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Graduates listed from the following countries: Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Tanzania,

 

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Graduate Bulletin Board


This page contains a small selection of letters from past graduates. Read and enjoy!

Bryan McCarvey - Himeji, Japan
Sakura Language School

It's been over a year since I graduated and I am now settled in a position in Japan. Shortly after graduation, I worked in Boston for New England School of English for a few months. The winter hit and student enrollment dropped, so I was out of a job. One thing led to another and I found myself in Kyongju, South Korea. Since I had been to Korea before, I knew a little bit about Kyongju and that I wanted to live there for a while. I managed to find a great school to work for, even if the hours were (as in much of Korea) absurd. My director was a great guy and I would have liked to stay but I had made prior commitments to work for the school I'm working at now in Japan, so I worked there for almost 4 months before moving on to Japan. I was terribly sad to leave the school, the students, my director and co-workers, and all the friends I had made.

Now, the dust having settled, I am in Himeji, Japan, which is famous for its castle. It is a town of about 500,000, a kind of "country" town in Japan. It is pleasant enough, pretty quiet at night. The school I'm working at right now has two native speakers. It's a pretty small school I suppose. It's relaxed. I'm teaching 4-5 classes a day, 5 days a week, but I am supposed to be at the school from 12 - 9, with an hour lunch break. But of course I sometimes take a long lunch. During the hours I'm not teaching I should be preparing for classes. So, in essence I am getting paid for prep time, which is pretty nice. My boss and co-workers are fun to work with and be around. My classes are usually small, the biggest being 8 students. Most classes at the school are private. All in all everything is working out splendidly. I have time to study Japanese and exercise. My apartment is a lot nicer than I could ever have imagined. And the salary's not bad. I am expecting to save at least $1,500 per month (if I don't go buy a laptop computer!) Hope everything is wonderful there..." back to top


Gayle Cunningham / Costa Rica

I accepted the CATIE teaching post in Turrialba, Costa Rica teaching grades 1,2,3 in both math and science. It is a bilingual school and I made a 2 yr. commitment. My instruction will be in English with the students being virtually monolingual. I begin February, but will get settled in down there in Jan. In the future I still want to pursue the business English in Eastern Europe ot Argentina. My enthusiasm is pretty high as I think of the opportunites this position offers me with my teaching experience and my wanting to learn more. Thank you for all of your support and I will keep you posted. Gayle Cunningham (TEFL&TBE graduate).back to top


Geoffrey Hickman / Argentina

"......This is Geoffrey Hickman, if you remember, I took the part-time course last fall. So I decided to head to Argentina to look for work. There seems to be a ton of jobs in Buenos Aires and they pay pretty well. I'm teaching in Cordoba for a couple of different schools, and I must say that the certificate has helped quite a bit. I came at the wrong time of the year, but was lucky to find schools where teachers had left and they had openings. The pay is on average about $10.00 an hour, more in Buenos Aires, but enough to live on and with privates enough to save. If anyone has any questions about Argentina, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money at first. It's expensive, but the money you get is in dollars, so for now it's a stable place to work. Early March is the best time to come down to teach at schools....................." back to top


Bonnie Maclean - Tanzania, Africa

"..... All is well in the dark continent. I have been teaching since January to children at an international primary school. I love it . I am actually leaving Tanzania for Prague to see Jane in a couple of weeks and do some job interviews. I want to go there in the fall. I really love Africa and totally recommend coming here for anyone interested. I had no problems finding a job, in fact I went to 3 interviews and got offered all three jobs. I would love to hear from you guys. I have been in touch with everyone from our November class. Everyone has scattered around the globe, and all seem to be loving what they are doing. Thanks for "showing us the way!..................." back to top


Noga La'or - Colombia

"...........Hello! This Email (although arriving a bit late) is my opportunity to update you on what I've been doing since I took the CTEFL course at Worldwide in September-November. Last January, I was able to obtain a teaching position in ESL Language Centers in Bogota, Colombia. I arrived here at the end of the month and began teaching in February. I was very successful here and teaching was wonderful (thanks a lot to Worldwide Institute). Last month, I was offered the position of Center Director of one of the ESL centers in Bogota and happily accepted. Since July 19th, I have been the Center Director here and it has been a wonderful experience. Since this new position has come up, I am probably planning on spending more time than anticipated in Columbia (by the way, it's not as awful as you hear on the news!)......."


