Sam Horrocks: Teaching languages abroad
Kris Broholm interviews Sam Horrox about teaching languages abroad. They discuss using language education to fund travel, earn money, and build a career while residing in a foreign country.
July 17, 2015 · 39 min
EP 66: Sam Horrocks: Teaching languages abroad
0:00 / 38:39
Guest
Sam Horrocks
What You'll Hear
- 1 Kris's comeback, episode preview, sponsor message
- 2 Sam's path to language learning, favorite apps
- 3 Starting out teaching English overseas
- 4 Finding jobs: schools, freelance, Italki, qualifications
- 5 Flexible lifestyle, online teaching advantages, better income
- 6 Challenges: wages, loneliness, growing your student base
- 7 Essential advice for aspiring English teachers
- 8 Sam's future career goals, episode wrap-up
Links Mentioned
Questions Covered in the Show
How did Sam Horrox get interested in language learning?- 4m
What are some recommended online resources for language learning?- 9m
Is a teaching qualification necessary for teaching English abroad?- 19m
What are the advantages of being a freelance English teacher abroad?- 23m
What are the potential disadvantages or challenges of teaching English abroad?- 28m
What foundational knowledge should a native English speaker have before teaching English?- 31m
Related Episodes
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Season 2, episode 16, Sam Horrox, teaching languages abroad.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Actual Fluency podcast. So sorry for the last two weeks that the show hasn't been on, but there's been some pretty big changes in my life, and due to the incompetent of the Hungarian internet provider, I was sadly unable to get a stable enough connection to do these cool interviews for you. So now I'm really happy to be back, and I conducted a new interview for you guys to listen to. It's going to come in just a minute.
But, um, if you haven't read my latest blog post, I recommend you go to actualfluency.com and check it out because it's lists like what I've been going through the last month or so. And it hasn't been easy at every time, but, um, now things are sort of settling down, so it's going to make it a little bit easier. So, I'm really excited about that.
And thank you, thank you, thank you so much to everyone who sent me messages and showed support on Facebook and email. It's, it really means a lot to me that, uh, I have you guys out there to support me, as well as, uh, I'm hopefully supporting you in some way. Um, so, yeah, thank you so much for, for doing that and understanding the situation I was in, which has been, you know, as somebody who's practically been on the internet every day for like 27 years, it's quite a shock to have to go to a cafe and have some shitty internet that you can't record with.
So, yeah, I'm just really happy to be back, and, um, what I'd just like to point out in this episode is if you have any sort of people in the polyglot community or who speak about any topics related to learning languages or whatever you can imagine, motivation, or whatever's relevant to you, you know, feel free to suggest guests. If you go to actualfluency.com, there's a contact button up top. Or you can send an email to chris@actualfluency.com, that also works. And, uh, I'd be happy to reach out to those people that, um, you want to hear from. So, you know, send in those suggestions.
And, uh, without further ado, I'm just going to pass this straight over to today's, uh, interview segment. It's with a good friend of mine called Sam, and we're going to be talking about teaching languages as a way to sort of fund traveling and see more of the world, make some money, make a career out of it, maybe. I know a lot of you guys are sitting out there and you're, you really want to travel, but you're feeling restricted by the lack of maybe funds you have available. So, by finding a job in a foreign country, you can really sort of kill two birds with one stone. So, uh, enjoy today's episode, and, uh, thank you for listening again, and, uh, thank you for your patient, patience in this, uh, outage.
But first, just a quick message from our sponsor.
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All right, welcome back to another episode of the Actual Fluency podcast. We're back here after a little break, and today I'm joined by my friend, Sam Horrox, and we're going to talk about how to, uh, travel and teach a language abroad. So, Sam, how are you doing today?
I'm good, thanks. Thank you for having me.
You're welcome. Thanks for taking the time to come and share your story with the listeners.
No problem.
Before we move into the teaching and traveling aspect, I just wanted to take a moment to, for people to get to know you. So, how did you get into sort of the language learning community? I met you in Berlin at the Polyglot Gathering, I know, and you've been traveling around, learning some languages, I know. So, can you give us the backstory on how you got interested and and sort of how you came to this point?
