Even before they can babble a single word, babies in bilingual households may get a head start in life, according to a team of scientists in Italy. Rather than confusing babies, hearing more than one language gives newborns a mental boost, according to the new study, which tested seven-month-old infants.

“In many European countries, parents are wary of giving a bilingual education to their kids and try to speak only one language,” said study author Jacques Mehler of the Language, Cognition, and Development Lab at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy. “They are afraid [their children] might suffer when they get to school and so on,” Mehler said. “Because of our results, I doubt that very much.”

Read more of the article here.

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What were your initial aims when setting up ELT Notebook?

I’d been involved in teacher training for about thirty years (eeek!) and as I never throw anything away, had an enormous amount of material on file. It seemed sensible to put it on-line in order to make it available to other people – and so that I could get rid of some files and make space in my very overcrowded office!

How would you rate the health of the ELT profession in general?

Mixed. Without going into whether or not globalisation is a good thing, it is happening and at the moment means that English is growing exponentially in importance. That means there’s a lot of opportunity, and there are also some really good organisations doing quality work. However, there are also a lot of cowboys who are exploiting both their students and their staff. Sadly, ELT is often still not a profession at all – there are still organisations who convince their customers that as long as the teacher is a native speaker that’s all that’s necessary. And there are even more schools that see an initial qualification like the CELTA as the finishing point in the teacher’s development rather than just the start. Unfortunately, these organisations damage the profession as a whole. If school X employs non-qualified teachers who are paid a pittance, their prices will inevitably undercut those of the professional organisations like school Y who ask for a CELTA and pay more for a DELTA, an MA, and experience. So school Y either goes out of business or ends up paying their qualified teachers a pittance too.

How important do you see sites such as the Rat Race Rebellion, for which you’re a contributing expert?

R3 excited me from the moment Mike Haaren, one of the site’s founders, first contacted me. The site aims to help people take control of their lives by allowing them to control when, where and how they work. I gave up working for other organisations in 1989, and you’d have to pay me an awful lot more money than is usually found in ELT to make me go back. Don’t get me wrong – I worked for some great organisations, was never exploited, and would never have learnt what I did if I’d gone freelance earlier. I’m very, very grateful to all of the colleagues and bosses who I worked with. If I worked 60 hour weeks and ended up with burn-out it was my choice, never imposed. But there came a point when I’d had enough of achieving other people’s objectives. I wanted to achieve my own – and that meant leaving time for things which weren’t EFL related as well as those which were. And that’s where R3 comes in. Their philosophy is that work is important – you should, as they say, be able to lock the office door. But there has to be time for other things too. Not only from a personal point of view, but also because of the impact on families, the environment and society in general. The aim of the site is to provide people with the information and tools to make this possible.

What do you feel have been the major changes in the profession of the course of your years working in ELT?

There have been many. When I took the DTEFLA exam (the precursor of both CELTA and DELTA) we were still in the era of audiolingual methodology. The very last session on the course – you know, the one that is thrown in last because it has no relevance to the exam – was on communicative methodology, which was just starting to emerge. I can still remember it – it was given by Robert O’Neill and was a breath of fresh air. Over the next few years I was privileged to work with and study under people at the cutting edge of the communicative revolution – Alan Maley, Keith Johnson and Keith Morrow, Gill Sturtridge and David Wilkins – and it was probably the most exciting time of my career.

Then there is the way that technology has changed language teaching. When I started, I didn’t even have a tape recorder in the classroom!

What would you like to see happen in the world of ELT?

Three things :

a.. Following on from my answer to question 2, the thing that I would most like to see happen would be for ELT to become a recognised profession, with a clear career progression where qualifications and experience were both essential and well-remunerated, and the cowboys were excluded.

b.. Similarly, I would like to see on-line teaching, which I think is the format of the future, become more professional and more regulated.

c.. Finally, I would like to see a move away from the idea that native speakers are the only valid ELT professionals. Many non-native speakers are far better teachers, and have far more idea of students’ problems, than the average native-speaker teacher. Teachers should be assessed on overall professional competence, not just on their first language.

My thanks to Sue for taking the time to answer these questions. Please take a look at the excellent ELT Notebook, as well as Rat Race Rebellion. Sue is currently working on putting courses on-line for the new format Cambridge ESOL DELTA course modules at the DELTA Course blog.

