If you can be in Italy during Easter Week you will be treated to splendid traditions, poignant rituals and abundant food as Lent reaches its end. While Easter Mass is held across the country in every church, it’s the one led by the Pope at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome that tops the agenda. He also blesses the Via Crucis on Good Friday, where a huge cross is lit with burning torches near the Colosseum. Alternatively, head for Florence where the Scoppio del Carro, or explosion of the cart, provides a spectacular display of fireworks and parades in medieval costume on Easter morning. Wherever you are, Easter Monday, or La Pasquetta, is a day of festivity, fun and social gatherings – to say nothing of fine food and wine, which goes without saying.
Festa di San Marco, Venice (25th April)
All you romantics out there, head for Venice on 25th April. As well as being Liberation Day in Italy, celebrating the anniversary of Italy’s liberation by the Allies in WWII, it is also the feast day of Venice’s patron saint, San Marco. And it is during this Festa de San Marco that Venetian men traditionally present the woman they love with a red rosebud, or bocolo. Enjoy the parades in St Mark’s Square and woo your beloved in one of Italy’s most beautiful cities – guys, this one will win you brownie points with your loved one.
Sagra del Pesce, Camogli (9th May)
It would be impossible to talk of festivals in Italy without bringing up food at some point. The Sagra del Pesce (Fish Feast) Festival in Camogli, just south of Genoa, is a must for anyone who likes fish as, every year on the second Sunday of May, this small and pretty fishing village perched on the Italian Riviera hosts a massive, jovial and free feast of freshly caught fish. And it really does have to be seen to be believed. For the entire day, fishermen swap their nets for aprons and devote the day to frying their produce in a giant saucepan that’s 5 metres wide (that’s over 16 feet) with a 7 metre handle – possibly even more impressive than the fish that comes out of it. Whatever the case, it’s fish for everyone – it’s delicious, and it’s free!
Infiorata di Noto, Sicily (15th-16th May)
Spring is a time for flowers, and there’s nowhere better to get your fill of colour and scent than in the picturesque Baroque town of Noto in southeast Sicily. On the third weekend in May the pavements of Noto are covered with intricate ‘carpets’ of flower petals that form stunning mosaic patterns and pictures. Local artists go to town with their designs which are all made out the most natural materials possible – in addition to flower petals, they use earth, wood cuttings, seeds and more. The artists begin their creations on Friday, for all to enjoy over the weekend, and then on Monday children are let loose with delight to run through the flowers and destroy the designs. But, at least for one weekend, locals and visitors to Noto look down rather than up, as usually it is the beautiful balconies overhead that catch the eye, not the pavement underfoot.
Festival dei Due Mondi, Spoleto (18th June - 4th July)
The pretty hill town of Spoleto in southern Umbria plays host to the Festival dei Due Mondi, one of Italy’s most famous performing arts festivals. So-called as its founder, composer Gian Carlo Menotti, hoped to bring together the old and new worlds of Europe and America, it is a packed programme of music, opera, theatre, art and sculpture, and each year draws in first-class artists from around the world. As can be expected, Spoleto gets very busy during the festival, but Orvieto is about 90 minutes away and makes a perfect place to escape the crowds whilst still staying within easy distance of the festivities.
]]>Whether it’s to get ahead at work or be inspired before your holidays, there’s never been a better time to learn. You’ll meet new people and be taught the basics by Cactus’ native-speaker teachers. You’ll also get the chance to win a FREE ten-week evening course in London.
http://www.britevents.com/whats-on/london/london/free-languages-lessons/81907/
]]>Whether it’s to get ahead at work or be inspired before your holidays, there’s never been a better time to learn. You’ll meet new people and be taught the basics by Cactus’ native-speaker teachers. You’ll also get the chance to win a FREE ten-week evening course in London.
]]>Whether it’s to get ahead at work or be inspired before your holidays, there’s never been a better time to learn. You’ll meet new people and be taught the basics by Cactus’ native-speaker teachers. You’ll also get the chance to win a FREE ten-week evening course in London.
]]>You don’t need a degree to do a TEFL course: You need a university entrance-level academic qualification, such as A levels. The work regulations in the country where you want to work is the deciding factor and there are many countries even in the east where you don’t need a degree. The best way to make TEFL teaching a career is to get a good course qualification. Cambridge CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL or an equivalent length (120 hours plus) course with at least six hours observed and assessed feedback. With such a qualification under your belt, the world is your oyster. These courses are initially to teach adults, but as there are so few teaching young learners courses, employers don’t expect you to have a specific young learners course. If you want to add an extension course specialising in young learners later, for your own good, you can.
