 Hi, everyone, Linda here from ITTT, back with another live session this week. How is everybody doing? Hope you're doing fine. Thank you so much for tuning in and spending, taking some time out of your day to spend it with me today. As always, we go live and our live sessions take about 45 minutes. Sometimes even an hour depends on how many questions you guys have. At the end, we always have a Q&A part. So this is a time where you can ask me your questions about teaching abroad, about TEFL, about TESOL, about our courses, about anything teaching related that's on your mind that you wanna know. And today's topic is dedicated to new teachers. So I'm gonna be sharing 10 pieces of advice that you need to know as a new TEFL or EFL, English as a foreign language teacher. If you're going abroad or also if you're teaching online, these are things that I think everybody should know as a new teacher. So that's what we're gonna get into today. This was kind of a topic suggestion from somebody in my previous live and I thought it was a great idea. And so that's what we're doing today. If you also have a topic suggestion what you would like me to talk about next week, feel free to let me know and we can make it happen. Unless we already covered that topic, we already have so many different topics in our playlist. Do check that out as well. And yeah, we are live on Facebook and on YouTube at the same time. My name is Linda. I'm gonna do a quick introduction in just a minute if you're watching for the first time. And please don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss any of our upcoming live sessions. As I said, we go live every week. Last week, yes, I did take a break. Sometimes I gotta take a break, but I'm back now and I'm gonna be back for the next few weeks as well. So usually there are no breaks in between. Live every week with a new topic. So don't you worry. So if you like our Facebook page, if you subscribe to our YouTube channel, you're gonna be up to date. You're gonna get a notification on YouTube. You can turn the notification bell on so that you're aware whenever we do go live and you're able to join us. These are completely free. Whether you are a ITTT graduate, you've taken an ITTT course or not, everybody can join completely free. We're just sharing this information, teaching related information because we're passionate about this topic, obviously. This is what we do. And we just wanna spread the word and help each other out. Also, we do have 30% off. I believe that should be next. Yes, 30% off today. Any TEFL or TESOL course from ITTT. If you've watched before, you know that we are very generous and we do give out 30% discounts during our live sessions. So if that's something that interests you, if you're thinking about getting TEFL or TESOL certified, you're not yet certified, you're thinking about it, you're not quite sure. This live session is for you. And if you decide to take that step towards your adventure of teaching English abroad or also online, I highly suggest you take advantage of this offer. And what you can do is you can either scan this QR code right here or we also have a link that I'm gonna share in the comment box right now, which looks like this. So you just copy and paste this link and you'll see an application page. You fill out this application, totally no pressure, no commitment. And when you hit apply, the next page you're gonna see the discounted price and you're gonna see your payment options. If you're not ready yet to make a payment, you can come back to it later, no problem. You don't need to do that right away. That's all cool. But so just that you kind of know how it works, the process. That is that. And I also really would like to know where you are right now. Where are you guys watching from? Just drop like a high watching from blank in the comments. And maybe what time it is there. I'm always very curious. I am actually in South Korea and it is 10 a.m. after 10 a.m. 10 6 a.m. Friday morning. So I'm very excited Friday. I feel good. The weather is good. We are getting into rainy season here in Korea. But today the weather is beautiful blue sky. We have beautiful white clouds. So it's nice. How about you guys? Where are you watching from today? How's the weather? What's the time? How are you doing? Just let me know a little bit about yourself in the comments and then we'll get into our topic today. Just leave a little high in there. And meanwhile, I'm just gonna go and introduce myself real quick and I'm just gonna make this bigger so you guys can see. Oh no and it's covering it up. That's not what I wanted. So let me know where you are and I'm just gonna introduce myself real quick. My name is Linda. I am a travel writer and content creator. That is one of the things that I do. Under the name Lindegos East. East because I've always been super interested in Asia. So now I live in South Korea or I've been living in South Korea for seven years. Now over seven years. And before that, I actually also lived in China. I taught English in China. I've been teaching English in South Korea as well. And I have my own personal website, lindegoseast.com and on there. I just share information about what it's like living abroad in Asia and China and South Korea. Travel tips. If you're not ready to make the move yet, you just wanna go and travel in Asia. I also great platform for that. So do check that out. And also on Instagram, actually I share a lot of content over there. Very passionate about photography. That's one of my big things. So if you're interested in that, go ahead, go over to Instagram. Give me a follow. I would really appreciate that. And if there's something that you wanna ask like one on one, send me a DM on Instagram. I'm always up for that as well. I am originally from Germany and the US. So my mom is German. My dad is American. I spent time in both places. I was born and mostly raised in Germany. And then I also lived a little bit in the US before I moved to China and to Korea. Currently, like I said, based in South Korea. And I really like it here. And I'm also, that's why I'm here. I'm also a TEFL and TESOL marketing professional and a TEFL teacher, an English teacher. And I also actually started teaching German which has also been super exciting. Yeah, for ITTT, what is ITTT? ITTT stands for International TEFL and TESOL Training. So we specialize in teacher training. People who want to be English teachers abroad, they come to us. We provide the training. You get your certificate and then you're good to go. You can find ITTT online at tefloncourse.net. And we're also on all social media platforms you're watching on YouTube. Some of you are watching on Facebook. That's where we are. We're also on Instagram at International TEFL Training. You can also head over there and check us out. And ITTT is a leading TEFL and TESOL course provider. We've been in the business for over 25 years. Since 1997-ish and we operate worldwide. We have a variety of different courses. I know that many of you have already taken