Genevra Valvo - Chile

".......Just a quick message to let you know how much I appreciate the classes you gave us and how well prepared I feel now to teach English here in Chile. I've already started one class here at the Home Depot which meets twice a week and starting next week my schedule includes nearly 30 teaching hours per week, which I think is pretty good. I just got home from observing another(Chilean) English teacher, because I was instructed to do so by one of the English schools I work for...." "My classes are at Comunicorp and Business English Advisory. the former being my favorite. If any of your students are interested in coming to Santiago, feel free to refer them to me by Email and I'll do my best to help......."


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Leah Rothstein - Denmark

"........Hello. Well, I thought you might be interested to know that I have actually had a teaching job, despite the fact that my main focus is on my studies at the moment. I actually got the job quite easily by simply sending my resume to various private schools. It was a temporary job, but once it ended I was offered work that unfortunately clashed with my schedule. In any case, I taught a business writing course to a group of accountants for 6 weeks at their office it was only 3 hours a week, but that was perfect for me and I made $30/hr. It was actually quite a nice experience teaching the business English, and now I find myself at odds because I admittedly took your certificate course to have a last resort skill in Sweden! Now I find myself weighing my possibilities. Other employment opportunities are rather scarce in Europe, but teaching here pays well enough that one can afford to work only10-15 hours a week. I like the flexibility....." back to top


Michelle Armistead - Czech Republic

".......Hello Everyone!! I just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that I'm in the Czech Republic and working - teaching English!! Unfortunately, things in Prague didn't work out (not for lack of work or job offers, but there is a horrendous housing shortage ) We elected to stay in Plzen (the home of Pilsener Urquell). I'm working (as well as my boyfriend) for a great school, Trident. All in all, things are going really well, and we're having a great time meeting lots of interesting people and having a really wonderful experience. I'd just like to thank you all for the really excellent training - It's really been enormously useful!! ............" back to top


Thomas Donahue - Germany

"..............I hope everyone's doing well. I just wanted to share my recent success with you all because of course you were part of that. I was just hired this week by a language school here in Hamburg and last night I met my students for the first time and taught my first class. I got the call on Friday, met with the owners that evening, gave a demo on Monday and started on Tuesday night. Although it was somewhat of a shock to the system and a bit nerve-racking, I made it through and must say I'm quite happy about it all. It's really a great school. The two women who run the school are very down to earth and have created a real warm atmosphere conducive to learning. I'll try to send one of those "former WWT intern happily working abroad" photos - you know in mid-action with one hand on the whiteboard smiling back at the camera. Maybe I'll even ask my students to wear lederhosen for authenticity sake. How's that sound? I know you have seen thousands of interns come and go but I thought you would like to hear that your work is fruitful. I know I've said it to some of you already, but I was highly impressed with the CTEFL course and the entire staff at WWT. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement here, I mean it when I say I couldn't have gotten where I am without your guidance, knowledge and constant support and encouragement..........................." back to top