Yeah. Um, well, I studied Russian at university, um, and that took me to a very small town in Russia on my year abroad. Um, and there I met Alex Rawlings, uh, who was also studying Russian. Um, and then, um, we stayed in contact, and, uh, through him, I learned about the polyglot community. Um, I didn't even know what a polyglot was before then.
Um, and then, yeah, and he told me about the, the polyglot gathering and the conferences, um, which was really interesting, so I decided to check it out. And that's how I ended up in Berlin, but I, I've been twice now to Berlin, uh, to the, the gathering there. Um, and the, the polyglot conference, uh, I went to in Novisad in Serbia, which is also really good.
Cool.
Yeah, and then we, uh, we met, uh, here in Budapest again at the workshop.
Right.
Yeah, so.
Yeah, it's great to, uh, to have all these sort of connection points around the world, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, really good.
So, um, I guess the, the next step would be to ask, you know, if you did Russian in university and you spent a year abroad, I assume that helps a lot. But how did you sort of, when did you change into an independent language learner? Because I know that you have studied a lot of other languages on the side as well. Like, when did you, how did you feel like that change?
Um, well, I decided to do Russian at university because it's quite a difficult language to, um, work out on your own because of the grammar and the, it's very different. Um, I studied like French and a little bit of Spanish at school, but, um, this is something completely new, so I thought it was really good to have the structure then.
But I think it's a really, uh, really good to go on your own and start learning a language, um, when you move to the country. Because you, you always have to practice, and you can always go out onto the street and practice anything new that you've learned. Um, but I just think if you have a good book and some motivation, then, um, that's all you need, really.
Right. Good motivation, never stop.
Yeah, exactly. And there's lots of really good online resources now that you can use.
Right. What are some of your favorite resources?
Um, Memrise is really good for vocabulary. Mhm. Um, there's also, um, Readlang, which is when you've progressed a little bit further and you just want to practice your reading.
Nice, nice.
Really good website for that. Um, it basically, you install it on your browser, and then you can go on any website, and if you don't know a word, you just click it and it shows it to you in English, and then that's added to a word list, which you can then later go back and revise.
Um, and I've just started, so I'm, I'm going to move to Spain in September, and I don't really speak Spanish, so I thought I need to start that. So, I've just started to use Duolingo.
Uh-huh. How are you finding it?
Um, I think it's a a really good structure, and you get the emails to make you feel guilty, you get the points if you, uh, if you have consecutive days, so I think it's really good way to do it.
Right.
Because you've got some outer pressure helping you.
Right. Accountability is really important, isn't it?
Yeah.
Cool. Yeah, that sounds like a, the good ones. I love, I love Readlang as well. It's, uh, uh, my friend Steven is doing it. He was also at the gathering, um, not this last one, but he was at the one last year, uh, 2014, yeah. He was there and, and talked about it. But, you know, it's really cool to see it's sort of a startup, and Steven's a really cool guy, and if you have any sort of feature requests, he implements them like instantly if they're good.
So, I mean, he, he did a feature where you can do the Readlang web reader, you can import text, and he had like a few more bells and whistles than if you just used the browser add-on. And I, I told him, you know, Stephen, wouldn't it be cool if instead of changing the word that I want to look up, that he just sort of scribbled it on top, like the web reader, and it was implemented like within three hours. And I was like, wow, this, this is cool. So now I could sort of look up a word while I was reading an article, and it would show above like a, like you, if you did it your own in a book, you just a little, little note on, on top. So, definitely plus one for Readlang. But, of course, you need a a base level to to get to, to, to make much use of it.
Yeah, you need maybe, uh, at least A2, I'd say, to start using Readlang. Yeah.
But another really good thing about it is because when you're, when you're using Memrise, it's just showing you words. And if you have a very good memory for that, uh, that's really good, but then it's really hard to get them into your everyday vocabulary. For sure, yeah. Use new words. Whereas with Readlang, um, when it's showing you the flashcards, it shows you a sentence with a gap in it. So you can see it in the context. Right. That's really helpful.
Um, and as well, I know it, I think it uses Google Translate, um, or some sort of online translator to to help it with the translations. And obviously, for English speakers or Spanish speakers, that's really good because the, uh, the online translators are really good. But for a lot of my Hungarian students, um, they I just see them laughing when they see a Google translation because it's just nothing like the Hungarian should be. Right.
