 Hey there, it's Liza here. How are you doing guys? I'm super glad to welcome you to today's live session, and I should say it's an unusual time for me to start my live stream. However, from now on we're going to go live on different days at different time just to make sure that we can help out as many people as it is possible and there are some people who can't make it on my regular day and at my regular time. So that is why I'm here today. It's actually 10 a.m. at my place, and I should say it's just the best way to start my day, my workday, because I can meet these interesting people who are motivated and proactive to change their career or, I don't know, develop careers. So I'm super glad to be here, and if you see and hear me, please let me know via the chat box so that I could understand that there are some of you watching. And today's live stream is going to be really, really brief and simple. We're just going to discuss whatever questions you have on your mind. So if you have any questions related to tuffle, T-sol, life abroad, for example, or I don't know, online education, please let me know early during this session, and I will try my best to help you out, because this is why I am here for, okay? So as you know, or as probably there are not many people who see me regularly, so let me just quickly introduce myself. My name is Lisa, and I am from Russia. I'm an online ESL teacher, and I am also an ITTT tuffle and T-sol expert. So I'm here every week to help you out, to understand like if you are doing good at your career, or something related to tuffle and T-sol. So guys, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment. And also let me know where are you guys from. So I'm located in Yekaterinburg. It is the Euro region of Russia. And today is pretty early for me to start this live stream. I usually go online around 2 p.m. But we just decided to change the schedule and go live on different days so that we could help as many people as it is possible. So that is why I am here today, right now. So feel free to ask whatever questions are on your mind. I will try my best to help you. And just a quick reminder, this live stream is supported and provided by ITTT. And we are a leading tuffle and T-sol provider. If you are interested in taking your teaching career to the next level, tuffle or T-sol certification is actually what you need. And this is what happened to me several years ago when I was a graduate. And I wanted to change my career somehow. So I was a linguist after my university. But then I just realized that that job, that academic field was not for me. So I took this tuffle certification and then I went to China to work as an ESL teacher. And this is actually how I started my ESL career. So let me know where are you guys from? What is your career goal? Why are you interested in tuffle? Feel free to comment out. And I hope that you have any questions because otherwise we just don't have the talk and I am simply speaking to myself. And basically this is how it works. Right now I am talking to myself. I can't see any other faces behind the screen. And it would be really helpful if you talk to me. I would really appreciate that. Okay. So there is Paula from Chile. Okay. Nice to see you Paula. Thank you for coming. And there is actually another question. So let me just show it on the screen and answer it. So I hope that I pronounced your name correctly. Puvana, thank you so much for your question. And so the question is related to my personal experience in getting my first job, in getting my first ESL job. And I should say it didn't take a long time back in 2016. So as I have already mentioned, I was a graduate, a recent graduate. I just finished my university at that time. And I was like, what do I have to do? What should I do for my career? What should I do to make a living, you know? And at that time, one of my schoolmates, she found this opportunity in China. And she went there a little bit earlier, apart from me, a little bit earlier than me. And we constantly chatted on social media. And she was like, you know, actually you can also come to China. It's not difficult. And there is this demand. And I was really interested in this perspective and decided to research a little bit because, you know, there were many issues apart from just getting this plane ticket and going there. So I had to understand what was the situation with visa, with work visa and so on. And I was actually pretty young at that time. I was just 21 and I was a little bit scared. So at first I just did that research and then I went to China. And to be frank, I went to China with my business visa. So I couldn't get a work visa just because of several issues, like my young age and what else. And this long process of getting the work visa. So I went as a business visa holder and started working as an ESL teacher in a kindergarten. But I kind of knew that it was pretty illegal. It was actually really illegal. And I constantly tried to research how to change the situation. But at that time I just couldn't do anything. And one of the major problems was my age. I don't know about the situation with visas in China now. Like how to get them, how to apply, you know, this kind of process. However, I did a live stream with my friend who is still there. And he talked there about the process of getting a job in China post COVID situation. So what you have to know about working abroad as a non-native teacher is that every country has different legal situations. They have different requirements. And if you're interested in a specific place, in a specific location, before finding a job there, research that country, research their governmental websites, for example. Just to get this understanding of the process you will be supposed to come through, you know. Even if countries have some easy visa application process, it is extremely important to find all possible pitfalls, you know. So generally speaking, it was not difficult to find a job in 2016. And it is not that difficult to find a job abroad these days. Although there is still some COVID going around the world and some countries still have restrictions. Some others do not have them. Well, anyways, the demand is still here. And it is actually possible