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How to Get Through Your DELTA Course

Posted on by Olivia Grundy

It was during my first year teaching English in an academy in Madrid when I first heard about the Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (in other words, the DELTA course). I was fresh off getting my CELTA teacher certification, which is the initial course you need to take to teach English abroad. Before I’d even considered the DELTA course, I had already felt like the CELTA course had been tough. The DELTA sounded even tougher. 

My fellow teaching colleagues spoke of the late nights, stress, and overwhelm that they endured during the course. Some complained about the heavy workload and pressure of lesson observations. Others bemoaned the fact that their social life had gone out of the window. Some even spoke about losing their hair due to the high stress of it all!

DELTA Surprises in Store

Needless to say, as a new English teacher, these descriptions did not seem very appealing to me. “You won’t catch me doing that DELTA course”, I used to think to myself. “Not a chance!” So it came as a surprise to me, when five years into my teaching career, I suddenly felt that doing the DELTA course was the next step I needed to take. By that time I already had a lot of teaching experience under my belt and it felt like the moment to throw myself into a new challenge. The idea of studying again and furthering my skills appealed to me. So, I did the very thing I never thought I would and enrolled in the course. 

However, far from being a nightmare experience, I actually enjoyed it! For me, those nine months, whilst being challenging and difficult at times, turned out to be very fulfilling. Even my boss noticed how much of a breeze it had been for me, commenting one day that “out of all the years that you have worked here, this DELTA year hasn’t been your most stressful”. And he was right! Not only that, but I graduated from the course with a Merit, something that isn’t so easy to achieve. 

Tips for Success 

So what was my secret to getting through the DELTA and thriving rather than barely surviving? Read on to find out!

Accept That You Won’t Have Much of a Social Life This Year

The DELTA is a lot of work packed into a short space of time. The idea that you can maintain a busy social life at the same time is a delusion. During my DELTA year, I noticed that those who suffered the most during the course were those who resisted this inevitable reality and thought that they could work and play in equal amounts. The truth is, you can’t, as they soon found out when they were stressed, unhappy, and not getting the results they wanted.

Instead, it is better to follow the lead of those who accepted their unsociable fate and made their DELTA studies a priority. In my experience, they were calmer, more centred, and able to take it all in their stride. Their lack of inner resistance allowed them to suffer less and waste less energy complaining. Therefore they were more productive, got work done faster, and went out for drinks more. So it pays to accept the situation as it is — you may be able to go to that party after all! 

Make Time to Look After Yourself

Whilst it is true that you need to prioritise your studies, it is also vital that you schedule time for self-care. I have seen so many people work so hard that they burn themselves out. They end up doing worse than they would have done if they had just taken an hour out to walk in the park, meditate, or do something creative. 

When I was doing my DELTA, my yoga class was non-negotiable, as was my morning meditation practice, regardless of how much work I had. When people asked me how I got through my DELTA so well, my response was always the same: yoga and mediation!  

Whilst it is true that these things might not be for everyone, I think it is absolutely vital to engage in something every day that feeds you on the inside and keeps your inner tank filled up. That way you can get through your DELTA without the same spiritual exhaustion that so many burn out from, and, instead, get through it with a sense of wellbeing rather than stress.

This also goes for making sure you are feeding yourself adequately! Pot noodles and a diet of pasta and pesto will not support your energy levels sufficiently. Take the time to cook good meals for yourself and you will feel the benefit.

Be Authentic in Your Lesson Observations

For most teachers, the most stressful part of the DELTA is the lesson observations. No one likes feeling like they are being watched at the best of times, let alone when the person watching you is scribbling down notes every few minutes. My advice to you is this: just be yourself. Don’t try to be something that you are not or put on a show.  After all, how can you focus on delivering a good lesson, if you are trying to keep up an act? 