And but I've, I've told my students about Readlang, and they've used it and said that it's a lot more accurate. So, um, it's, it's really good for language learners who, who's native language isn't a world language.
That's interesting. Right. Mhm.
Mhm.
So, how did you, when did you make the transition of, uh, you know, you we were at university doing Russian, a year abroad. Presumably, that was sort of under, still under the university's, uh, cover, if you may say. Yeah. So, when did you make the transition to being on completely sort of freelance and deciding to go out and travel as opposed to maybe continuing your degree back in, in England or finding, uh, a job there?
Yeah, well, um, while I was on my year abroad, I studied at university in Saint Petersburg and Yaroslavl. And, um, during that time, there was an opportunity to, uh, just to make some extra money and teach some English there. Um, obviously, I had no idea how to teach English properly, but I really enjoyed it. And I thought, oh, this is a a really fun way to see the world.
So, I went back to university for a year, finished, and then when I graduated, I decided I want to go back to Russia and just, um, get my Russian up to a a better level. So, I found a job, it's through a nanny agency, but it wasn't really a nanny role, it was more of a an English tutor role for a Russian family.
Oh, nice.
So, I moved out to, back to Saint Petersburg, um, in 2013 in December, and spent, uh, seven months there working for the family, which is a really good way, uh, to practice the language because obviously, with the children, I was speaking English. The parents didn't speak English, so I had to speak Russian to them. Um, and then I, I found a friends group who didn't speak English. Um, so that was a really good way to practice my Russian. Um, just completely immerse myself in it.
Uh, and then I decided I wanted to do some sort of qualification because native speakers don't make the best teachers. Right. There's a lot of grammar that I didn't know because obviously, in the English education system, we don't learn grammar. If you ask someone on the street in England, what's the past perfect, there's a good chance they won't know.
So, um, I decided to do the CELTA qualification, which is a Cambridge qualification for teaching English to adults. Um, and I looked at lots of different centers and, uh, places to do it, and Budapest seemed like a really good place. Um, the price was a little bit lower, and, um, the, the course was quite well respected. So, that was a month long. Um, and that was in August 2014. And then I decided to stay in Budapest, and here I am.
Nice. Yeah.
So that's my journey and where I am so far.
Awesome. And after you got your qualification, did you, did you find any, any jobs that are had that structure of an employer again, or did you move into freelance by this point?
Yeah, straight after, um, the CELTA, I got a job in a language school. Um, which I think it's a really good way. If you're going to move to a new city and you have no idea, um, about private students or anything, it's a, it's quite a good way to start up.
Um, I didn't, I didn't work there, uh, full-time for very long, but, um, yeah, it was a good, good way to start up.
Right. Just test the waters and see what, what's going on.
Yeah. And then I gradually found more private students, um, and that sort of expanded there.
And now you work all the time with your own private students?
Yes, I have a lot of private students now.
Um, another really good way if you're really nervous about moving to another country and you have no idea if you're going to find a job, blah, blah, is, um, make an Italki account. Um, for this to be a professional teacher, you need like a, a TEFL or a CELTA qualification, but you can set your own prices, um, you can find students all the time. Start off with a lower rate, and then gradually increase your rate. Um, and I think this is just a really good way to just start up if you're going to move to another country.
Right. How important do you think that, uh, qualification really is for somebody who might be sitting in England or America, whatever, and want to experience the world and going to a foreign country? Is it, is it necessary? Or do you think that you get so many benefits from it that it's kind of a no-brainer?
It's completely, uh, dependent on where you're going. So, if you're going to, uh, places like Southeast Asia, um, I think it's quite easy to find a job, uh, if you are a native English speaker, with no qualifications. Um, places like Korea, um, Thailand, Vietnam. The wages are quite high, and, um, yeah, I think it's, it's quite easy to find a job without a qualification. Having said that, a lot of people are going there. So, I think it's becoming more and more difficult.
Places like Budapest, um, and Hungary, um, they have some laws where most, if you're going to work in a language school or any sort of establishment, you need a CELTA. They're quite strict about it. So, you could just do some research. If there's somewhere that you're thinking of going, um, so, oh, I look, I'd like the look of Prague, or I'd like to go and live in, I don't know, Germany for a while. Just go on the internet, read some forums, find some stories of people who have, uh, already done the journey and and lived there and worked there. Right. And just see what they say. That's the best way to to find out, I think.
