.
How are you? I am writing to you for some advice. After your course I sent my CV to various schools and put my name on a TEFL page on the Internet. I have been inundated by job offers from Indonesia, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand.
You may remember that it was Thailand where I wanted to be. So I have accepted a job in Hat-Yai, I fly out next Tuesday.
I have one concern I was hoping you could help me with. I have a one way ticket on the advice of the Thai Embassy, but have no visa or letter of guaranteed work at this time. My employer suggests that I don’t need either, but I should not mention working, simply say I am passing through.
Does this sound OK or do you think I am going to have trouble getting into the country?
Your comments would be greatly appreciated.
Louise
Brian,
Just a quick card to say that I have arrived in Japan and am enjoying teaching with NOVA. I got the interview only 1 week after doing my training with you which was impressive! Being here is so interesting and I’m meeting so many new people and gaining memorable experiences. Thank you for getting me here! Love
Dear Brian
I attended one of your TEFL courses held in Swansea on the weekend in February. This is just a brief letter to let you know that, with the help of your course and the confidence it has given me, I have managed to secure an interview with a top language school in Japan, NOVA. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and seems like the perfect company with whom to begin my TEFL career. I have named you as one of my referees and thereof a reference from you is requested by NOVA as soon as possible. NOVA would like these to be sent directly to their office prior to my interview date on June 18th. I realise this is short notice but I would be eternally grateful for your input. If, however, there is any problem with this, could you please let me know straight away so that I have time to arrange an alternative before the day? The address is as follows –
Alternatively, I can take open references along with me on the day of the interview. I have recently seen an advert in the Swansea Evening Post, for a Kristall TEFL course held in Swansea on 12th and 13th of this month. If you prefer to give me a reference in person I would be happy to come along on one of these days to pick it up and have a chat. Could you please let me know, either by post of by telephone, where I stand on this matter. Thanks so much for all your help and I hope to hear from you very soon!
Yours sincerely
Karley B
Dear Brian
Many thanks for the wonderful reference you gave me. I’m sure it must have contributed in getting me my first job teaching English!
It hasn’t fully sunk in yet but I’m leaving for Japan in just six weeks time! My contract is for one year initially but could be extended for another.
Although after your course I wasn’t so keen on the idea of teaching Japanese students I am really looking forward to the huge challenge of it all.
Details about the job of course include an impressive salary to cover the high cost of living, 30 hours a week of which 25 will be teaching. The most exciting part for me is that I will mainly be teaching children aged between three and twelve years old but some may be young as two! I’m going to be based at a school near Fukuoka on Kyusku Island, with eight other western staff.
For future reference the advert I saw was in the Guardian on a Tuesday as well as TES and they interview two or three times a year for graduates. A degree was the only qualification they asked for but on my CV I said I had teaching experience. The actual interview was ‘an informal’, group which lasted about eight hours. Most of this was spend discussing the job, the contract and Japan. However, we also had to five a five-minute presentation on a subject of our choice, plan a 25-minute lesson in a group without the use of any teaching aids and also interview one of the other candidates – this wasn’t difficult as we were given a questionnaire. Finally there was a brief one to one interview but thankfully there were no questions on grammar. It seemed the whole day was just to make sure we know what we would be letting ourselves in for. I think the hardest part was getting the interview as they claimed to have had 650 applications and out of these 65 were interviewed.
One piece of advice would be to make sure that when people send off application that they make sure they use an A4 envelope. Our interviewer said that a quarter of all applications are thrown away with being opened.
I hope that this is of some interest/inspiration to others attending your courses.
Yours faithfully
Vicky T
Dear Brian
Well I did choose China over Turkey and am very glad that you advised me this way.
I am loving China and am based in Zhongshan, which is in the south close to Hong Kong.
I was emailing you to tell you that I am really enjoying teaching and to say thankyou for that.
I was also wondering if there are any other of your students who would like to come and work in China and teach?
I can tell you the company/ school I work for really does take care of their teachers by the way of very good contracts. (inc. Living, Salary, Contact Hours etc.)
My email address is ……….
And once again Thank you
Daniel F
Hello
I attended the Nottingham TEFL course in September 2001, run by Brian Almond.
I have subsequently been travelling in South East Asia and I am now in China. I have accepted a job at Jinzhou University in North East China, teaching first year students, to start in September.
I have been asked to provide references to the university and I was wondering if it would be possible for Kristall to write a reference for me. My request is pretty urgent (aren’t they always?!?) as the university is very soon on their summer holidays and I need to have an invitation in order to apply for a working visa.
Please can you let me know if you are able to provide the reference and then I can forward you the universities contact details – I think a reference will need to be faxed and then the original sent in the post.
Thank you very much for your time.
Regards
Esther L
Hi!
Funny stories I don’t know as such, but problems – where to start?! Basically I have been thrown in at the deep end, but I expected that I spose. Have only to do my own lesson planning whereas another school across the road (Canadian / American teachers only) get their lessons all planned out for them and just have to teach them. I guess I got the worse deal!!! I think I am regarded as an expert in my field, which I am, and that’s very flattering but the good thing is I don’t think they ever expect you to get it wrong!!! Ah well! What else…? Resources are good but as you said, in Japan it’s more of a business, so it’s very different. I think employers are really keen on TEFL because it’s a different (and therefore Western) way of teaching. For example, if a young person has been at school all day learning the boring way (!) then they won’t want to pay to learn something else in the same way. I think I have become a master of breaking the ice! They love laughter and humour because Japanese people regard education as something serious and a bit dull. It’s funny because sometimes I catch the younger students looking at my shoes or something, like I am some sort of alien!!!!! But then I say ‘do you like my shoes?’ and suddenly the whole class wants to talk about fashion, style and shopping, which is fantastic. The FCE class is a bit of a nightmare, they have exams twice a year which they are under great pressure to pass, and that’s a lot of pressure on me I spose. I think if any of your new TEFL students are thinking of coming to Japan, my advice is to introduce humour and a relaxed sort of demeanour first of all because this makes them feel more at ease. Also to make sure that they don’t feel pressured, especially in conversation classes make sure they understand that its no big deal just to talk.
Anyway I’ve probably bored you enough so that’s about it!!!
I’d best go
Best regards
Sasha M P