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In this latest article in the guest authors series, Luke Fisher delves into the Italian TEFL scene and what you might expect to find in the country:

Teaching English in Italy is a great way to explore an amazing and diverse country. There are TEFL jobs available throughout the country, in many different teaching areas, for those with TEFL certification. Italy proudly boasts fabulous opera and art, ancient monuments, and a history that stretches back thousands of years. Whether you choose fashionable Milan, or ancient Rome in this relatively small country, you’re never too far away from, verdant rolling hills, alpine skiing and great beaches. The primary language in use is Italian, however, it may be useful to note that most Italians can communicate in Spanish. Outside of the main tourist areas English is not widely spoken, thus there is a great demand for teachers teaching English in Italy.

There are good TEFL job opportunities in Italy for English Teachers, as many high-school students and adults seek to improve on what they have available to them via the state. There are a large number of language institutes ranging from elite academies, where experience, TEFL certification and a degree are a requisite, to small-scale language schools where only a TEFL qualification is required.

Italy has many, many famous cities such as Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples, Venice and Bologna. Each city is very distinctive and has its own history and character. Breathtaking art and architecture is everywhere, but the more rural areas such as Tuscany should not be forgotten as it has a great charm all of it’s own. Italy is a relatively small country in European terms, and good public transportation means that it’s easy to plan plenty of excursions from wherever your TEFL job is located. If you wish to teach in a state or private high-school you may need to have a degree, but TEFL certification is often enough. Some TEFL jobs in Italy require two-years’ language teaching experience, but there are always opportunities available for newly qualified TEFL teachers wanting to teach English in Italy.

In the main you will find yourself teaching students of varying ability, even within the same class. Hence, expect all ranges of ability. The challenge, particularly with children, is in motivating them. It is also a task to cope with varying levels of ability within the same class. Nevertheless, Italians can be great fun to teach, and can be very enthusiastic if approached in the right way.

For those seeking TEFL jobs in advance there is no over-arching list of the hundreds of language schools which exist in Italy, and one’s best resource is the Italian Yellow Pages and obviously the internet where many TEFL jobs in Italy can be found. The new arrival, with a TEFL certificate planning on teaching English in Italy, would do well to consult the weekly English language papers: Wanted in Rome and Metropolitan.

Whatever way you look for work it is important to remember that life comes to a halt during the month of August, as with many other European countries. Therefore, your travel plans should be arranged to avoid looking for TEFL jobs during the month of August. Although it is useful to complete a TEFL certification course during this period and beginning a TEFL job from September when many employers are hiring teachers for the new academic year.

When agreeing to a TEFL job contract for a position in an institute it is very important to thoroughly read your contract, and check what it stipulates. Remember what is important to you – accommodation, class size, salary, etc. and try and ensure these are adequately catered for in your contract.

It can be the case that some state schools are not prepared to go through the difficult process of hiring native English-speaking teachers wanting to teach English in Italy from outside of Europe. However, in many cases it can be easier to place teachers from the US in TEFL jobs than from other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand. Non-EU citizens should check with the Italian consulate in their native country to look for language exchange programs, etc. Americans may wish to contact there local visa authorities. You should be aware of the fact that the reciprocal social security system that exists within the EU means that high schools are required to register their staff for a social security card and also pay part of their contributions. Many individuals teaching for institutes are ‘freelance’ or self-employed. Therefore, the individual is responsible for paying his or her own tax and social security. New arrivals planning on teaching English in Italy are required to register with the police, arrange a bank account into which their wages will be paid, and also obtain a tax number from their local tax office.

For Americans it is worth a little investigation to see if there are TEFL jobs available through the US military. The military employs lots of civilians and may be able to process work permits, etc. for you. In addition to this student visas are also an option. Working your way through the bureaucracy you will need original certificates of any qualifications you have, along with passport photos, birth certificate, and passport.

Once you have completed a TEFL certification course for teaching English in Italy there are a great many options that will be open to you in cities throughout Italy. Italy is a wonderful choice for TEFL jobs and offers the opportunity for a rich and diverse experience while teaching English to a keen and motivated people.

About the author

Teaching English in Italy and TEFL International provides TEFL courses and TEFL certification leading to TEFL jobs and teaching English abroad. English teaching jobs are available in countries all over the world.

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UAE college teacher wins innovation award for English course

A “ground breaking” vocabulary course for female students in the United Arab Emirates was named the winner of the new international category of this year’s British Council English language teaching innovation awards.

Language school run by Italian fascist leader

A popular language college in London is controlled by the leader of an Italian neo-fascist party who has links to the British National party, the Guardian has learned.

Read on…

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