Sejal Mandalia

Name: Sejal Mandalia
Area of work: Teaching English as a foreign language
Employer: The British Council, Damascus, Syria
Qualifications: BScEcon international politics and Middle East studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth (1994); postgraduate diploma in journalism, University of Westminster (1996); TESOL certificate, Trinity (2004)

I first became interested in teaching when I worked as an English teacher in a UN-sponsored summer school in a refugee camp. I went as a volunteer and had no previous teacher training. Yet I found the experience profoundly rewarding in ways that previous jobs had not been. That is why, when I came back to Britain, I enrolled on a TEFL course.

Learning to teach English as a foreign language

The course was recommended by a friend. It gave me the skills and confidence to present new vocabulary and grammar to students and the ability to teach students of different ages and nationalities. For five weeks your life is consumed by TEFL, but at the end of it all the world is open to you. You now have a job that allows you to work almost anywhere in the world, live in relative comfort and, hopefully, be valued.

Adapting to the needs of different learners

At the moment I’m working for the British Council in Syria. I teach adults general English and in the summer I teach young learners as well. To be a good teacher, you need confidence in your ability and good personal skills. With young learners in particular, you need to be really patient and try not to lose your temper! I have started a drama club to get students to use English in a fun, creative way outside the classroom. All in all, I love it here.