Kelli Ryan | Online TEFL Course Instructor

I received my bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Ohio University in 2011, my CELTA Certificate (Certificate in English Language Teaching of Adults) from International House Barcelona in 2011, and a Master’s Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Kent State University in 2014. I am currently a PhD Candidate in Evaluation and Measurement at Kent State University and will confer my degree in the spring of 2018.

My abroad experience started with teaching English in Spain in July of 2011. I began by teaching adults in Barcelona after completing my CELTA. Then, I accepted a Ministry of Education yearlong appointment in a K-12 setting outside of Madrid and returned to the states in the fall of 2012 to begin my graduate degree. In the summer of 2013, I was able to spend a semester teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Dresden, Germany, as well as assist in technical college courses and K-12 classes.

Spain, France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway Canada, and Mexico.

One of my best memories was attending La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain. We boarded a bus from Barcelona in the middle of the night to join the masses at the world’s largest tomato fight. Once there bright and early, everyone geared up and started passing the sangria. Phones went into plastic baggies and goggles circulated the group. There were thousands of people jammed into a tiny roadway. The festivities begin with a pole climb – people in the crowd try to climb a giant greased pole to reach the leg of ham at the top. Then, the tomato trucks came. After a good 30 minutes of getting pummeled by tomatoes thrown by random strangers, the masses make their way toward the river to clean off. Locals came out and started housing people down. The party continued despite the slightly red-tinted on-goers.

Be organized, patient, and open. Not only do you need to be organized as a teacher, but you will find that the more you know before you go, the better off you will be. Practice patience and be prepared for roadblocks. In many places, you cannot go into an office and walk out with the paper or declaration that you need. Embrace the process and trust that it will all work out. Lastly, be open to new experiences both in and out of the classroom. Naturally, you might want to make only English-speaking friends or stay in at night, but put yourself outside of your comfort zone! You will make the most out of your experience this way.