Could you be a Super Teacher?

ISIS CertTESOL Course Director Mark has just been to Hong Kong – a dream destination for many travllers and TEFL teachers – and these were some of his findings…


Having visited Hong Kong a couple of times now, my impressions are that education in HK is held in extremely high regard. Where some kids in Britain may occasionally take school for granted and do not necessarily (even try to) reach their potential, in general HK pupils are strongly encouraged to strive to improve their knowledge and skills at every opportunity.

Huge respect is given to teachers and successful learning is seen as an absolute necessity. It appears to be a very competitive environment for the Hong Kong learners to operate in and having a strong command of English is a pre-requisite for progression as a working professional. Thus, learners (and their families) continually place a high value on improving their abilities.

In fact, a number of the English speakers who I talked to amazed and amused me with their overall passion for and knowledge of the language and culture. More on them to follow…

When out and about in the city I was particularly surprised to find many billboard posters (some were enormous) advertising individual teachers in various subjects, but especially in English. The teachers’ profile pictures look pretty slick and I now call them the Super Teachers.

I can just imagine their classes, packed lecture theatres with standing room only, eager students straining to hear every ounce of advice. Just like your own foreign language learning experience in Britain right?

Maybe one day, it could be You!

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English in the Amazon

Recently qualified teachers, Georgie Simmons and Jon Mortenson, went to the jungle after completing their Trinity CertTESOL at ISIS Tefl, London. Georgie fills us in on their adventures so far:

We've been out here for about three weeks now and it's going really well. Jon is working with years 8, 9 and 10 at the school every day of the week, teaching them how to use computers too. He also spends his Fridays coaching them in football, which they love! I've been working with a group of adults every morning, then teaching years 4, 5 and 6 twice a week, as well as the other teachers at the school two afternoons a week.

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We're just getting used to the routines of life in the jungle. The River Napo is our shower, the jungle is our toilet, we wear wellies wherever we go, but get sunburnt if we're out too long. We have a house frog called Albert, who jumped on my face the other day. So, a lot to get used to, but it's a great experience. We're both working on our Spanish, which was nil before we came here but is getting better every day.

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I guess the thing that makes everything special is the people who live in the Sani community. They have been so kind to us, helping us to settle in and generally being very welcoming. I'm looking forward to getting to know them more over the coming months.

Thanks Georgie! For details on how to start your own adventure, visit our website
www.isistefl.com