Cool. Just do the research and, um.
Yeah.
Find out what, I, I guess it also depends on what type of, you know, what you're looking for. If you want to be a freelance teacher, there are a lot of different requirements to whether you want to work in an actual school.
Yeah, exactly.
And, but like you said, it can be a good idea to sort of start under controlled, or start in a controlled environment. Maybe you go on online. There are lots of websites that list like jobs abroad, kind of sites.
Yeah, just send a CV to some language schools. Um, I did, I mean, for the first month or two, I think it's best not to get a contract, um, but just find some sort of freelance work, some, um, by sending your CV out.
But, I mean, a lot of language schools, it's just a case of, um, getting to the country, printing off a hundred copies of your CV, and then going and introducing yourself.
Right.
The language schools do like that.
But I can imagine a lot of people would be a little bit scared about just rooting and bringing all their belongings with them and just praying they'll find a job.
Yeah, it's part of the fun.
True, true. Speaking of fun, what's, um, what's some of the best aspects of being, uh, doing what you're doing now, like a freelance language teacher abroad?
Um, well, I really like the, uh, you can really choose your hours, so, um, especially with private students. You can just email them and say, oh, are you free then? Are you free here? Can we have a lesson there? Um, so it's really flexible. Um, you can just move around. If you want to go and visit another city for a few days, um, you can just move some lessons.
Um, especially if you're an online language teacher. Um, I think this is the best because you can move anywhere. Right. So, you can establish yourself before you move to a country. Ah. That's that's clever, yeah. Yeah. And then you have a steady income. Um, you have students who, uh, can move anywhere with you because you have an internet connection. So, I think that's a really good way, and that's probably the safest way. But Italki, uh, Mingle, uh, Verbal Planet are all, uh, English or language teaching websites.
Right. I guess just sign up to all of them because you might have some people stumble on your profile and.
Yeah. And like I said, just make a really attractive profile, and, um, set your prices quite low at the beginning, and then you can gradually increase them.
Supply and demand.
Yeah, exactly. So, I think that's the safest way if you're really worried about going to a country and not having a job and not finding a job. Um, start online.
That's a great idea. And, um, that was some of the sort of benefits, more flexibility and you can choose your hours, and you can I guess also another benefit is you can live in a country where the average income is a lot lower than what you can make on Italki or whatever.
So, you can sort of leverage, uh, currency rate and live a a better lifestyle than you would be able to if you were from that country or even from your home country.
Yeah, like Budapest is a good example of that. It's a quite a cheap country, um, for foreigners to come to. The wages are quite low, um, but, I mean, you could, if you worked full-time on Italki, for example, which will take a, maybe a month or two to get a full-time timetable of students.
But, I mean, for the first few months of you coming here if you had that, that would be really comfortable while you found a job.
Yeah, for sure. I mean, that would be incredible. I you know, if you get what $10 an hour after Italki cut, it's probably a good starting rate. So, that's what, uh, 40, 40 hours a week, that's $400 a week. That's like 1.6k dollars a month. I mean, that's.
And I think it's also a bit hard work to work that to, to teach that many lessons. For me, when I was teaching, I thought that teaching just a few hours a day with a few different students was quite taxing on like mentally. So, you don't want to assume that you can just jump in and do 40 hours because it's quite, like, brainwork always feels like it's harder than physical work, you know? You can stack boxes all day if you want to, but when you have to actually think about things and respond to students really difficult grammar questions that you never thought about, then you need, you need to take some breaks as well.
But, I mean, you're probably the one to talk to about balancing because I, I've noticed you work worked a lot lately, so how do you, how do you work on sort of the balance so you don't work all the time?
Well, it's just, um, you have to find the balance between, um, actually teaching hours and planning hours because you, I think, 40 hours of just classroom teaching or, uh, like face-to-face teaching. Um, is way too much because you can't give the students the attention they need, um, you'd never be able to plan lessons. So, I think, um, I think 20 or 25 hours of lessons a week, um, and then you have time to plan as well. I think that's the best way.