A CELTA or Cert TESOL is a big investment for someone who isn’t sure TEFL is for them. Why not start off with a taster day to see if you like the idea? Or/and try an online or short course as a taster. After that you should know whether it is for you or not. You can always go for the real thing (CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL) later.
TEFL teaching primes you for work where presentation skills and dealing with groups of people is important: When you return, you will have experience of teaching so you could move over to teaching ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) to immigrants and refugees, for example, in further education or community colleges. If you don’t want to teach, TEFL teaching prepares you for work in training, publishing, theatre and a host of other areas where presentation skills and dealing with groups of people is important.
As a fully functional international language school, the premises benefit from bright and modern classrooms with large plasma screens, DVD players, cassette players and, very important for those summer evenings - air conditioning!
Languages to be offered initially at this centre include Arabic, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish, with all lessons taking place on a Wednesday evening. Courses commence on the 14th April 2010, and cost between £159-£179, depending on the language.
Bookings can be made online, or over the phone (0845 130 4775) and can be made up until the morning of the course if availability remains.
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1. Chambery – from £189
2. Paris and Nice – from £219
3. Annecy – from £229
4. Bordeaux – from £259
5. Montpellier and Rouen – from £269
One-week general course + host family + breakfast + dinner
1. Bordeaux – from £449
2. Nice – from £469
3. Rouen – from £529
4. Paris – from £539
5. Antibes – from £549
One-week general course + single room in a residence (no meals)
1. Antibes – from £389
2. Brest – from £409
3. Montpellier – from £529
4. Nice – from £559
5. Paris – from £579
Please note : prices were correct at the time of writing but are subject to fluctuation according to changing exchange rates.
]]>You don’t need a degree to do a TEFL course: You need a university entrance-level academic qualification, such as A levels. The work regulations in the country where you want to work is the deciding factor and there are many countries even in the east where you don’t need a degree. The best way to make TEFL teaching a career is to get a good course qualification. Cambridge CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL or an equivalent length (120 hours plus) course with at least six hours observed and assessed feedback. With such a qualification under your belt, the world is your oyster. These courses are initially to teach adults, but as there are so few teaching young learners courses, employers don’t expect you to have a specific young learners course. If you want to add an extension course specialising in young learners later, for your own good, you can.
A CELTA or Cert TESOL is a big investment for someone who isn’t sure TEFL is for them. Why not start off with a taster day to see if you like the idea? Or/and try an online or short course as a taster. After that you should know whether it is for you or not. You can always go for the real thing (CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL) later.
TEFL teaching primes you for work where presentation skills and dealing with groups of people is important: When you return, you will have experience of teaching so you could move over to teaching ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) to immigrants and refugees, for example, in further education or community colleges. If you don’t want to teach, TEFL teaching prepares you for work in training, publishing, theatre and a host of other areas where presentation skills and dealing with groups of people is important.
Michelle Maxom, author of Teaching English as a Foreign Language For Dummies. After a one-month intensive course in 1997, she began teaching part-time in London, then taught in Italy
Countries where English is the first language often have stricter criteria for teachers: I would suggest that you invest in an internationally-recognised TEFL qualification. Countries where English is the first language often have stricter criteria for teachers so find out what TESOL/TEFL employers require. Perhaps consider saving up for a DELTA or Trinity diploma in TESOL in another year or two. This opens many doors, including management.
Distance learning has its place depending on where in the world you want to teach: CELTA is known everywhere but there are lots of teachers out there who have no certificate at all. They also find work. So find out about the market of the country you want to work in. You could take a chance and go untrained. You could stay in the middle ground by choosing an accredited distance course. Lastly you could invest in CELTA and get ahead of some of the competition. To some extent, what you invest reflects what you want to get out of it.
Randi Berild, director of TEFL Training LLP — a TEFL course provider
Research exchange and teaching programmes: The Jet Programme (Japan exchange and teaching programme) is known to be very good. There are other programmes, too, such as Interac. The South Korean government also runs two interesting projects; EPIK and TALK These three all include training, but the Korean ones will pay you better if you have a 100 hour plus TEFL qualification.