our courses. So we've got online courses. We also have in-class courses and combined courses of different hours and different specializations and all that. So do check it out if you haven't yet. And like I said, you can have 30% off today. So that's very exciting. All right, let me have a look at our comments here. We have Juliana. Hi, Juliana, how are you doing? Watching from Illinois, 8 PM right now. It is too hot here. How have you been? I've been doing really well. Thank you so much. Like I said, we are also kind of, it's really hot in Korea as well, but we're kind of getting into rainy season. So I think that's very special about Korea that we do have. And that's something kind of a funny thing, but if you are studying Korean, maybe you've come across this that in every single textbook for learning Korean, they always say, oh, Korea has four seasons and they've been proud of that. But I think the more special thing is that Korea has four seasons and they have a rainy season as well. I think that's very special. Not a lot of countries have that, both things or maybe it's just me, I'm not sure. But yeah, today the weather is great here. It's very hot as well. I actually haven't gone out yesterday all day. So I'm probably gonna go out later a little bit just to get some fresh air. Anyways, we also have Jav Lin here from the Philippines, but watching from Hong Kong. Awesome. Just got my T-sol this month and now trying to get a job as an ESL. The weather in Hong Kong now is too hot. The sun shines so bright outside today. How are you? Hope you're good. I am very good, yeah. And I love Hong Kong and I love the Philippines as well. But I've been to Hong Kong several times, actually right before COVID one time. So I really miss it. I went to one of my friends' wedding over there. She's from Hong Kong and it was just a great experience. And I really miss Hong Kong. I really wanna go back. So I'll let you know when I go again. And congratulations on your T-sol, Jav Lin. That's awesome. Then we have Rudeen. Hello, Linda. I'm watching from Thailand, 8 a.m. Okay, great. Where in Thailand are you watching from? I'm visiting Thailand this year again, finally. I'm super excited. It's the first, well actually it's the second, but I went home to Germany in December. So it's not the first international post COVID trip, but it will be sort of. So I'm super excited about going back to Thailand. So that's nice. And we have Margie also in Hong Kong. Cool, hi Margie. How are you doing? Great, okay. Thank you guys for joining me. That's super exciting. Where everybody's from. And we have people who have completed AT. So Linda Teffel and all that. So that's very exciting. Thank you guys so much. All right, then, hold on. I think we're gonna turn this off and then we're just gonna go into today's topic. And my first question for you all is actually, oh, probably nobody can read this right now. What is your biggest worry about moving abroad? So moving abroad to teach can be a daunting undertaking. I know many of you have already done that though. People who was a javelin from the Philippines, but already in Hong Kong. So what was your biggest worry or what is your biggest worry? What are you most worried about when thinking about going abroad to teach English? What is like your number one worry, basically? That's what I'm really curious about. So this is something that's kind of tied to today's topic. Like I said, 10 pieces of advice. Every new Teffel teacher should know and it's more focused on people who want to move abroad to teach because it is just more daunting than starting to teach online. Obviously we are also, I was very worried about teaching English online also actually, of course, because it's different, but moving abroad to teach is just a whole another level because you're moving to a whole different country, a whole different culture, you don't know anybody there. So it's a whole different thing than just teaching online. So what is your worry when it comes to moving abroad to teach? What are you most worried about or it can be several things? Let me know. And maybe there's something in there that I'm actually gonna touch on today that would be really great. So, obviously one of the things that we hear a lot is just culture, the different culture. If you're able to deal with a new culture when there are many cultural issues, language issues, of course, can be a problem. Also, if you're doing this alone, you're moving to a place where you don't know anybody that can be very scary as well because you don't have a support system, all of those things, but what is it specifically for you? What are you most worried about when you're thinking about teaching English abroad or are you not worried at all? That could also be the case. Let me know. If you're like, yeah, I'm not worried. Everything's cool. I'm excited, I just wanna leave. Maybe that's the case, let me know too. Just giving it a couple of seconds here for your answer before we're then going into the different pieces of advice. We have 10 pieces of advice to cover today. So quite a bit of information to go through. So we'll see how it goes today, but let me know your biggest worry when it comes to teaching English abroad. It can be very daunting. Luckily these days, I feel like it's a lot easier than it was let's say 20 years ago because we all have, there's internet everywhere so we can just Skype with our family back home. It's easier to stay in touch with compared to like say 20 years ago, right? So that's a lot better. But yeah, I just wish somebody would say something guys. Don't be shy. Amitava, how are you doing? I'm doing very well. It's 646 a.m. in Kolkata, great. It's so early, wow. Thanks for taking some time to join us. That's awesome Amitava, thank you. All right, maybe you guys are shy today and you don't wanna share you worry, that's okay. I just named a few that a lot of people have, just the worry about the different culture, cultural issues when you're moving to a completely different place, language barrier and just the worry that you're doing this all alone, you don't have a support system, you don't know anyone there. Yeah, I think those are very common worries a lot of people have. If there are any other ones that you have that you're thinking about, do let me know. But then I'm just gonna move on to the next slide. I just wish somebody said something. I know you guys are watching, maybe you can't really type anything in the comments at the moment, that's cool too. We can come back to this later as well. Okay, here, Rudin says my biggest concern was the transportation issue. Okay, what transportation issue? Could you elaborate? Like how you get to the country? Oh, okay, I'm still learning how to ride a motorcycle. Got it, okay, so you are in Thailand? And maybe there's no, or there are no public buses a lot and no subway perhaps or you can't have a car there. Oh, and the drive on the left side, don't they, in Thailand, so that would also be scary for me because I always drive on the right