Thursday, December 14, 2006

The Road Ahead


I’m quite enjoying my life now. I am living on the financial support Brazilian government gives to unemployed people during a few months, and meanwhile, I am learning Mind Maps and EFL teaching techniques to start my new career next year. Many aspects of this opportunity with TEFL excite me.

First of all, it’s in perfect timing with the New Year Resolutions thing. Many people use the New Year tide to take important decisions and motivate themselves to manifest positive conscious changes in their lives. Many times, these resolutions include learning a foreign language, and obviously English is the most sought foreign language these days.

Also, there is a great freedom and space for creativity and autonomy in teaching languages. I won’t have to stay nine hours a day locked in a depressing cubicle, and I won’t have to give up all great opportunities to have master classes or workshops, neither will I have to reduce my fiddle or singing study hours because of a stupid day job. I know the income with one-to-one TEFL is fickle, but for now, I can deal with that; and even if I have to wear three-piece suits, it’ll pay off, ‘cos within I’ll be feeling as free and authentic in my professional life as I haven’t done in many years now.

Moreover, one of my competitive advantages as an EFL teacher will be Tony Buzan’s Mind Maps, a great tool for note-taking, learning and brainstorming that increases considerably the student’s memory, learning curve and brain power. I’ve been playing with Mind Maps for some time now, and I’m having a blast.

On top of that, in preparing classes, I’ll perfect my skill even more. The teacher learns from the student, everybody knows that, but he also learns from preparing to teach the student. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these days ‘research’ proved that the teacher actually learns more than the student!

Finally, teaching a language is a great exercise in understanding human beings. Verbal language is part of our singularity as a species, and coaching somebody in this faculty gives privileged insight on the definition of a human being and in envisioning a higher ground of it.

I am sending some really positive vibes to this knew project. Even if this doesn’t work out well, I will have at least tried once in my life to support myself with something that sincerely enthusiasts me, and pays me with much more than money.

Image: “Olho” (Eye), by my ex-Stupid Day Job colleague Luciano Daie.

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