What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Work When You Can Teach English?: A Teacher's Journey in the World of TEFL
Ian Lees was a TEFL teacher in Europe and the Middle East for the better part of a decade and only had himself to blame. Why Work When You Can Teach English? is his attempt to blame everyone else.
Why Work When You Can Teach English? is one teacher’s journey through the world of TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language - from training and the realities of the classroom, to colleagues and the schools and other forces that guided the author's life as an English teacher abroad.
It describes the circumstances that led him and others into TEFL, the fortunes and misfortunes that kept them in it, and the path that took him out of it, casting an eye along the way on the nature of the English teaching business itself.
Why Work When You Can Teach English? is one teacher’s journey through the world of TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language - from training and the realities of the classroom, to colleagues and the schools and other forces that guided the author's life as an English teacher abroad.
It describes the circumstances that led him and others into TEFL, the fortunes and misfortunes that kept them in it, and the path that took him out of it, casting an eye along the way on the nature of the English teaching business itself.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2015
3 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 14, 2020
One of the very few books about teaching (and in particular teaching abroad) which has *forced* me to laugh aloud on a number of occasions.
Lees highlights well some of the less practical elements contained in teacher training courses ("Today, we are going to learn how to be nice") and the horror of having to control, never mind impart knowledge to, a dozen little sh*ts (officially known in TEFL-Speak as "Young Learners"). "Learning English for no discernible purpose whatsoever" would indeed be a better title too often for "Business English" courses.
In summary, perhaps an overly cynical look at the TEFL world, which nevertheless asks some challenging questions as to why exactly we are teaching this subject both at a personal level and as a worldwide and very profitable industry
Lees highlights well some of the less practical elements contained in teacher training courses ("Today, we are going to learn how to be nice") and the horror of having to control, never mind impart knowledge to, a dozen little sh*ts (officially known in TEFL-Speak as "Young Learners"). "Learning English for no discernible purpose whatsoever" would indeed be a better title too often for "Business English" courses.
In summary, perhaps an overly cynical look at the TEFL world, which nevertheless asks some challenging questions as to why exactly we are teaching this subject both at a personal level and as a worldwide and very profitable industry
February 25, 2021
A funny and wittily written insight into the world of TEFL, based on the experiences of an English teacher in Europe and the Middle East. Seasoned TEFL teachers will undoubtedly recognise the trials and tribulations of the job – as well as the murky politics of the whole industry that exists behind it. But even if you’re not a teacher it makes for an interesting insight into a different world, with stories told with plenty of character and a fair bit of cynicism, making for an entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews