Life after the course - Alumni spotlight: Johan Rossouw

We caught up with Johan Rossouw to find out about what he has been up to since completing his TEFL course at Destination TEFL, Siem Reap.

When did you complete your TEFL course?

Nov 2020

Where have you been teaching since completing your course at Destination TEFL?

Sovannaphumi school, Sisophon

Tell us about the area where you live and work. Is there much to do? Are there other foreign teachers living and working in the area? What do you do for fun outside of school hours?

Sisophon, also "Serei-sophon" or "Svay", is a small town in North-western Cambodia. It is the capital of Banteay Meanchey Province. Stueng Sisophon is a medium-sized river that meanders round the southern circumference of the town. Sisophon is a transport hub that almost every overland visitor to Cambodia will unknowingly visit for at least 15 minutes. It is at the junction of two main routes: National Highway 5 (running south to Battambang and west to Poipet) and National Highway 6 (running east to Siem Reap). Not much to do in Sisophon, as people here still lives according to the original Khmer Lifestyle. Limited English speaking to basically noone in Sisophon. Communication is extremely hard and you have to rely on pure instincts and gestures to point what you want. It’s not an easy lifestyle over here, but it’s rewarding. There are no malls or big supermarkets here, so my shopping is done at the local markets. If you want to have a busy city life full of bars and restaurants, this is not the place for you at all. There are 3 other foreign teachers at my school. After school, I mostly spend my time doing time lesson planning and searching for more class activities to incorporate or as back up resources.

Tell us about your school?

SPS makes sure that quality educational facilities are provided, which enable students to grow and flourish intellectually. Those facilities are provided in correlation with levels of students to make sure that they will fully benefit from utilising the necessary materials. SPS provides the students with standard learning materials, air-conditioned classrooms, libraries with adequate books, and video and laboratory rooms equipped with modern technology. These facilities assist students in speeding up their learning.

• Air-conditioned Classrooms

• Library

• Safe playground

• Computer Laboratory

• School Bus

• Music & Painting Classrooms

• Video Room

• Sports and Arts

• Cafeteria

Sovannaphumi School (SPS) aims for students to be successful in their studies, professional and personal life, and they become capable human resources for the society.

The mission of Sovannaphumi School is to provide quality education services complying with national and international standards to students in order to make them well prepared for their higher education and professional career.

Teachers and the school principal are extremely friendly and helpful. There is mutual respect between teachers, which makes it an absolute pleasure to work at my school.

What is your average workday like?

8am - 10am and 2pm - 4pm. Every 3rd and 4th Thursday I am also teaching English to the Teachers for an hour.

What subjects and ages do you teach?

Kindergarten - Bebop 3, Phonetics 3 and Basic Numeracy, ages from 4 - 6 years, 8 students per class.

Primary classes : Base Speaking and Reading Comprehension - ages from 8 years to 14 years. Class sizes differs from 15 students up to 22 students per class.

Is the reality of being a TEFL teacher what you expected?

In all honesty, I didn’t know what to expect. You’ll find so many different opinions and versions etc when you start to google about TEFL. I would say it still depends where you are going to teach, at what school, private schools or public schools etc. I love teaching, as I have a teaching and training career behind me. Once again in honesty, I do not think to become a TEFL Teacher will fit and suit everyone. You need to have a lot of passion, patience and again patience. These kids ask for a lot of attention, they admire foreign teachers and you need to give them 100% attention at all times. You cannot have a bad day or be in a bad mood - not going to work. Depending on the age you are teaching, you will always have dirty clothes as you are playing with them, they will draw on you etc. YOU need to adapt ASAP and do not compare the teaching system over here with your home country. You need to think on your feet and always have back up plans for your daily lessons.

Is there something from the course that you specifically remember and call on in class – something that you are glad you learnt? Do you think the course prepared you well for teaching in the real world?

Lesson plans - even if you don’t have to prepare one, always keep the structure of a lesson plan in mind when teaching. That is GOLD STANDARD. I don’t think any course can prepare you 100% for the real teaching world. If you are going to teach only kindergarten, then the answer is no. There is some material that we have used in the course, that I don’t use at this stage at all due to the limited English Speaking knowledge my students have. I need to stress the fact that I am not teaching in a city or near a big town, where parents can normally speak English as well. It’s the opposite here in Sisophon. So TEFL has more challenges here.

Do you plan on staying a while, or is this just a ‘gap year’?

My aim is for at least 3 to 5 years.

Any tips or anything you’d like to say to someone considering doing their TEFL course?

TEFL is very rewarding IF you do like teaching and love kids in general, or if you want to change careers. As said before, you will need a lot of energy, patience and drive to succeed. I can only speak for the kids in Cambodia, and I do not know how kids in the other countries react to foreign teachers or the educational system.

Anything else you would like to add?

Just have fun! Be the same every day and be consistent. The kids love their foreign teachers and you have to give attention to all of them. Be very creative in your lesson plans and activities. What worked today, might not work tomorrow or the day after!

Thank you Johan for the feedback.

The country life is not for all. It should be noted that most of the TEFL jobs in Cambodia are in cities and larger towns, but for those who prefer a quieter life, countryside schools do exist.

Would you like to start your TEFL adventure? Email admissions@destinationtefl.com for an info pack.