By all means, prepare thoroughly for your observations. You should do run-throughs with other classes and even rehearse the parts you feel most nervous about. However, on the day itself, just relax, be yourself, and try to enjoy it. The students and the examiner will notice your authenticity, which will make everyone enjoy it more, including you. So ditch the preconceived ideas of how a teacher should be and just be who you are. It will definitely pay off.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

Whilst sharing resources is common practice in English teaching, during your DELTA year, make sure that you don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others. Any kind of competition between you and your fellow classmates is only going to cause you to put more pressure on yourself, leading to more stress and anxiety.

Constant comparison will also have an adverse effect on your confidence levels, leading to insecurity and self-doubt. This in turn will cause you to be less self-assured, which could affect your performance in the classroom. Instead, just focus on doing your best, and don’t waste your time worrying about how well others are doing. Put your all into your studies and you can be satisfied with the result, come what may. Your best really is enough and it is important to remember that.

Keep Perspective

Whilst you obviously need to put your all into your DELTA studies if you really want to see good results, it’s also important to keep perspective. This is not a life or death situation (although it might seem like it at times). Yes, you paid a lot of money, so you naturally want to do well. However, to kill yourself with stress and worry is simply not worth it. Keep perspective of what is important: learning, growing, improving your professional skills, and the sense of achievement you will feel once you have finished. 

The grades and results won’t matter much in the end anyway, so why get so caught up in the details? Just focus on getting through the course and coming out the other side feeling satisfied and proud of what you have achieved.

Final Thoughts

Getting through the DELTA course is an achievement in itself. It requires courage to take on such a big challenge and I commend those who dare to do so. If you follow the advice in this article, I am confident that getting through the DELTA can be an enriching experience for you, just as it was for me. It is just a question of how you handle yourself, your time, and your priorities. Good luck!

Olivia Grundyby Olivia Grundy

What I Know Now About Teaching Primary School

Posted on by Serenity Dzubay

Serenity on top of a mountain during her off time when not teaching primary school.

What I Know Now About Teaching Primary School in Madrid

So, do you think teaching primary school abroad is easy? Think again. Between the constant questions of “teacher, teacher, do you speak Spanish?” and the requests for a last-minute change to your lesson plan, being a foreign language assistant and teaching primary school can be exhausting. 

I spent two years working in a concertado school in Alcalá de Henares. Concertados are basically the same thing as charter schools. They are partially funded by the Spanish government and partially funded by parents’ payments. 

These schools require much more from the average language assistant, as your function in the school is essentially that of a teacher. They pay a higher stipend per month, but the hours are longer. If you are looking to have a professional position within a school, however, this is definitely the way to go. 

My experience in my concertado was difficult but rewarding. Here are some lessons that I learned teaching primary school in Madrid.

1) Always Expect the Unexpected

Here in Spain, everything is done last minute. From the granting of your visa to the server giving you that ketchup you asked for when your burger was still on your plate, the country consistently runs on a timer set 10 minutes slow. School is no exception. 

When I first began teaching primary school, I had absolutely no teaching experience. I was thrown in front of a class of wide-eyed Spanish children screaming my name with no classroom management skills. Boy, did I learn quickly. 

Not only did I learn how to be a teacher in a week, but I also quickly learned that teachers have a tendency to request the moon when you’ve prepared the sun. What I mean is that I would, at times, prepare an entire lesson on the opposite topic of what the teacher wanted that day. 

What I learned was to always be prepared with simple games that could be easily adapted to any topic. One of my favorites was a game where I would have the kids make paper planes. We would have a competition where the students would say a grammatical structure. If they were correct, they could throw the plane to attempt to get a point for their team. 

Kids never behave like you think they will. Sometimes, a class will be so quiet and perfect that you have 10 extra minutes at the end of your lesson, and other times you won’t even get halfway through by the time the bell rings. It’s important to always roll with the punches, and keep your cool. 

2) Teaching Primary School Can Be Fun!

