I was the exception on my TEFL course. Everyone else wanted to find work straight away but it was just something I wanted to keep in my back pocket, so to speak, in case I needed it later. I was in no hurry to find work.

As it turns out, I did need those skills later. There aren't too many work options in Thailand for foreigners apart from English teaching and the Boland course prepared me well. The course wasn't easy (and I would assume that is still the case) but it prepares you well for teaching. Katie Boland, who owns the school, understands TEFL as well as anyone around and runs a tight ship with regard to teacher training.

Having worked under pressure at IBM for many years I was surprised indeed at how much the course pushed me. Passing the course is not guaranteed and some people just walk away with a certificate of attendance rather than a pass. However, nothing worthwhile in life comes easy, as the old proverb says. The course will push you but once you finish you will feel confident about walking into any almost teaching situation. That's quite amazing actually, considering the course only runs for four weeks.

I didn't teach until almost two years after my course but it all came back to me fairly quickly. Of course, I didn't remember all the detail I had learnt but I knew where to go to find it and I had a much better overall appreciation of what teaching English involved.

The ability to speak English does not give someone the ability to teach it. Not only do people struggle trying to teach when they haven't been taught themselves but they cheat their students, many of whom pay good money and have a real desire to learn. I have followed a few very uneducated 'teachers' and have been appalled at what I have seen.

At one place I taught last year I was forever correcting students with the use of the article (the Thai language has no concept of article so Thais find its usage difficult when learning English). When I eventually saw their previous 'teacher' in action I was not surprised. Not one correction did he make in an entire teaching period as he taught them how to speak while drinking in a working man's pub in England.

I'm sorry if this sounds snobbish but I actually think that people setting themselves up as teachers should realise the responsibility they are taking on. Teachers in Thailand are given an enormous amount of respect without having to earn any of it and they owe it to their students to give of their best. Some though appear to have no conscience. I know we all have our own reasons for wanting to teach English abroad but the bottom line is that students depend on us and they should be treated with respect.

As for Boland, I have no complaints about their teach-the-teacher methodologies, just praise. The course was tough but had it been easy I would not have felt as well prepared for teaching as I did after I completed it.

With TEFL courses being run all over the world my one suggestion would be to choose a school in the country you would like to teach in immediately after (unless you are like me and do not desire to work immediately after your course). The schools will have lists of local contacts to make job finding easier.

I have no hesitation recommending Boland.

Good luck,
Phil Lattimore

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Another reason that I wanted Boland was that it welcomes North Americans, too, and not just British. When I was first looking into TEFL training some of the British schools were less than enthusiastic about even giving me info. One or two went so far as to tell me that I would have difficulty finding work in Europe due to my not being from an E. U. country! * Technically this is true, but the need is such that at least in central and eastern European countries they could care less about where you are from as long as you are a native speaker. (Also, I know two Americans presently working in Germany.) *Note from Boland administration: the Boland School provides working visa sponsorship and job placement for EU and non-EU citizens who are planning to move directly from the course into teaching jobs in the Czech Republic.

And finally I chose Brno because it is small - about the size of Milwaukee - and even with the little time you have away from the TEFL classes you can get to know and enjoy it to some degree.

If you are serious about ESL teaching then I will recommend Boland - not because I know it is the best, but because I know it is very good and it is the only one with which I have personal experience. What I do know about some other schools - especially some in Prague - is that they are paper mills which take your money and hand you a certificate after a month. Keep in mind that I am not all that well acquainted with other schools and there must be some very good ones out there - I just don't know which ones they are.

Also- if you like conversation and meeting people, you can get all of it you want teaching here! Liking people and being a conversationalist are what will make you successful.

Jim W. - now living and teaching in the Czech Republic

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