[STCrowley]

Hello, Hello!!

I just saw that the most recent post was a 'Hola from Spain' and I just had to use my German, too!

I thought I'd take a moment or two to introduce myself. My name is Toby and I'm an American from a very small town. (That's how my classroom introduction always starts.) I say it because I live in Dresden now--you might know it from the Kurt Vonnegut novel "Slaughterhouse Five"--and it's only a mid-size city (500,000 inhabitants) but I still feel like a small-town kid lost in the big city.

I started teaching English less out of passion than out of . . . well, I decided to marry a German and there aren't that many other jobs here for foreigners. Since it started as a last-resort kind of thing, I've found that I'm pretty good at it (I think), that I enjoy it, and that I really like having the feeling that I'm helping someone reach their goals.

I've been teaching for two years. There's a teacher in our school who's taught for twelve years and he's a lot more bitter about being 'trapped' in English teaching than I am. . . see how I look in ten years.

My hobbies are playing the piano (it's a new hobby--we just got an ePiano), reading, I dream of being a novelist, but I don't write much, and . . .

. . . gosh, this would be easier if you'd just ask me questions.

I'm glad to be on board!!
-Toby

[mesmark]

Welcome to eslHQ!

You said in another thread you were teaching or working freelance. What kind of work is that? translation? substituting here and there for a large English company? a little of everything?

[English-coach]

Hey Toby, Good to see you here! It is a great place to get advice, great worksheets and some free advertising to boot!

[Rafinha]

Hi Tobey!! Welcome to eslHQ!!
Tell me, do you speak another language apart from English and German???

[Beatrix]

hello and welcome!

[jellybeanenglisch]

Hallo Tobey,
willkommen in Deutschland!
I teach English in an even smaller town (about 5000 inhabitants!) to 1st and 2nd graders, to teenagers and in the Volkshochschule (adult education centers in Germany) to adults.
I love ESLHQ for all their practical advice, motivation and great lesson ideas and hope you will, too.

[STCrowley]

Hello, Jellybean! (Strange name, you have to admit),

Did you study at the Lehramt? And do you like teaching for the Volkshochschule? I'm looking to 'broaden' myself so that I'm not dependent on the one company. I've thought about the Volkshochschule, but it sounds like the groups will be pretty big. . .

-Toby

[jellybeanenglisch]

Quote STCrowley

Hello, Jellybean! (Strange name, you have to admit)

- not so strange. I like to think that my teaching methods are like a bag of jelly beans: there´s something for everyone


Did you study at the Lehramt?
No. After spending years in England and America, I took the TEFL qualification and since then it´s been "learning by doing".

And do you like teaching for the Volkshochschule?
I LOVE teaching for the VHS and wish I could do more (currently I teach an Advanced English Conversation class). In fact, they let me decide on how big I wanted the group to be and what kind of classes I wanted to teach (maybe that´s because the VHS in Moosburg is a rather small branch and they were game for new ideas).

I'm looking to 'broaden' myself so that I'm not dependent on the one company.
If you work freelance, you can have it all. I currently work for the elementary school in my hometown, the VHS and also teach 5 students at home(Nachhilfe). Have you tried any of the language centers in your city ("Nachhilfeinstitute" in the Yellow Pages)? You can work freelance and don´t have to be restricted to just one company.

Viel Spaß in Deutschland. Let me know how you´re getting on.

[STCrowley]

Okay, I get the name now :-)

So you're a German teaching English? I don't know if it makes a difference, but I know that it does to the school I'm working at now. With the TEFL qualification, you're able to teach in German schools? (I'm only asking because I've been learning-by-doing with no qualification and I'd like a somewhat steadier income. Our first kid's on the way.)

And how's the pay at the VHS? Or do you decide that, too? (Set your own course price and see who comes?) After the kid, I think I'll visit the local VHS again and see what they have to say.

I know that I can work for different language schools, but I think they're all similarly 'exploiting' of foreigners in Germany. And I work for the one that pays best in Dresden, so I'm not going to 'balance' myself with a lower-paying job. But. . . I'm not really happy with my experience so far.

Can you tell me more about the TEFL and why you chose that over all the other available qualifications?
-Toby