Teaching primary school, despite how taxing it can be at times, is an absolute delight. Younger primary kids love to sing, whilst older primary students love a good old-fashioned competition. Basically, your multiple personalities get to shine depending on what class you’re teaching. 

With the little ones, I used to love to find songs related to our lesson plans and do a live performance. I would force all my students to stand up, sing, and dance with me. I also used the program GoNoodle, which is a fantastic educational website that offers various activities like dances and brain breaks. 

It is important with younger kids to provide a daily routine. Mine always began with a song or dance in English. For them, it subconsciously signified that it was time to start English class and that we would not be conversing in Spanish. I also learned that younger kids don’t have an attention span of more than 15 minutes. Activities that are longer than 15-20 minutes will inevitably cause classroom disturbances.  

The older kids don’t need as much structure, as your presence in the classroom will be enough to get them in the mood for English. Upper primary students love games and competition, although rules of respect must be set far in advance. Sometimes, they are a little too competitive. 

Teaching will be as fun as you make it, so it’s important to get your creative thinking cap on when you’re lesson planning. If you do it right, the kids will literally chant your name when you come into class. That’s because they know that you are a break from the monotony of other teachers. 

3) Your Kiddos Will Need Lots of Love

If you are from the United States like me, the physicality of countries like Spain will shock you. Pre-COVID, I would have at least five children come up to me and hug me before the class started, and normally at least two after class had ended. Here in Spain, teachers believe that children need a lot of love. It is okay to show them appropriate affection like hugs, or kisses for the babies. 

It is important to remember that children are often products of their environment. Unfortunately, this means that many kids who act out or are disrespectful, are often taught to do so at home. No child is actually “bad,” rather they are modeling behaviors that they have learned at home or from something they’ve been exposed to on TV.

One of the most important lessons that I took away from teaching primary school in Madrid is to always try and meet kids where they’re at. That doesn’t mean that you have to cave for them if they are being disrespectful, but you should always try and see the child as a person. 

No child is stupid, annoying, or hard to work with when you are in the classroom. Save your complaints for closed doors. You just might be the reason that a child, who all of the other teachers openly hate on, believes in themself and tries to be better. 

4) The Power of the Justificante

After moving to Spain, I discovered that this country is a mix of two really frustrating things; disorganization and bureaucracy. Justificantes are a Spain-specific type of paperwork. Essentially, a justificante is a piece of paper stating that you were at a doctor’s appointment, visa appointment, etc. They are the only way that you can be excused from school if you have either a medical problem or some sort of issue with paperwork. 

Without a justificante, a school can deduct your pay for a day that you skipped, even if you actually were at a doctor’s appointment. They are incredibly important to the school system. However, there are some ways around the justificante if your school coordinator (aka your boss) is nice enough to offer. At my school, if we ever had to miss a day without a justified reason, such as cheaper flights a day after the school holiday ended, we were allowed to stay an extra day at the end of the year to make up for our lost time. 

When working and traveling in a new country, it is incredibly important to be aware of the specific guidelines of that country, particularly when it comes to paperwork. The justificante was a concept that I was unaware of until I got to Spain. However, it is incredibly important to your job when you fall ill or need to get some paperwork sorted. Always do your research when you travel, particularly when it comes to paperwork or visa guidelines. You never want to get caught on the wrong side of bureaucracy. 

5) Don’t Forget to Explore a Little

If you go to another country to teach, it is super important to explore. Ask your colleagues about interesting places to go in the area. Do some research. 

While I was in Madrid for two years, I made it a point to get out every weekend, even if it was just for a simple walk or a tapa. I researched the best places to go in the community and asked around. I learned a great deal more about exploring my city and the community of Madrid by simply reaching out to people and asking. 

