TEFL Teacher Profiles - Aisling O'Donnell

Q: What is your favourite karaoke song?
A: “The best karaoke song has got to be Billy Murray’s rendition of ‘More than this’ in Lost in Translation. I don’t have a favourite song to sing as I can’t sing to save my life.”

Q: What is your favourite travel experience?
A: “My first trip to Rio de Janiero. I fell in love with Rio on the bus ride from the airport.”

Q: What is your favourite part of the weekend course?
A: “The foreign language lesson. It answers a lot of tutees’ questions in a practical way, and helps them to understand how their students will feel.”

Q: What made you want to be a TEFL Tutor?
A: “I had been teaching for ten years and was looking for a new challenge. I find that training involves many of the skills used when teaching language learners but also gives the tutor the opportunity to draw on his or her experience in a practical way.”

Q: What countries have you taught in?
A: “I have taught in a few different countries: Seville, Spain for 3 years; Sydney, Australia for a year and a half; Hong Kong for 2 months; Bogotá, Colombia for 2 years; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for 3 months and have taught in Ireland on and off over the last seventeen years.”

Q: Had you done any teaching experience before taking your own TEFL course?
A: No

Q: What do you think the benefits are of having a TEFL qualification?
A: “The benefits of TEFL teaching are that you can live in another country and really experience the people and the culture, not just scratch the surface as you do when you travel through as a backpacker.”
“Working in TEFL allows you to finance your travels as you can stop off for a few months and do a bit of work to supplement your savings. There are opportunities for TEFL teachers in both non-English and English speaking countries.”
“A TEFL qualification will make you more employable, as directors of languages schools all over the world look for teachers who are going to be able to teach and encourage their students in the best way possible.”

Q: What advice would you give anyone thinking about TEFL and teaching abroad?
A: Try to learn something about the country you are planning to travel to before you set off. Be opened minded and open to new experiences.


Q: How has TEFL broadened your travel experiences?
A: “TEFL allowed me flexibility in my travelling that I may not have had otherwise. For example, my decision to visit Hong Kong was a last minute one. It was made on a Thai beach after talking to friends who were travelling to Hong Kong before the handover to China. The fact that I had a TEFL qualification and teaching experience meant that when I got there and decided I’d like to stay for a while, even though my savings were all but gone, I could.”
“I arrived on a Sunday, started looking for a job almost straight away and was working by Friday. The language school I worked for helped to organise my work visa and I was potentially set up to stay for as long as I wanted.”

Q: What can participants expect from your course?
A: “Participants can expect a fun, dynamic weekend. They will learn many new concepts and teaching techniques as well as meet a vibrant group of likeminded people...they should be prepared to learn in a way some may not have experienced before, to actually learn through doing. Many tutees arrive on the weekend expecting to be lectured to for the two days and so are pleasantly surprised when they see how the course is set up.”

© i-to-i, 2009