Webinar: Ireland to Italy and Beyond: Traveling as an Online English Teacher

Written by Ian O'Sullivan Published 9 September 2020 ~3 min read

Webinar: Ireland to Italy and Beyond: Traveling as an Online English Teacher

For the past two years, Vanessa and husband Ray have been traveling the world while teaching English online. They had a dream to spend St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland and took the short flight from Edinburgh to Dublin. The plan was to spend a few weeks on the Emerald Isle, but plans changed. They quickly realized that they would call Ireland home for longer than expected. Four months longer in fact. With European lockdown and travel restrictions now easing, they have recently relocated to Naples, Italy. Join Teacher Vanessa in this webinar to discover what it was like to travel and set up home in a new country during COVID plus. Check out the recorded webinar We caught up with Vanessa after her move to Italy ahead of the webinar to get a glimpse into her new life. Answering questions about traveling during COVID 19 and how she coped with an unexpected stay in Ireland, Vanessa didn't hold back. Watch the recorded live webinar where Vanessa discussed:

Traveling as an online English teacher
Tips and tricks for packing the teaching essentials
Relocating to a different country
Air travel during a global pandemic and travel restrictions
Teaching challenges after moving

Vanessa starts off this wonderful webinar with why she chose the 240 hour TEFL course with Premier TEFL.

Traveling as an Online English Teacher

Vanessa was teaching online for 6 months before she started her journey to Thailand. She then decided on which company she was going to work for before moving to Asia. A great tip Vanessa mentions is that you need to find the best company that suits your needs and schedule. What made Vanessa and her Husband pick Thailand to start their adventure together was because of the well known top class beaches. They started in Taipei and then onto Bangkok and from Bangkok to Koh Samui. In Koh Samui, they lived on a beautiful beach in a bungalow, where Vanessa thought inside the bungalow and her husband thought on the beach. (How amazing does this sound!?)

Tips and Tricks for Packing Teaching Essentials

The most important thing you need to have to teach English online is a laptop or tablet. You firstly have to check with your company to see if they allow you to use a tablet to teach from. Some companies even allow you to use a smartphone to teach English online, like Palfish. Another requirement need is a headset or headphones which both require a microphone. Vanessa started with a headset but gradually moved onto headphones. She felt that the headset was too big and the earphone does the same job. Vanessa also packed Uno cards in her suitcase. She feels the cards a great visual game for her learners and helps them improve on their numbers and also for color activities. Vanessa purchased a tapestry from amazon which she uses as a background for her online English learners. Not everyone has to have one, but she finds that it helps her class look more interesting and appealing. She also brings some props of animals that assist her teaching skills. Overall Vanessa is packed lightly. Because of Vanessa making her decision to do a TEFL course and to start teaching online in Thailand, she would of never of gotten to see so much of the world. Vanessa and her husband have been to 18 countries since teaching English online and their adventure continues to the next destination which is Albania. They're a great inspiration for other future English teachers that may want to head down the same path as them. Vanessa also takes over our Instagram every Tuesday. Tune in to get a glimpse into the life of an online English teacher! ? Did you find the webinar with Vanessa helpful? Let us know in the comments box if you would like to know more about any of these topics? :)

Written by

Ian O'Sullivan

Co-Founder

Ian's educational travel career spans almost 25 years. In his opinion, travel is one of the most valuable educations you'll ever get. This adventure loving, dog-owning fitness enthusiast has a passion for living life to the fullest.