Even though I was a teacher, I learned a lot by forcing myself to meet people and experience things that I was not necessarily comfortable with. I never thought that I would eat an octopus, but now I can say I have tried it (although I was not the biggest fan). By learning about the area that you are living in, you will have the most authentic experience possible abroad. You will find the places that people actually go to eat, rather than the tourist hotspots. You will find a quiet corner that you never knew existed, and now feel that belongs to you. 

Teaching primary school in Madrid has been one of the most rewarding and interesting experiences that I can boast of in my professional career. Teaching abroad and working with children is rewarding, and one of the easiest ways to have an authentic cultural experience. You will be exposed to a country in a way that only comes from living there.

by Serenity Dzubay

Diego Ambrosio Becomes a Professional in Thailand

Posted on by Diego Ambrosio

Diego AmbrosioDiego Ambrosio has made a new life for himself as a professional in Thailand. He is living his dreams abroad. As he looks ahead to further relocation, this time internal rather than external, we caught up with one of our most personable members. We wanted to know the latest Diego-related developments of fall 2021. How is teaching abroad in Thailand and what’s happening?

You’re taking a new mandatory teaching course. What is it called?”

It is a Diploma in Teaching (a post-baccalaureate degree) for a non-education graduate who wishes to become a professional teacher and pursue a career in teaching. This diploma is required by the TCT (Teachers Council of Thailand), which is responsible for setting professional standards; issuing and withdrawal of licenses; overseeing maintenance of professional standards and ethics; and development of the profession of teachers and educational administrators.

There are various institutes scattered throughout Thailand and abroad that offer the full package of courses required to obtain this diploma. However, it is necessary to be careful and choose among only those institutes accredited by the TCT. This is so you don’t waste time or money when trying to become a professional in Thailand.

Why are you having to take this course to become a teaching professional in Thailand?”

Let’s say no one forces you to do it. It would not be necessary for example for those foreign teachers who intend to work in Thailand for a maximum of four or five years. On the contrary, those who intend to pursue a long career in teaching in Thailand will have to possess it.

When a foreigner decides to start a career in Thailand as a teacher, a temporary teaching permit is what that school will apply for, on a teacher’s behalf, as soon as they begin working there. It’s a waiver for the requirements of the standard teaching license. It is granted for two years and allows the school time to get the teacher to meet the requirements of the TCT to obtain a permanent teaching license from them.

The temporary teaching permit can be renewed a maximum of three times (a total of six years). After that, the school will not be able to grant the job position, unless you meet the requirements for a permanent teaching license. This is why I am studying for this diploma now. I have already completed my first five years as a teacher.

Diego as a professional in Thailand.

When will you finish the diploma?”

Let’s start by saying that all the courses are online. They offer synchronous courses (courses that have additional interactive lessons with the teacher) and asynchronous courses (courses that offer only theoretical modules necessary to pass the related exams).

There are two semesters that make up the entire academic year. The first semester started in August and will end towards the end of December. Then the second semester should start in January and end between April and May.

Diego as a professional in Thailand.

What qualification will you end up with?”

The official qualification released will be a “Diploma in Teacher Education (DTE) 30 Units BSEd based” where “BSEd” stands for Bachelor of Education.

How easy is it to renew your passport in Thailand?”

I thought living abroad would make everything more complicated, including renewing a passport. I will have to change my mind since so far it seems that everything is going smoothly. In fact, my passport is about to expire. About a week ago, I went to the Italian consulate in the province where I live (Phuket). I made an appointment with the consul before going, of course. I brought with me what the consul requested, which is two passport-sized photos (5×5), a copy of the passport, and 4,800 baht (which correspond more or less to 130 Euros). Finally, I was issued a temporary receipt and I should receive the new passport within 20 days maximum.

What changes are you finding in teaching in Thailand this academic year?”

This can be labeled as one of the most debated issues over the past two years. Teachers, like other categories of workers, have been forced to change the entire teaching plan. Teaching methodologies have had to adapt to online teaching. The most pressing question remains: how to hide the obvious inconsistency of an online lesson compared to a face-to-face one? The student’s entire learning mechanism is feeble and dissimilar. Online participation drops dramatically, as does attention and attendance at the lessons themselves. Not to mention the assessments, which do not provide the real performance and level of the student at all, as they are mostly copying answers from the internet.