side. I've never driven on the other side of the road, so that can be scary too. Interesting, okay, very good. All right, so I'm just gonna put this slide on again. This is the topic that we're talking about today. If somebody just joined now, this is what we're gonna talk about. Okay, Amitava says what are some culture shocks that one must face when one moves to another country? Also, how much money should one carry with oneself whilst shifting abroad? Very good questions. We're gonna talk about those in just a minute. Okay, Rudin says buying a car is quite expensive. Gotcha, okay, and you said, no, how I move around the city. I teach in Lapuri, central Thailand, they have no-grab cars in Lapuri, only in Bangkok. Okay, got it. Yeah, I do remember there are quite a lot of motorcycles down there, so I'm glad that you were able to get one, but you're still learning how to drive a motorcycle, okay. Nice, that's exciting. Yeah, I also got a car here in Korea after a couple of, I think after four years of living in Korea, I got a car. It's just different, isn't it? Driving in a different country, even if, even in Korea, they drive on the same side as I'm used to on the right side. But, I mean, there's still some, you know how people drive is different and some of the regulations and rules are different, so that's definitely something you need to get used to for sure, all right. And then Amitabh was talking about culture shocks and also the worry about how much money you need. Very good. So we're gonna touch on a couple of these things. So let's get into it. 10 pieces of advice you need to know as a new taffful teacher, especially if you wanna move abroad. This is what our focus is on today, so let's have a look. And always feel free to add your comments, please during this live session. So advice number one, what I have put down here is teaching is actually not that hard when you are prepared, okay? This is the key, when you are prepared. I feel like there are two sets of people usually when it comes to this. One side is like, yeah, I know how to speak English. I can teach. And those are usually the people who don't even bother getting a taffful certificate. They're like, hey, I'm a native English speaker. I can teach English, of course I can, why not? And then they get a job. They set foot in their classroom and then they realize like, oh my God, I have no idea what I'm doing. This is one set of people. The other set of people they are worried about, oh my God, I don't know how to teach. I can't do this, this is too difficult. All of these different teaching methodologies and they're getting a taffful and they're buying books and they're kind of too worried, I feel like. So either you are not worried about at all about that at all or you're worried about it too much perhaps. But when you are prepared, teaching is actually not that hard. So let's get into it. So what I just said, being a native or fluent English speaker does not make you a great teacher, okay? I know this, I think everybody by now knows this that just because you're maybe a native English speaker, it does not mean that you are also a good teacher. Those two things are completely different, okay? That's why obviously fluent, non-native, fluent English speakers also make really great teachers because they have learned English themselves. They know all about the learning process. Native English speakers don't, they don't. They've never really had to learn English like an English learner, like the students that they're gonna teach. So they are lacking this knowledge. That's why it's really important for both native English speakers and non-native English speakers to take a taffful course, to do the work, to get taffler T-cell certified. So taking a taffler T-cell certification course will give you the perfect base of know-how to be able to lead a classroom abroad. It's not just about being able to speak English, it's about knowing about the things that matter in the classroom. And so really quick, I know many of you know this, but a taffler T-cell course content, if you have no idea yet, if you haven't taken a course yet, what is it all about? So the course content of a taffler T-cell course is instruction and practice in the primary skill areas required for a graduate to teach English as a foreign language, EFL. So this includes, but it's not limited to, those are just the biggest points of the course content. Theories, methods and techniques of teaching, you'll learn about classroom management, very important, how to manage a class of say 25 different students, 25 children, whatever or 10 or whatever your class size is. Can be very challenging. You'll learn all about lesson planning, very important as well, lesson planning, how to plan your lessons. Again, if you've never taught before, and if you're just an English native speaker and you think like, oh, I'm just gonna go in there and I'm just gonna, I'll just figure it out, that's not gonna work. You need to know how to lesson plan, you need to know how to properly lesson plan. We teach you the different kinds of theories and techniques to follow. Then, Teflor Tiso course also teaches you about evaluation and testing, very important, how to give feedback to your students. We focus a lot on pronunciation and phonology, very important as well, receptive and productive skills. This is listening, writing, reading, and what's the other one, speaking. Those are receptive and productive skills, how to focus on what and how to mix them all together. And obviously there is also a grammar component of a Teflor Tiso course, which is usually highly appreciated by native English speakers because native English speakers usually don't get into the grammar nitty gritty of the English language. And they really appreciate these units of our course because those units, they don't only go into the grammar terms, parts of speech and conditionals and all those things, gerunds, the vocabulary, but also which grammar issues are the most difficult for English learners and then how can you effectively teach those grammar topics to your students. So, yeah, that's basically that. That's the first point. The first advice, again, it was teaching is actually not that hard when you are prepared. So that's why we recommend get prepared whether or not you are a native English speaker, okay? And Daniel here has a comment. Hello, Linda, this is a great topic to elaborate on. I agree. Becoming an English teacher is definitely more than mastering the language per se. Yeah, I believe Daniel, didn't you recommend this topic last time or was it somebody else? But thank you, yeah, I agree as well. Okay, good, so this was advice number one. Let's have a look at advice number two here. Advice number two, not all of your lessons are going to be great, okay? Now, we're following advice number one. You followed advice number one, you got a TEFEL course, certification, you are prepared. Now you're stepping into classroom and you're still, it's not great. Your first lesson most likely is not gonna be