to find a job even if you're at the early stage of your career. So, Puvana, thank you for the question again. And I hope that I have explained my situation in details more or less. But if you have any other questions, just feel free to ask. And let me move on to the next question. All right. So there are some people who actually know me. Thank you so much for coming. Letran, nice to see you. And yeah, some people from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, right? Okay, that's actually really cool to know that we are guys global and we have this awesome ESL community here. Thank you so much for tuning in. And let's answer this question. All right, this is a funny question. Thank you so much, Latifah. So as long as I have been working as an online teacher and mostly I work with one-on-one students and my groups are made of adults, you know, I don't work with young children any longer. It's really hard to answer this question, but I would try. So when I worked in China, I had to deal with, at first it was a class of 30 children or so and they were from five to six years. It was extremely challenging for a person who doesn't know their local language and who doesn't know how to teach in general, because like, you know, no experience, no knowledge of child psychology and so on. So it was really difficult to figure out how to work with those people. But what I noticed early back in the day was that if you want children to be attentive and patient and quiet during your circle time, you have to become their role model. If they don't see that you are a professional somehow, you know, they like feel it. If you don't show confidence in the classroom, they will simply ignore you. So it is extremely important to set this connection and to help children understand that you are not the same age as they are, and you are an adult and they have to respect you. But to do that, it's a long pass which you have to set yourself and follow your own instinct, probably. So for example, I acted in different situations not that well enough, and some children, they kept ignoring me, they kept being naughty and you know. So when there are many people around, it's just impossible to be liked by everyone for sure. But at least some people will respect you and this is probably the most crucial aspect of teaching. So maybe it's a great idea not to pay attention to some misbehaving situations and just pay attention to some rules and directions. But you have to set all of those rules just at the beginning of your work in the specific classroom. Okay. All right. There is Joanna from Missouri, US. Nice to see you, Joanna. Thanks for coming. Okay. All right. So I'm super glad to see that people who have recently graduated from the course also want to stay connected to the community. And by the way, thank you guys for coming. Yeah, as for building this ESL community, let me just introduce my group on Facebook. So if you are interested to keep in touch and if you want to network with some other teachers, just feel welcomed to join my Facebook group for ESL teachers. I have just sent it to the chat box. So I hope to see you sometime. So I also try to, from time to time, I try to share useful stuff there, but you know, my word schedule is pretty hectic. So I'm not that consistent. However, I try my best to come up with an idea with several ideas for that group. So I will try to post regularly. And if you guys want to keep in touch, you can always add me on Facebook as a friend or just join in the group and we can chat when you have any questions. Okay. Yeah, and as for the thing related to job opportunities, we at ITTT just let me quickly send my send another link to the chat box. Yeah, one second please. I haven't prepared for that. Sorry. So at ITTT we have a section. We have a separate section on the website, which is related to jobs. And we keep this resource updated constantly and add different job prospects from our partners. So if you guys are interested in finding a tackle job and ESL position, just feel free to check out this job section on the ITTT website. And you will probably find something you are looking for. And also another important fact at our TESOL TEFL courses Facebook page. We also post different job prospects regularly. So just make sure you stay on the group and make sure you subscribe to the news. So if you need any updates on job prospects, on positions, you will be able to see the new ones when they come up on Facebook. Okay. All right. And the next question from Salamat. I can read this Cyrillic caption. So nice to see you by the way. Thanks for coming to the live stream and I'll try my best to answer your question as well right now. And by the way Salamat is from Uzbekistan. And as far as I know, it's a great destination to work as an ESL teacher. So if you're interested in not only some famous and popular directions, just think about Uzbekistan. I think it's a great place to visit at least. And my aunt, last year she spent there like a couple of months because she has some work related to that destination. She's not a teacher, but anyway, she loved the country. And she said like, it's a direction which worth visiting. Okay. Yeah. So as for working abroad after finishing your TAPL or TESOL certification, the answer is yes. Right after you get certified, you are allowed to teach at whatever place you want. However, the thing is you have to be proactive in finding a job yourself. At ITTT, we have a post course job assistance, which is for good. If you want any assistance at whatever stage of your life you are, you can simply message us on Facebook or write an email. And our managers will try to assist you. But don't count on this help solely because anyways, you have to be proactive yourself. This is the way we actually find jobs being professionals. And if you really want to become an ESL teacher, especially abroad, it's just probably 99% on you and then another percent on some help and on employers. So this is how it's done in the world. What else should I add here? Let me think. That's probably it. So I also wanted to add about online jobs. Actually, just counting, just thinking of the current situation with all those COVID restrictions. Before going abroad, probably