Um, but I mean, I have a, I have some students online, and I have some students in person. So, it's a nice mix because with the, the students online, you could have like two or three back-to-back, um, but if you're in person, then you've got travel time as well, which also adds up. So a a 90-minute lesson might be three hours because you've got the travel to decide as well. Whereas online, an hour is an hour. Which is a little bit nicer.
Yeah, but I guess it's a good sort of break anyway to have students in real life, as well as the computer so you don't sit in front of the computer like all day and.
Yeah. It's nice to talk to real people.
Yeah, exactly. Like we're doing that right now. Wait.
Anyway, so we talked about the good, the good aspects. Um, I guess we sort of owed to people to also talk about some of the negatives because, you know, uh, what seems like a bit of a, some sort of dream for many, and also, you know, from the outside, it seems amazing. Like, oh, you're traveling, and you can do, set your own hours and I mean, in in many aspects, this is a good lifestyle, but there are some negatives, right? I, I guess.
Yeah. Like, um, I'd say, before you move to a country, and if you're going to teach English there, really do some research into, um, how much you will expect your wage to be as an ESL teacher.
Um, like, Budapest, I absolutely love it here. It's an amazing city. Um, really, really nice place to live. Um, but the, the wages in a language school are significantly lower than a lot of other places in Europe. So, um, I remember when I was working at a language school, um, the wage was probably about nine euros an hour.
Right.
Um, and if you think about, I don't know, places in the Middle East or places in Asia, you can make a lot more than that an hour. So, um, it completely depends on if you're going to try and save money, Um, or you're just doing it, uh, for fun.
Right. I guess nine, nine euros an hour isn't too terrible. Like, it's for Hungary, I, I guess it's about way above average for a for an hourly.
But I guess the point is you're trying to make is to you can't assume to just move to a place like Hungary and just make like 10,000 euros a month and continue living the lifestyle that you used to. Like, you need to adjust.
Yeah, it's an adjustment. I think Budapest is a really good place to, if you have a CELTA, um, and you're, you want to sort of travel around Europe, spend a few months here and there, um, it would be a good place to come.
But I think if you're, you're doing it as, uh, a full-time professional thing, and you're trying to, I don't know, put some money aside, um, you, yeah, you've just got to do the research into the country.
Right.
Yeah.
How are you finding the whole sort of, um, I mean, you know, teaching, especially online, could be sort of lonely in a way because you're sort of locked in front of the computer. And like you said, you're not talking to real people. You're just talking to a Skype avatar or whatever.
Um, how do you, do you, do you ever have any challenges in that compartment, or any any suggestions for people who might, you know, isolate themselves because they're like, oh, no, I need to teach all the time and sit in my room?
Well, um, I actually really enjoyed teaching on Italki. Like, uh, the majority of my students, it's a video conversation as well. Um, and you meet some really interesting people. I've got students in Japan, Russia, uh, Brazil, Romania, Spain. So, it's really interesting to sort of learn about all these places that you've never have met these people otherwise.
Um, I like to have a balance between, uh, face-to-face and, um, and online. But, um, it takes a while to build up that private student database, really. Of course. Um, it's quite slow at first, but then you get recommendations, and you, you can ask your students if they have any friends who want to learn English, and it's then it starts to to build up quite quickly.
Right. And then you can, and then you'll have to either raise your price or start saying no at some point.
Well, yeah, you can, uh, yeah, if you're, I'm sure if you raise your price significantly, then, um, that would stop some students.
But, um, I mean, the good thing about websites, like Italki, for example, you can just, uh, you can change the timetable week by week or day by day. So, you can set the month, and then you can go through on individual days and like, okay, I don't want to work that much that day, or, oh, I'm going to go to, I don't know, Vienna for the day on that day, so I'm not going to have any lessons. Um, and people seem to be very flexible, um, if you just send them a message and say, oh, would it be okay if we changed that lesson? Um, so it's really, you can really control it, um, which is really good.
Right. Yeah.
Yeah.
Cool. And, uh, English is obviously the, the sort of what you've been teaching, and, uh, it also happens to be, I think, the most learned language in the world, like the.
There's one billion people at the moment learning English.
Right.
It's very popular.
Yeah, when people are saying like the biggest languages, and English isn't even close, well, the people learning English are quite many. So, the opportunities are out there for for native English speakers or even, I mean, I guess I could as well, like from Denmark, I guess I could go teach as well. Yeah.
Might even have advantages because I'm not a native speaker, so I had to learn some of the stuff. Um.
Exactly.
Yeah.
A lot of people think, oh, I really want a native speaker because I really want to learn the accent. But, um, I really think that, um, that people who have been through the process and learned it themselves and know the mistakes that people make and what's difficult, um, they really make better teachers.
And I think if you are a native teacher, it is good to just, I don't know, familiarize yourself with the grammar or do, do one of these English teaching qualifications, even if it's just a TEFL.
Right, that, yeah, let's let's dig into that a little bit. Like if you're a native English speaker and you're sitting listening to this and you're like, oh, wow, I'm so pumped. I want to go out and teach English right now.
What are sort of the, what do you need to know before you start the first lesson? Like, what would you recommend people sort of at least know before?
Um, I think just have a basic understanding of the English tenses.
Okay.
Yeah. Because I, I remember being like, there's, what, how many? That's ridiculous because you just don't, you don't learn them at school. Um, so and and there's a lot of questions about them because most, or a lot of other languages, um, have three. And we have, uh, like 12. So, it's, um, just familiarize yourself with the the form and usage. things like that.
Um, another thing is, learn how to grade your language because native speakers, um, usually speak louder when people aren't understanding them, not slower, which isn't helpful. So, just learn to when you're having a conversation with someone who's, I don't know, beginner or a pre-intermediate, just just listen to what you're saying and and learn how to, uh, change the words and make them a little bit more simpler.
Right. Yeah.
That's a good tip as well. Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, and just get some really good books, uh, for English, um, so if you do have a question, Um, you can say, okay, I'll check that, and I can explain it to you next week.
There's loads of really good websites. There's also, um, a book, I think, Swan Practical English Usage, which is a really good book for native English speakers to learn English grammar.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's always interesting, you know, I, I, I know about the native thing as well. I've definitely been, when I was looking for teachers, I was definitely looking at native speakers, but they just, sometimes they just don't understand their own language at all.
Like, I guess Hungarian is a great example of this. Um, they just don't understand why they say things, but they just know it's right.
Yeah. It's that feeling, but you can't, when you're teaching English, someone asks you, oh, why do you say, uh, what's the difference between I will and I'm going to? And it's like, it, I don't know, it just is. There's just the difference. That's not the answer that they're looking for. So, you need to learn this difference.
Um, but, I mean, you don't have to be an English grammar expert to start teaching English because you learn with the student. Once someone asks you a question that you don't know, you look it up, and then you remember it. So, for next time, you'll learn it. I mean, when I started teaching English, there were a lot of questions I had no idea how to answer, and it's just something I've learned over the last few years.
Yeah, and I guess you can set the, you can set your own expectations, so you could be like, hey, this is an informal sort of setting, and, uh, we're going to focus on spoken English or something, and then if people do ask you that impossible question, you can say, um, you know what, I'm not, I need to be 100% sure, so just let me look it up and I'll tell you next time or whatever.
Yeah. Don't lie.
Yeah, I mean.
You feel, you feel you need to because you feel like this class is looking at you, and you're the expert, so you need to give them something. But they will remember what you said, and then they will throw it back at you a few months later when they find out the real rule.
So, yeah, just say that's your homework, find this out. Or I'll find it out and tell you next week. Yeah.
That's, I, I think in my opinion, that's like a difference between really good teachers at my school and really bad teachers. Like, if you ask the bad teachers something they obviously didn't know, they'd just make up some bullshit, and you could just tell it was bullshit.
And if the, if you asked a really good teacher, like, what is, what's the difference between this? I mean, they'd think about it for a few seconds, and then they'd say, you know what, let me just check that and get back to you next week or whatever. I mean, it's not a shame, you know, it's not a a flaw. It's just you can't know everything about languages, you know, some of these instances are so rare that nobody would never need them, really. But that's the questions you get as well. The questions are always about the really rare examples, and that's why it's hard to answer.
So, and you will enjoy learning about your own language as well. Like, I'm sure you've enjoyed sort of expanding your knowledge about how English actually works instead of just.