great. My first ever lesson was not great. My second lesson probably also wasn't great. My third, fourth, and so on, it just takes time. Not all of your lessons are going to be great. Even after 10 years of teaching, there's gonna be a day and your lesson is just not gonna be great. And that's okay. That's okay, just know that. And especially as a new teacher, it can be very challenging. So just keep in mind, you will get better at it and learn to develop your own personal teaching style. It takes time. Teaching is not something, even though we recommend taking a TEFEL course and a TEFEL course is great, it teaches you the theoretical stuff, you still need to figure out the actual practical side of things. And then those two things, the knowledge you get from your TEFEL course and everything that is in your brain and you know you've learned it, it's in your head taking this then using it in the classroom and actually getting practical teaching experience. This is how it's done and how you actually become a teacher. And it just takes time. It's not gonna happen overnight and you shouldn't get discouraged. It's perfectly normal. Every teacher will tell you and it still happens to a lot of teachers with years of experience. Some lessons aren't just gonna go great and they're not gonna go according to your lesson plan and that's okay because you're dealing with real people, you're not dealing with predictable machines, right? And sometimes it's also our mood. We don't feel great one day and our students are not gonna have the same good mood every day. So it's a lot of different factors and sometimes it's just not gonna go great. So be patient and you will figure out your own style as you go. Everybody's teaching style is different also. What works for me might not work for you. What you read in your TEFL course, we provide you with many different options to choose from and then you're gonna take your own, you're gonna put your own spice on it basically. You're gonna make it your own following our instructions and our advice and then you're gonna turn it into your own teaching style and that's cool too. So that was advice number two. I think we all agree on that one as well. And I'm sure all of you who are already teaching, you've definitely had lessons that were not great. I mean, I've been in many groups about teaching and I read this all the time where people are like, yeah, I spent hours on lesson planning and I had this great idea for a lesson on this and this topic and I played it out all in my head and it was so cool. I was so excited to do it. And then they walk into the classroom and they start and then they realize, oh, this does not work at all how I imagine it would. It's not, my students hate it. It just doesn't work out. So this can happen too. And that's okay. Next time we can make it better. All right. Good. Advice number three also kind of related to your teaching style is all kids are the same. Now this is a little bit controversial or it sounds a little bit controversial. I'm not saying all students are the same. The thing here really is all kids are the same and what do all kids like? Think about that for a second. What do all kids like? And I'm going to look at this comment. Daniel says, yes, I think so. I was happy when I learned about today's live session topic. I'm taking notes. Oh, cool. Yeah, I think you did recommend that topic. So thank you so much for that, Daniel. Keep taking notes. You can always watch the replay as well. So don't worry. Don't take too many notes. All right. So advice number three, especially if you're teaching kids and most of the EFL teachers abroad are actually teaching children, especially if you're moving to Asia. Asia is all about English instruction, specifically for kids. I would say 80%, 90% children. So just keep in mind, all kids are the same and what do all kids like? Games and one more thing. One more thing they like. So no matter where you teach, you can apply the same teaching strategies to young students all around the world. Incorporate a lot of fun activities, a lot of visuals, a lot of props as well. Those will work anywhere. Whether you're teaching in China, whether you're teaching in Korea, or you're teaching in Germany, or you're teaching in Peru, it doesn't matter. Kids all over the world, they love activities, they love using their bodies and their hands. So if you incorporate things like that into your lessons, the children, they will love you. And at the same time, what they also like are rewards. So classroom management in a class filled with children works like a charm with a reward system. So if you're taking notes, one thing you should write down is reward system, two words. Reward system, write that down. And I have an example for you as well. And this is even something that I use in my online lessons. When I teach online, I mostly teach adults, but I do have some children that I teach. And I also use reward systems for them online because it just works, they love it. And I will have a sticker board. I'm just gonna show you that right now. An example. So in my school when I was teaching, my first year in Korea, I was a full-time kindergarten and elementary school teacher. And for our children, for our students, we had reward cards that looked similar to this or sticker boards where they would collect stickers and then they can put it on their sticker board at the end of the day. And then we had, well, there would be rewards. Sorry, there would be rewards. So if the sticker board is full, then kind of turn it in and get like a small gift, like a pencil or like an eraser or something like that. There's some reward for that. In my online classes, I also use a similar system to this with my young learners. And what I do at the end when they have, when the sticker board is full, then the next lesson after that, we would play a game. And what I usually do, we just don't play a game and it's fun. It's a review game. So I would make a game of including like all the things we've learned before and make it into a game with like a board game and the students can pick like their characters. I put up like Disney characters they can use to move across the board and stuff. So that's what I do online. So this works online as well as in the real world, you just wanna have a reward system. Kids will love it and it's gonna make your life as a teacher so much easier. Rodine says, all kids really are the same. I was teaching in Namibia before it came over to Thailand. Games and props work everywhere. A reward system really helps a lot and makes life easier for teachers. Yes, exactly. And you really need to use the reward system, not just have it there but really refer to it when you notice your students like in the classroom or also online, they're getting re-bunctious. They're not paying attention or they're misbehaving. You can remove stickers or you can just remind them, hey, if you're not behaving, you're not gonna get a sticker and you want a sticker, right? You wanna play the game. You wanna be able to