it's a great idea to get some online teaching experience. Online teaching is in great demand nowadays. You can also make good money doing online teaching. And it's just much easier to start working online versus going somewhere abroad just because you will avoid those legal issues and visa application process and so on. So what I would suggest is right after your TAPL certification or even before, slightly before getting TAPL certified, make up your profile on Preply or italki, for example, or on some other TAPL, not TAPL, on some other teaching platforms. And try to get this experience as early as it is possible because teaching online is also a great way to learn how to apply methodologies, how to manage classrooms and so on. So I strongly recommend that. And also, just a quick reminder, I did several online streams, several live streams related to different teaching platforms related to online teaching. So if this topic is interesting to you, make sure you check out our folder on the Facebook group related to live streams or you can also check out our folder on YouTube. So we have a YouTube channel just for those who doesn't know, for those who don't know. Yeah, just check out those previous live streams and you will find, you can find interesting ideas for your future jobs, for your future experiences. Yeah, that's it. And just let me know if you want a link, if you need this direct link to the resources, let me know. I'll quickly find it on the Facebook group or on YouTube. Probably YouTube would be easier, but not sure. Okay. And now just let me see another question. All right. I can see that there are so many people from India today and from countries, you know, close to Russia. That's probably because we have the same time zone. And are you guys free now? Is it convenient for you to join in these live streams during these hours? Let me know as well because I try to figure out which is what is the best time to go live. Because I want to meet some more people from different places and to help out as much as it is possible. So if you think that it is better to go live earlier in the day, just let me know. I'll try my best. But frankly speaking, I personally can't get up really early. So probably 10 a.m. is the most suitable time for me to go live. Okay. So there is another question from Puvana. And by the way, thank you so much for being this active. I really appreciate your interest. Okay. So as for the thing about securing a position, I believe that it is possible. This is actually how it's done. For example, just let me explain this visa application process in China. I know about this process from my previous experience. Although I couldn't apply myself because of those things. However, the thing is when an employer considers a specific teacher, they start preparing documents for their work visa beforehand. So before this person comes to the country. When they come to the country, they have not a work visa but some specific document which allows them to stay in the country before getting this work visa. And when it is all done, when some other documents are done related to this work visa process, this person gets the documents and just changes the permit, the initial permit to this work visa. So if you started discussing all these details with an employer and they say like, yes, let's sign this contract. And they start preparing documents specifically for you. Your position is secured. No one else will take it. Just simply because the employer spends money on processing your documents and they don't want to lose you. They want to make sure that all of the documents will be ready and you will come to the country as they wish. Of course, sometimes things happen and this process goes slowly. For example, or some issues occur like you have to get some more documents or you have to wait a little bit longer and so on. You have to get some confirmations and stuff like that. But generally speaking, you get your work visa when you come to the country and before coming to the country, before getting this work visa, you have a permit, a residence permit or something like that and you have to change it when you come to the place. Thank you so much for paying attention to my recommendations. Yes, we have different... By the way, Linda's live streams are also saved on those folders on the Facebook group and on the YouTube channel. If you want to check out if there are some topics covered which might be interesting to you, make sure you check out those videos. Thank you so much for letting me know that this time is convenient for you. Probably I should make it fixed. Maybe I should just fix it in my schedule and go live either at this time or at my regular time. I can change each week because I can see that today's session is pretty active. All right. Thank you, Puvana. That is actually so awesome that there are people from Malaysia as well. I love Malaysia. I went to Malaysia in 2018 and I actually went to Malaysia twice. First, I went to Kuala Lumpur and then to Penang and those places were just awesome, but I would love to travel around the country a little bit more. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to do that at that time because they had just weekend trips. But still, I think that it's a great country to live in. It's a great country to visit. I was so impressed that people speak English there, that people are like international citizens. That was really impressive. I also loved bookstores in Malaysia because there are so many different books in English. Compared to Russia, for example, it's just a gold mine. When you go to a bookstore here in Russia, it's hard to find books in English, especially if you're interested in some specific topics for business or maybe finance, something like that. But in Malaysia, it's extremely different. You can find whatever you want. I strongly recommend Malaysia as one of the teaching destinations as well. I believe that it's a great place. Guys, if you have any further questions related to TEFOL, TESOL, Work Abroad and online teaching, please feel free to ask me. Anyways, otherwise, we can actually finish and wrap up this session. We've been here for 35 minutes already. It was a great talk. Unfortunately, it's not possible to