Shellie Carr - Hungary

"....................Hi! How is the fall going at WWT? Well, I hope life is running smoothly there. I have finally settled in here and have begun teaching (alas! I was miserable having so much free time in a country where I knew virtually no one!) After the 1st few days I was ready to hop on a plane and come back to the states. My luggage was very heavy and the thought of having to carry it made me very tired so I decided that may be I should stay (ha, ha!) Actually, Babak, I remember that you said it's very hard at the beginning and you really have to hang in there, so I did./ And it's a good thing, too! Finding a place to live was actually quick and painless. I'm sharing the basement of a family house with three University students. ..I began teaching on October 1st, and I teach 19 hours a week at the school plus 4hrs privately. My students are ideal students; respectful, studious, and inquisitive. In all I have 6 groups (around 45 students) and they range in age from 17 to mid 50's. Exam preperation is definitely one goal for all of my classes. So, as you can see, it pays to hang in there. Speaking of "pay", the money I make is quite good for Hungarian standards, 1100 fo. and my flat is only 13,000fo/mo...and that includes heat and hot H2O!! Clothing is expensive but food is very affordable (AND tasty! Lots of soup, tomatoes, pears, grapes and of course wine!!) People in my neighborhood have little "vineyards", apple trees and pear trees. The nature here is beautiful! I hiked 20 km (12 mi.) and picked mushrooms. The folk dancing is fun, the architecture is beautiful and the people are hospitable. Feel free to have WWT grads contact me!!....................."back to top


David Bily - Costa Rica

"............I send this correspondence to let you know I have realized a goal of mine and have found employment teaching English in Costa Rica. I am living in Cortago, Costa Rica, a town 35 minutes to the South of the capitol, San Jose. I have signed a contract with private, bi-lingual school for one year. The school is a primary school and includes grades K-6th. I'll be teaching 5th & 6th grades totally in English each for two hours a day Monday-Friday. School is from 7am - 2pm daily and my subjects include English Language, Science, Social Studies, Spelling & Reading. Guide books and a general curriculum have been provided to me. I make the individual class plans and include the exercise and drills I feel are appropriate. All in all, I feel quite lucky and am very satisfied. I'm learning Spanish poco a poco and live with a very loving Costa Rican family that treat me like a son........."back to top


Anita Petroski - Italy

".....I hope everyone is doing well. So, after I finished my course in November, I was off to Italy in search of work. An extremely lucky thing happened to me a few days after I arrived. I was sitting in a cafe and next to me was a woman looking through a "Teaching Business English" book. I struck up a conversation with her. She told me her school was hiring. I had an interview and I was hired. Thank you so much for the useful info - especially the confidence that a person doesn't have to know grammar perfectly to teach. The course was great and the person interviewing said that it seems that I did a very worthwhile course. back to top


John Harutunian - Ecuador

".....Hola! Como estan?....Here's the quick Reader's Digest summary of my experience in Quito, Ecuador. As you may remember, I arrived on September 5th and just finished my fifth month. Dr. Kane, as you had predicted, I found work fairly quickly. I am working at one of the private colegios (Kindergarten-12th grade) in Quito, called Tomas Moro. I am teaching "ciclo basico" - two classes of segundo cursos (8th graders) and two classes of tercer cursos (9th graders). There are five or six students that have spent summers in the States or have fathers or mothers that speak nearly fluent English. These students know a lot of English. Then there are five to six students that don't know ANY English. The verb to be is a challenge for these students. Consequently, it has been a real challenge...."back to top


Jeff White - Japan

"............Nova is keeping me very busy. I was stationed (am stationed) at one of the busiest schools in Tokyo (shibuya honko). The work at times seems overwhelming, but I feel the intensity of it all is good for my "continuing education" in being a C.T.E.F.L. Instructor. Everyday I'm learning something new, and a new layer is peeled back to expose a new style or method of teaching. Thank God I took the W.T.D.I. course beforehand!! It's definitely helped me in more ways than one. Nova teaches American English, yet curiously enough 80% of the people I work with are either of British , Scottish, Australian, or New Zealand." back to top


Jim O'Loughlin / Santiago, Chile

Hi,: Jim O'Loughlin here. I'm teaching English in Santiago, Chile. I am winding down my 14 months here, and will begin traveling in the middle of May (Peru and Ecuador). After that, it's back to Boston until February at which time I will come back to travel to southern Chile for a month and then I'll (hopefully) begin teaching English in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Work is going well. Chile is an easy country to live in and during "the season" there are plenty of jobs as there is much need.back to top

 

 
 

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