get your reward, right? And then they're like, oh yeah, yeah. And they, you need to remind them. They forget too. So always have it visible and just remind them. So they are behaving. So you see kids in Namibia are the same as kids in Thailand, as kids in Korea, as kids everywhere. That's awesome. Thank you, Rodine. Okay, so this was, which number was that? Number three, right? Yes. So remember, all kids are the same. Use a reward system and apply the same activities and games and you'll be good. That's what really help you. Okay, advice I have for you. Number four, now we're really getting into it. Don't underestimate culture shock. And who was it in the beginning was talking about amitava, right? Amitava was talking about culture shock. Yes. So again, amitava is asking what are some culture shocks that one must face when one moves to another country? This will be completely different from person to person because you come from a culture, you're going to a different culture. My culture is different from yours if you're then going to a different country. So like all our cultures are different. Even if you're from the same country, inside the culture of your family might be different. So there is no answer, one answer for all of this. It will really depend on you, but there are some things that people associate with culture shock and it can be all of these things. So for me, because I live in South Korea where literally 99% of the people are South Korean, a big culture shock is just that I always stand out, right? I can never, no matter how many years I live in Korea, I will never blend in because I obviously don't look Korean. So whenever I'm out on the street or anywhere, people instantly are aware, oh, this is a foreigner, right? So this is one of the things you have to deal with. If for example, you're moving to a country like Korea. Now, this is not gonna happen to you likely if you're moving to a place like in Europe or just a place that is more multicultural where there are people of different backgrounds and colors and shapes and sizes. But if you're moving to a country like Korea or China or Japan, countries like that, you're just gonna stand out more. For example, then obviously all the other things of a culture, the food, you could have issues with the food from my own experience. Obviously, food in Korea and food in China is very different from what I'm used to back home. Those are things. And then just little parts, it can really just be little parts the little things that might be different, right? So this will be just different for anyone. And those are just a bunch of words that people usually associate. Also fashion, definitely. People here dress differently than what I'm used to, for example, so yeah, it really depends. Some countries are more traditional than other countries or some countries are more open-minded, whereas some might be more conservative, it just really depends. Yeah. And so what you can do to kind of minimize the effects of culture shock, you're gonna have culture shock no matter what because you can't, you're just not from that culture, right? So you're gonna experience that no matter what. But how to minimize it is just to do as much research about your desired location as you can to understand the local culture. You can watch movies from there. You can watch TV shows or programs. Definitely learning the language will also help you better understand the culture and also will help you then when you're there to communicate, so it's a win-win. So you can read blogs of people living there. You can engage with people from that country through social media or forums. We on ITTT, at ITTT, we have a blog, teffelcourse.net, slash blog, and we share a lot of stories from our course graduates who move abroad and they share their thoughts about what it's like living in a certain place. So just do as much research as you can or maybe there are people from your country who move to that country where you wanna go to and they have a YouTube channel so you can watch their videos or just stuff like that. The more you kind of learn about the culture beforehand, the less you're gonna be shocked and surprised or at least you're aware and you know, okay, this is kind of what will happen or might happen so you're kind of aware, oh, people are gonna stare at me and then you're not gonna be too shocked when people stare at you all the time, things like that. So that's my take on culture shock. It's really gonna depend on from person to person. There's no one answer, but just my advice, do as much research about your desired location as you can and don't underestimate culture shock. So some people think like, oh yeah, I'm gonna be fine, like I've traveled, I'm gonna be good and then it might hit you really hard and the feeling of not fitting in and not being able to adapt can be really devastating. So don't underestimate it and really kind of do your research and kind of dive into it. It's gonna make it easier. All right, so this was advice number four. Let's have a look at advice number five. You will be confused and that's okay. So kind of also associated with the culture shock of things. Even though you do your research, you do everything you can, you're still gonna be confused and that's okay. Don't try and place your way of doing things onto the locals, that's a very important thing. As you are after all a guest in their country, right? So this is what I've seen also happen from a lot of people. They come to a different place, the culture is different and then they're just like, oh, why are they doing this? This hour way is so much better or I don't understand why they're doing that. You should do it like this. And it's just like, come on, like give it a chance first of all and don't be like that. And at the same, but at the same time, you should also stay true to your own values and don't completely change yourself. So I think living abroad is all about this mix and compromise. So yes, adapt, adapt, but don't change all of yourself to make desperately make you fit into this box. Like if you just don't fit in anyway. It's all about compromising and finding a balance. That's what I'm saying, basically. So yeah, I think there's nothing more to that. I hope it makes sense. It's kind of just an extension of advice number four with the culture shock. And just number five, no matter how much research you do or you think you know a lot about this certain country you're still gonna be confused or you're gonna be confused. I mean, I was, I'm still confused here, but I was extremely confused a lot of times about how things are just done when I lived in China. I'm very used to a certain kind of German bureaucracy and China works very differently. So I was confused at many times going to a bank, going to a post office. They just work completely differently, but you just can't let that get to you. You can just take note of it. Oh, okay, that's just the way they do things, but don't like get too much into it and be like, oh my God, why are they doing this? This