communicate face-to-face. I would prefer that, I should say, because it's always much more pleasant to speak to someone in person. Anyway, thank you so much for asking questions. If you choose between 220 hours and 120 hours courses, I would say that it depends on your experience. If you have already worked as a teacher and if you know some basic methodologies, I would probably go for 220 hours. Instead of 120 hours, because 120 is just a really basic course which consists of some basic methodologies and the most basic principles of teaching grammar, for example, vocabulary and so on. Some basic instructions for managing classrooms. It's probably the initial level to get if you are at the early stage of your English teaching career. But if you know at least some things about teaching, I would probably go for a longer course. By the way, as for me, for example, I did 120 hours in 2017 or in 2016. I don't actually remember because it was so long ago, but now I'm taking a diploma course with ITTT as well because I just realized that I leveled up somehow myself doing this teaching job on a regular basis and getting experience practically. However, I still feel like I'm lacking academic knowledge. That is why I chose a diploma course which is probably 370 hours. I don't remember actually. Let me check that out. It is super convenient to do whatever courses online. If you are also interested in longer courses which contain more information and more academic knowledge, probably you can consider our diploma course, diploma certification. It's 370 hours. All right. As for classroom experience, I totally understand you, but the thing is you have to find this classroom experience yourself. However, let me just check it quickly. We actually have an observed teaching practice. Let me just check it out on the website. Probably it's not yet on the website. I have to check that out after the live stream, but we actually have this observed teaching practice which can be bought apart from the main course. You can practice teaching either in a real classroom or online, but you have to choose between these two options because the settings are just different. All right. Well, as for me, how to secure a job, how to get a job even online is to start practicing as early as it is possible. How can you do that? You can try to volunteer. There are some organizations where you can volunteer, where you can teach voluntarily on the first place. What else? You can also start giving classes for a little fee. So don't charge like a professional teacher. Just set some reasonable price, which you think is the most suitable to your experience and work with those people who are really interested in learning English around you. They can be your relatives, your friends, maybe some people from your network as well. Just don't be afraid to say everybody that you are a teacher. Actually, I started my Instagram blog several weeks ago and I was so impressed to find out that many people are really interested in my experience and right after they get to know me, they want to have classes with me as well. So probably it's a great idea to advertise yourself using social networks. Even if you don't have this experience, you can also try online teaching platforms. Because you don't have to be a professional teacher as far as I remember to work for some teaching platforms. But just check out platforms yourself because there are so many of them. Some platforms like Italki, for example, has specific requirements related to education and professional experience. But some others, like let me think, Cafe Talk, there is such a platform called Cafe Talk. They don't require any experience or some even special education. So try to start getting as much experience as it is possible trying different resources, trying different places. That's it. Yeah, this is how it's done. So as for me, it's really hard to say right now which countries accept non-native teachers legally, just simply because they all have different requirements. Sometimes they change the requirements and if you're interested in a specific location, what you have to do is to Google them to check out their governmental resources where they put this information about employees. So about this employment in the country of your destination, in the country of your choice. But just I feel like it is legal for sure to work in Thailand. It might have already changed as well. I'm not sure, but when I stayed in Thailand in 2019, it was actually legal to work as a teacher there. There are not all countries allow you to work as an English teacher if you are not from some native speaking countries, but there are some. So it's actually possible to find a job. But again, you have to research. You have to be proactive. Okay. All right, guys. So I'm so sorry. I feel like my voice has started changing a little bit because I've been speaking for 45 minutes without interruptions. So if you have any further questions, just let me know quickly. Otherwise, we can finish today's session. I think that it was really interesting. Today's session. I think that it was really active today. Usually people are not that communicative, you know, are not that talkative. And I always appreciate your activity. I like to keep in touch after those sessions. I actually found so many people with the same mindset as myself. I've seen these live streams and if you want to keep in touch with myself or if you want to find some other people interested in English and EFL teaching, just feel free to join my Facebook group. Yeah, I tried to be helpful there as well. So if you have any questions, any further questions just DM me or write a message on the Facebook group and I'll try my best to assist you. So I believe that is all for today. Thanks for coming to the session. It was really, really informative, I hope. And it was nice to talk to you guys. And that's probably one of the best ways to start my word day. I have already communicated with nice people, motivated people. So it's a way to start for sure. So thanks a lot for coming and see you next week. Next week I'm going to present a different topic related probably to materials or something like that. So I hope to see you next week and stay tuned. Bye-bye, guys.