Why did you choose UK-TEFL?

I chose UK-TEFL to get the qualification I needed to work overseas.

Have you used your UK-TEFL qualification? 

Yes, I applied for the volunteer placement in Darjeeling through UK-TEFL and successfully secured a place there teaching primary school teachers.

What is the best bit about being an EFL teacher?

Working with the students abroad and building a rapport with them was the best bit!

How did you find teaching in India?

The local primary school teachers we taught were lovely, and were interested and very appreciative of our efforts to teach them. They were a very mixed group in terms of ability, so it was quite a challenge! We tried to encourage discussion in class through getting the teachers to give presentations to the others and we also had discussions on books they had read and the good and bad aspects of Indian society.

Any interesting stories?

As part of my volunteering duties I had to visit a boys' orphanage for one hour from 4pm to 5pm, the time between them returning from school and their Buddhist prayers. I took paper, watercolour paints and brushes as well as assorted illustrated encyclopaedias and books. The orphanage was poor and there were no toys or books there, so as you can imagine they absolutely loved all the materials I brought!

Despite the fact they had never painted before, they produced wonderful pictures which were so good we had cards and calendars printed from them. The boys' ages ranged from 5 to 16 and the painting was a fantastic opportunity for the children to express themselves.

After a few weeks I branched out by taking along games such as ludo, drafts, snakes and ladders, lego and chess. These also met an enthusiastic welcome, especially since ludo is so popular in India.

Tell us your top tips for TEFL teaching:

Encourage a two-way communication between yourselves and your students.

What are your future plans:

I hope to work abroad again, perhaps in China or South Korea.

UK-TEFL wish Steve every success in his new TEFL career!