is so annoying. Like it's just the way it is. And you just need to deal with it and just take note of it and then move on from that. I feel like, if that makes sense. All right, we have Lutark here, great advice. This is a nice topic. Thank you for sharing, Linda. I would watch the recorded video later. I was late, happy Friday. Oh yeah, sure, no problem. That's the great thing about our live sessions. You can always come back later, watch the replay. It will always stay in our playlist on YouTube and on Facebook, so don't worry. It'll always be here for you, forever for eternity. Okay, this was advice number five. Now we're moving on to advice number six. Also, very real, very important these days, be prepared in case you get sick, okay? Very important, yes, you're human, you're going to get sick, so think about this. Will you have access to healthcare in the country you choose? If you don't know the answer, you need to do some research. Many countries, they are going to have you on public healthcare. As a foreign teacher, many countries include you in the national healthcare system. Some countries do not, so in that case, you need to be aware of that and you might have to get health insurance for the duration of your stay abroad from your home country. So that you're safe. On top of that, you should also pack a health kit with all essential medications you might need. I also do that and I still do that. I have my mom buy some medications from Germany and send them to me or bring them to me when she visits because I just want those. I do use Korean medication, but again, cultural things, they are different sometimes and I just prefer taking other things from what I'm used to back home. Anyway, things like this might include painkillers, headache medicine, allergy pills, those might be different in a different country. Also contact lenses and also birth control pills, things like that, birth control or birth control pills or other kinds of birth control. Make sure you have that and at least for, let's say bring if you can have contact lenses for maybe six months or even a year if you can and also birth control and any other important medication that you need, if you have any allergies or any other diseases, make sure you stock up on your medication before you go. So that you have time to figure out how to get a refill of your prescriptions, et cetera in the new country. And with this, I also have another pro tip here for you guys, register with your embassy in your host country. I know that a lot of embassies are doing this and I'm registered, so I have two passports. I have an American passport and a German passport and I'm registered with both embassies in Korea. So I receive information for all German and US citizens living abroad and in case of any kind of disaster. I mean, God forbid, but any, I mean, in today's world really anything can happen. I think we all know that by now. So just in case anything happens, they know that you are here. The American government, the German government wherever you are from, they are aware that you live abroad in this country. So if anything happens, they will be able to contact you. You would be able to contact them and get there and receive assistance. So that is very important. You can check that with your local embassy in the country where you wanna move to and they will likely have some kind of mailing list, some kind of online system where you can register and you put your name and your passport number and usually also your address and you can also add any family members or any additional people to that, to your record there. So that's just my tip and I feel like especially these days with COVID and with wars going on, this is a very smart thing to do so you're on the safe side. And you'll also receive some newsletters on different things and travel regulations so you're always up to date. So this is something you should definitely do. Okay, move it on. Number seven, also good to know, some people do not realize this but your friends and family might not be able to relate to your experience. If you have friends or family who have obviously never lived abroad before or they have never been to that particular country before where you are, they might not be able to relate to any of what you're saying. So it's important to not only have your family there as people that you talk to but you're also obviously gonna make friends abroad who are going to understand what you're going through. Just be aware that maybe your friends and family might not be able to relate and they might make some comments that are not that helpful to you in that situation. So, yeah, a lot of English teachers abroad they're gonna get that, when are you coming home and get a real job type of comments? So, just take them with a grain of salt. No matter what people say, don't take it too personally. They just don't know what you're going through and after all it is your life and you can live it the way you want. Just keep that in mind. That should actually be the advice. It's your life and you can live it the way you want. This is your advice. I see this with a lot of my friends also where they get a lot of pressure from back home. They're like, hey, just come back home. Why are you living there? Just come back home and like get a real job and like stop chasing this dream of living abroad. Like why are you doing that? And you just then just need to take a breather and you're like, yeah, you know, I actually really like it here, you know? You should come visit. You should see for yourself. Yeah. So that is some advice that I have for you. Just don't take it too personally. Just think about, hey, they have never left the country maybe or they have never been here before. They just don't know what it's like. And I mean, living abroad is not gonna be all great and rainbows every day and every time. So you're gonna have bad days as well just as you would back home. So it's perfectly normal that sometimes you're gonna be frustrated and sometimes things are not just gonna be great. Just like back home, you're gonna have good days and bad days and that's just how life is. Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. I hope I'm making sense. Sometimes I feel like I'm just not making sense but I appreciate that. Okay. All right, so that was advice number seven. I think this was it for number seven. Yes, so now we're going to get into advice number eight. Also very, very important. Read and understand your contract, your teaching contract or any kind of contract you're gonna have to sign in your new country whether it is a phone telephone contract for your cell phone, cell phone plan, a rental contract, any kind of contract but this is more focused now on the teaching contract. So read and understand your contract. Very important. Don't just sign it. Teaching English is big business and there are more vacant positions out there than teachers to fill them. This is just how it is. It's a reality. So when interviewing for a job abroad, ask as many questions as you can about the employer and see if they seem trustworthy, okay? And take your time to read the contract. Don't just sign it. And if something feels off, it's better to walk away because like I said, there's so many vacant positions you can find something better. If this feels off, no, trust your gut with this as well. And I did a live session back in April about what to watch out for before you sign your teaching contract. So this is something you should definitely check out. Very flattering picture here, but anyway, check it out. There are more details about what to really watch out for when you sign all the little details in the contract that might be overlooked by some people. So do check this out. I can share the link with you. Let me see if I can find it right away. Okay, maybe if I click on this right now, hold on. I wanna share the link with you because it's very important. Let's do this. Yes. Okay, so you can watch this. If you've missed previously and then I'm gonna share that in the comment section so you can watch this video because this is really important. So I wanna make sure that everybody has access to that. If you haven't seen this yet, you can have a look this video. So I just shared it. So this is the video about teaching contracts and what to watch out for before you sign. There will be more information in there. This is from April of this year. So it's not too long ago. It's still up to date. So you can watch it and get a better understanding of what you really need to watch out for. There's some really great tips in there. Okay, and then we have advice number nine. Just to know you might not go back home. This can be very real. Me too, I never imagined myself living in Korea for seven years. I always thought I would not be here this long. So just be aware. You might not go back. You might like it so much that you're not gonna go back. Be aware of that. There are many reasons why many teachers actually decide to stay abroad. So there are just so many attractive career opportunities for qualified EFL teachers abroad. And it's not to say that you stay in one place the whole time, but maybe after teaching a year in Korea, you're moving on to teaching a year in China and then you're going to teach in Dubai or wherever. So just be aware. Many teachers actually, they are staying longer than they initially thought. Pretty much everyone I know, most people came here, oh, I'm just gonna stay a year. And then they liked it so much, they stayed another year and another year and so on. Some of these people, they even open up their own schools. So you could even open up your own business here or some people actually move away from teaching and get a job in that country at a different company. Can also happen. And others they even find love and settle down and start a family abroad. So this is something very real that happens to a lot of people. You might meet somebody and then you're actually gonna stay there. So this is a whole another thing. So teaching abroad turns into actually living abroad and having a foreign partner and having children and having your entire life there. So just be aware that this is something that can happen because you just can't predict the future. Me too, I always was like, yeah, I'm gonna go to China for a year and then I'm gonna come back. I'm gonna go to Germany. I'm gonna work for Audi or BMW in the Asia department because I could speak Chinese and that's that. Well, it didn't turn out that way. Let me tell you, it didn't turn out that way. Now I've been here in Korea for seven years, married four, six to a Korean man and we have two cats. Very different. Okay, Amitav is saying I was wondering whether to undertake a car driving course and obtain an international license before moving out from my home country to a foreign one or to obtain one while staying abroad in that particular country. This is because in India, it is mainly a right hand driving country whilst mostly in Europe, they're obviously left hand driven countries. Yeah, that's an interesting idea. So this actually depends on the different countries. So here in Korea, they drive on the right side of the road, same as in Germany. And I was actually able to exchange my driver's license. I did not have to take a new test or anything in a driving exam or nothing because the rules are the same pretty much and we drive on the same side of the road. Now I know that people, for example, I know a lot of people from South Africa coming to Korea, they I think need to take another exam because they drive on the left side of the road. So different countries will have different regulations when it comes to driving and driving licenses and who can exchange their license and not. So this really depends on where you wanna go. So I recommend maybe reaching out to the embassy of the country, like of your country, the Indian embassy in the country where you wanna go to and ask them if you're able to exchange the license or if you have to take a whole new license there, get a whole new license, take a whole new course, it depends. So either way could be better for you, it depends really on the country. It could be better for you to obtain a license in India, probably cheaper than getting one in Europe or it might be better to get one in Europe because yours might not be recognized, I'm not sure. Ask your embassy, they will know for sure. Okay, then we are already, oh yeah. Oh, I wanted to share this with you as well about you might not move back. So this was actually a 2021 survey of teachers who are currently teaching abroad and I hope this is not too small, but it says the majority of teachers, they feel comfortable about teaching abroad in 2021. So they did this survey basically during COVID and how teachers abroad were feeling about the COVID situation and if they were moving back or not. So as you can see, the majority here, 37% are very comfortable and comfortable. So they did not leave, very uncomfortable, 5% and those teachers, I'm not sure if they've left actually. So the majority of teachers, they plan to continue teaching abroad in 2021 despite all the stuff that happened. So they plan to continue teaching 97%. Only 3% of the people no longer plan to teach abroad. So as you can see, teaching abroad and living abroad has a huge impact on people's lives and it's not something that they easily just give up and stop. So generally, once you're teaching English abroad, people are very comfortable, they like it and they are more likely to stay than to return home actually. All right, next slide, here we go. All right, this is advice number 10 that I have, last advice of today. You won't be the same person, just be aware that you're not gonna be the same person as when you left, when you have lived abroad. Like we talked about, culture shock is very real and so is reverse culture shock. So actually a lot of people who lived abroad for a long time because you change and you adapt to your surroundings. So when you go back home, you also feel a culture shock and that