Yeah, it's really interesting to find out these little rules. Someone asked me a few weeks ago what's the difference between I've been living in Budapest for a year and I have lived in Budapest for a year. And at first, I was like, I have no idea. I don't know what the difference is. But then, yeah, I went off and found out the rule, and I was like, oh, okay, that makes sense.
Well, let's, let's know the rule then, if you remember it.
Yeah, so I have been living is more temporary. So, you actually are from London and come to Budapest to work, for example. So, I have been living in Budapest for a year, but I will go back to London.
Whereas I have lived in Budapest for a year means it's going to be a long-term thing.
Okay.
But, ask a native speaker that, and they probably wouldn't be able to explain it. So, it's.
So, it's a very small nuance, uh, but yeah, the native speakers will always sort of instinctively know what the, what the real answer is, anyway.
Yeah. And you always find exceptions to this as well. So, um, you'll find a rule, and then there'll be like a big list of exceptions because it's English, and that's how English is. Right.
So, you tell students a rule, and then they'll be like, okay. And then two weeks later, they'll come back, ah, but look at this sentence. It's like, oh, yeah, no, this happens all the time. Right. It's always a, yeah.
Do you ever get asked on, do you ever get asked by the students they've heard like a sentence by a native speaker that's actually wrong, but sort of in use anyway, and you have to sort of explain it?
Like, you know, where popular culture where they just don't use grammar to speak English, and that must confuse the learners a lot when native speakers use really bad grammar.
Yeah, but, um, you just have to explain that it's a like a dialect or an accent, um, and it's, it's not proper. Like, um, the McDonald's, um, catchphrase, I'm loving it. Yeah. It's the present continuous, so, yeah, that's a big one.
Um, there's also where I'm from, uh, in England in Manchester, a lot of people, um, in like informal colloquial English, you'd say things like we was. Yeah, exactly. Or we. And people have been to Northern England, and then heard people say it. Right. Right.
Yeah, I don't know why that is. It's interesting that there's a, but I guess it's a dialect thing or.
Well, you can't tell them it's wrong because it isn't, but you just have to say it's not standard.
It's non-standard, yeah. That's a good reply. As long as they understand it, I guess that's a a good sort of, uh, start.
Yeah. That's true. But yeah, you do get a lot of questions, um, about things they've heard in films, uh, or on TV.
Yeah, yeah. Just so many different types of English, so many varieties of English that you can't really come up with a rule for all of them. Right. Good and bad influences.
Yeah.
All right, amazing. Well, I, I think we've, uh, definitely inspired some people out there. I hope so, anyway, uh, to, uh, look into the possibility of traveling because, uh, I know a lot of language learners out there who would like to travel, and just try to travel, and they just get hold, held back by the the lack of funds or they just don't think it's possible to get a job or but there are a lot of websites to where you can find jobs abroad, and then might be a good sort of gateway into traveling, where you can then build up your own private base, as you say, and then you can sort of move on from there and like be anywhere.
Yeah, I mean, if you just search ESL jobs and then the place, um, or the country. And you can find a lot of forums and, um, job listing websites that can or or just forums of people talking about the country and having lived and worked there.
So, I mean, the internet is a really good perfect resource for doing all that research.
Right. The internet is great for a lot of things.
It is, yeah.
It's a great, uh, thing also for.
Internet is your friend.
Learning. I love the internet.
Um, all right, so, um, last question, where do you see yourself in a few years time when you've been teaching and traveling, and you've been to Spain and Hungary, and where do you, where do you like to go with this? What do you, what do you want to achieve with it?
Well, um, in September, I'm moving to Spain. I'm going to do a, like a postgraduate, a postgraduate degree in education, uh, like an international version of the British PGC.
Um, and hopefully, from that, I'll be able to get a job in an international school. Um, so that's, that's my current goal.
That sounds very sort of grown-up and serious.
Yeah. Well, it just seemed like, uh, a good next step for me.
Yeah, awesome. And I guess all the experience you're getting now is invaluable in, in in, uh, career in education.
Oh, yeah, yeah. It's, uh, it's all working towards a goal.
Fantastic. Well, Sam, thank you so much for taking the time to sharing your experience and, uh.
Thank you for having me.
And, uh, I, I definitely know I'll see you around a little bit before, uh, you go into Spain.
Yeah, of course.
All right.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Take care, man.
Okay. Bye.
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