Fortunately, there seems to be some good news on the horizon. In fact, in November we returned to regular face-to-face teaching, after almost four months of ineffective online teaching. As a teaching professional in Thailand, I really cannot wait.

Diego learning to be a professional in Thailand.

How challenging is it for you to reestablish classroom relationships with students?”

I must be sincere. Perhaps it is due to my extroverted and patient personality and/or my diplomatic disposition in trying to make everyone feel good and happy. I am able to build a relationship of cordiality and serenity starting on the first day. Students are relaxed during my lessons and I always allow time for some funny jokes or recreational activities. Everything needs its time and slowly everything is being restored according to the inevitable adjustments and reorganization.

Diego and his M3 students

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. How did you meet your fiance?”

Back in September 2017, I came to the island of Phuket with my father. It was the beginning of an adventure full of many dreams and expectations. After a few months, I started using Facebook. I joined a group where you could share information and ask for advice or support. Among the various posts, I noticed a girl who was looking for a teacher or, in any case, an expert able to provide some private English lessons. Interested in the idea of ​​being able to start earning something, I offered myself available at a cost of 300 baht per hour. Unfortunately, the girl told me that she had already found someone and it all seemed to end there.

But something moved me to ask her another question and from there we started a long conversation that ended with our first date at the Starbucks where she once worked.

Diego and his wife posing together in front of a traditional umbrella.

How We Met

That morning I was particularly tense. I had no idea what it was like to relate to a girl from a culture so distant from mine. I was afraid she might feel some form of embarrassment. In reality, it was a splendid morning, and her old colleagues even offered us breakfast, sensing that something was rising in the air.

Meeting after meeting, we came to realize that we were meant for each other. It was a very slow path but full of good outcomes. Her name is Jang and today we live happily together with my father in a small villa, in a residential area full of parks and tranquility.

Well, yes, a few months ago I started yearning for the idea of ​​being able to fulfill a desire that, since I was young, I believed to be impossible to achieve. The kind of personality I have has always generally made me focus more on friendship rather than love. But as they say, everything is possible in life and apparently in a little over a year it will also be my moment… 🙂 

Diego and his wife in front of the ocean.

Where is your final destination after the wedding?”

Regarding the wedding, we will first obtain the certificate from the town hall. Later we will return to Italy for a month and a half during which I will introduce my wife to all my family and the beautiful territory where I was born. Once back in Thailand, we will prepare all our stuff and get ready to leave the beloved island of Phuket (our homeland for more than four years). We’re moving to the province of Sakon Nakhon on the northeastern border of Thailand (the birthplace of my future wife). It will be a long journey of about 22 hours that we will complete in about two days with (surely) two super-loaded cars. Finally, once we have reached Sakon Nakhon, we will also follow the Buddhist ceremony to celebrate our wedding.

What are your future plans once you’ve tied the knot?”

Our future plans are surrounded by a series of great changes and evolutions that await us. Once we get to Sakon Nakhon, we will renovate Jang’s mother’s house and we will use the remaining land to build the foundations of our new home. In the long term, this will also save us a lot of money that is currently being paid for our rental in Phuket.

The first few months will be a bit tough because I will have to find a new school from which to start teaching again. I will most likely be starting on a lower salary than what I had achieved in Phuket. But this doesn’t discourage me. On the contrary, it fills me with adrenaline and enthusiasm. I can’t wait to start this new adventure! 

I’ll keep you posted with further updates in my next article, stay tuned. 🙂

Clearly these are exciting times for Diego. We are ecstatic to hear about his forthcoming nuptials. Diego and Jang look like such a happy couple. We wish them well in their new home.

by Dreams Abroad