is called reverse culture shock. So you're gonna experience another culture shock when you go back home because you've been used to living in a new place, you adapt it, you changed. Every place there's a saying like every place you go, you take a piece with you in your heart or something like that. That's definitely true. You change, you're not gonna be the same person and people back home might not like that, right? They're like, oh, you changed, like why are you doing this now? Like they might be confused, but also you might be confused because to you, you left and in your mind, everybody stayed a certain way, right? But also life goes on for those staying back home. So a lot of us, we live abroad and then suddenly somebody's getting married, somebody's having babies and you're not there. Life goes on for them as well, right? So that's something to keep in mind. You won't be the same person when you go back and they are also not going to be the same people maybe as when you left. And that can be something that's really tough to realize, right? You're gonna miss so many holidays. You're gonna miss so many birthdays, right? You're gonna miss so many babies being born and weddings and things like that. So just be aware of that. And at the same time, you're also not gonna be the same. You're not gonna be the same person that you were when you left. I believe that is it with advice number 10. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope that you are now more ready moving abroad to teach English just got a little less daunting. I hope that was my goal for today to make it a little less frightening and a little less daunting to kind of ease your mind and help you through with that. So I hope you feel a little bit more ready now to do that and to pursue your passion, follow through with it. Of course it's still gonna be daunting and still gonna be scary but just know that you can do it. Why shouldn't you? Thousands of people have already done what you wanna do. You can also do it. Why shouldn't you be able to do it? If you really wanna go abroad and experience life abroad, you should go for it. And what's the worst thing that could happen? The worst thing that could happen is you hate it and then you just go back or you go somewhere different. That's the worst thing that could happen. You always have the option of going back, right? You don't know until you try. So that's just what I wanted to say as a final note. So before we sign off and before we do a Q and A, I forgot about the Q and A, here's just how to reach us, ITTT. If you're now feeling inspired and ready to teach English abroad, reach out to us. We will help you find the most suitable Teflur T-Soul course for your destination where you wanna go. On our website, you can actually request a call back. You can speak with us or you can also reach out to us via email, courses at tesoulminusteflur.com and on our website, teflurcourse.net. You can check out all the different course options and we do still have 30% off any Teflur T-Soul course from ITTT today. You can scan this QR code or you can also follow the link. I'm just gonna share that with you one more time. That is the same link. If you can't scan the QR code, you can copy paste this link and follow the instructions and you can get 30% off your Teflur T-Soul course. And with that, if anybody has a question now before I sign off, I'm just gonna give it a couple more minutes. We're already now over one hour but it's okay. I still have some time for you guys. I just wanna make sure if anybody has a question that I can answer the question before I sign off for today. Oh, and I missed this comment actually from Daniel. Daniel said, it does make sense since you went through the learning process of teaching abroad. You're living your dream and that's inspiring. Thank you so much. Yeah, I appreciate that. Amitabha also said yes indeed. Whatever you are saying makes perfect sense. Great, and please keep it up. I'm glad guys, you enjoyed that. That makes me feel a lot better. So thank you so much. And Daniel also said advice number 10 was the best piece of advice every future English teacher can get. As far as we can see, teaching abroad is a life-changing experience. I dream of it. Great, thank you so much. It really means a lot to me that even if I just inspire or take some doubts from one person watching today, that's already a win for me, literally. I mean, it sounds cheesy and all, but this is why I'm here. This is why I'm doing this. I just wanna show you guys that there's nothing to worry about. And if this is what you wanna do, you should just go for it. The worst thing that can happen is you don't like it and then you just go back home. That's it, that's it. You're not gonna be stuck there forever if you hate it. Yeah. And... Oh, Juliana said thank you for sharing this helpful information with us today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thank you, you too. Same to you. And do let me know if there are any questions that I might be able to answer before I sign off. If there's anything I can help you with, before I leave, I'm still gonna be on now for maybe two minutes. Gonna wait a little bit. I don't wanna leave too early. I wanna give everybody the opportunity to ask a question. So if there's something on your mind, feel free to ask. Or if you don't wanna ask a question here in front of everybody, you can also just go to Instagram and DM me, at LyndaGoes East and I will help you out as well. If you don't wanna ask here in front of everyone, that's fine as well. Okay. So if there's anything on your mind, right now about teaching abroad or anything that I talked about that was not clear, any information you wanna add, perhaps, or any topic suggestions you have for upcoming live sessions, I'm all here, let me know. We have about one more minute. If there's no more questions, no more questions coming through, that's cool too. That means I did my job today. I left no questions unanswered, so that's a good feeling as well. But if there are any questions, don't hesitate, don't hesitate. All cool. Amitava says, thanks a lot, Lynda, for your kind inspirational advice, words, support, suggestions, and the best wishes. Here's wishing you a happy and wonderful weekend. Thank you so much, Amitava, that's so nice. Thank you. I hope everybody also has a nice weekend. Maybe you have some fun plans. Let me know about them next week when I'll see you again hopefully, same time, same place. So yeah, thank you guys. Then I think I'm gonna sign off. There are no more questions. You can always reach out to me, like I said, on Instagram. And I just wanna show you here again. Email us, courses, at tso-teffield.com. Go to our website. You can also request a callback. And just don't forget the 30%, if you're ready to start this adventure. Yeah, and I hope everybody has a great weekend. And I hope to see you all again next week. And yeah, stay safe and stay happy. And then I'm out. I'm out, I'm out. Thank you guys for watching. See you next time. Bye-bye.