Do your students have a difficult time grasping the concept of phrasal verbs? If so, here's a great exercise to get them past that "mind block." I have found that my students hate the idea when I propose it, but are always thankful afterwards because they finally "get it!"

Take enough English dictionaries to class so that every student will have one. (Many times they have their own, and you can just ask them to bring it to class.) Now, assign each one of them a verb that has many verb phrases, such as "make" or "take." Then ask each student to write a short story using ten of those phrasal verbs. You will probably hear a lot of groans, but they will be thanking you profusely after class!

Think tiny, flavorful cups of coffee. Think seaside cafes, and passionate, friendly debates at every small, checkered-cloth covered table. Think of lazy afternoons where every place closes down for a good meal followed by an afternoon nap. Think History. Think small boat and ferry excursions which will take you to remote islands with little or no tourism.

Think Athens, Greece.

If you are looking for a teaching location to truly get away from it all, this could be your ticket. Greece is filled with passionate people and students who are serious about learning English. While Athens is crowded and does suffer from a pollution problem, the hundreds of islands that surround it are oftentimes sparsely population and havens of retreat.

The salaries aren't typically high in Greece, but if it is experience that you want, you would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful, welcoming locale. Jobs aren't too difficult to find, and if you have a certificate-and just about any will do for this location-you’ll do even better.

The great thing about Greece is that there is something for just about anyone. If you want quiet and solitude, you'll find it, but if it's an active nightlight you're looking for, you'll find that too.

And did I mention the food? Seafood caught an hour before it's served, sweet feta cheese, spinach leaves rolled with rice and lamb, and potato omelets. Is your mouth watering yet?

If you're looking to experience another culture and a place with warm friendly people who are serious about learning English, you should check out Greece!

Quick! What's the number one reason that most ESL teachers decide to go to another country to teach? If you think that it's to experience another culture and see the world, you're right! But many teachers find that because of the low salaries offered in many countries, they can't travel as much as they had hoped to.

Living on a budget can be a challenge for many teachers, but with some planning and savvy, it is possible to find a good balance. The biggest expense in anyone's budget is living accommodations. Today, we offer two tips to help you reduce yours.

The first is to share living quarters with other teachers. Depending on your personal situation, this may be the perfect solution to not only cut your rent in half (or less!), but to form good friendships with other teachers, as well.

The next tip is to ask someone from the local community to help you find a place to live. Many times they will know about apartments or rooms that are for the locals, and aren’t priced for foreigners! You could try asking the management at your school for a guide, or even one of your students.

Despite today's negative attitude toward the term “networking,” this method is generally how most teachers land those great jobs! Networking is nothing more than being prepared when you do meet that person who could be influential in helping you land that dream job. So, what are the steps to being prepared?

Start by knowing and being able to talk about your personal work strengths. Are you good with difficult students? Do you thrive in an atmosphere where there is little or no direction from management? Next, back up these claims by having a few short examples of your greatest accomplishments. This shouldn't sound rehearsed, but you should practice speaking about them in a concise, engaging manner.

You'll also want to mention any certifications, degrees and other training and work skills that you possess, followed up by a brief outline of your experience.

Finally, don't look at networking as trying to sell yourself, but rather as taking an opportunity to put your verbal “resume” in front of those people who could be the pathway to your ideal teaching job.

Are you a procrastinator? Do you find yourself rushing to prepare the lesson for your class an hour ahead of time? If this sounds like you, there is probably a lot of unnecessary stress in your life.

Procrastination is something that a lot of us deal with, but did you know that with some quick behavioral changes, you can kick this habit? Just think-no more rushing to grade those papers at the last minute. No more getting your travel documents approved-with 2 minutes to spare!

The first thing you need to do is decide upon your goal. Let's say that it's to prepare your class one day ahead of time. Now, you'll simply need to put yourself on a reward/punishment program and stick to it! If you accomplish the goal, take yourself out for pizza, or give yourself some other treat. But, if you don't, you should take away something of importance-like that extra cup of coffee in the morning, or that dessert at lunch-in order to feel the consequences of not following through. If you take truly want to stop procrastination and learn to manage your time better, you should seriously consider doing something about it, because if you don't, the behavior will only continue.

Many times students become accustomed to their teacher's voice and accent, and have a difficult time understanding other people-even though they may do great in class. That's why it's vital to expose them to different styles and variations of speech. That can be difficult to do if you teach in an area where English is rare.

One great solution to this problem is to have them listen to different video or audio files that involve other people speaking, and then discuss the conversation or story in class. A great web site where you can find a multitude of these is www.tolearnenglish.com. This site includes fifty video files and over one-hundred audio files to select from. What's more, they're all free! You’ll simply need RealOne Player to watch or listen to them, which can be downloaded for free from the Internet.

I highly recommend using this site to allow your students to listen to other people speak, so that they will be better prepared when they begin to interact with English speakers. The files are varied, and should provide enough diversity to appeal to everyone.

Want to know more about how to incorporate the Internet and other media into your teaching? Then don't miss the TCC Worldwide Online Conference taking place later this week. It takes place April 19-21, and covers such important topics as online learning, distance learning, using today's technologies for teaching - such as blogs, wikis, mp3, and PDA's. The conference is hosted by the University of Hawaii Kapi olani Community College in association with Osaka Gakuin University, Japan. In addition, LearningTimes.org is partnering for the events.

Visit them at http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu/ for complete information.

This month's survey focuses on private lessons:

• Do you supplement your salary by giving private lessons?
• If so, have you been successful with them?
• What percentage of your salary comes from private lessons?
• How many hours of private teaching do you do a week?

Drop us a line and tell us about your experience with private lessons, and we'll share the results next month.

Visit this link to take survey

In this section of the newsletter, we want to hear from you! Do you have any questions or issues that you just can't seem to find the answers to? Ask them here. Any dilemmas that you need help solving? This is the place. Each month, we’ll post them here, and then do our best to answer them for you.

Did you know: In a recent study, all Americans said that they wanted one thing. Do you know what it is?

Answered: To change jobs or careers! If only they knew about the benefits of teaching English, they may not be so unhappy!

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