Scams Identity Theft Search Engine Caches Recruiters and Training Spam Your privacy Helping Others Info and Guides Contact Us
This open site is a free and growing resource for the Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) community worldwide. Posting is free and can be viewed by thousands of ESL schools, teachers, students, related service providers all over the world. In addition, as with any website or forum, it can be read by others as well. TotalESL.com doesn't know everyone in the industry nor everyone that uses this site. The world is full of individuals looking to take advantage of others so please...use caution, discretion and common sense whenever you interact with anyone online, regardless of the site..
We have gathered a lot of information and advice on scams which is listed on our Job Scams Advice Page and Job Scams Listings Page. Please always be aware that the amount of fraud online is growing across the internet around the world. Knowledge is key and caution is the guide so live by the old caveat that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Also, very important: NEVER send money to schools, rectuiters or anyone online. ALWAYS limit your personal information that you share. See Identify Theft below.
Before you post personal and contact information on this or any website, be aware that it will be indexed and viewed all over the internet therefore can be used for unwanted purposes, starting with identity theft. Some important information to avoid providing: Date and Place of Birth, Full Name (First, Middle, Last), Complete Mailing Address, Passport Number, Phone Number. All this information can be provided after you have begun the interview process and confirmed that they are legitimate.
Consider putting all your information (Resume, Image, etc.) in a secure PDF document which can be made in Word (save as PDF). More information on securing Adobe PDF files
Some Helpful Information/Tips to secure your information:
Restricting changes to an Adobe PDF document:
1. With the PDF document open, choose Document > Security > Restrict Opening and Editing
2. In the password Security dialog box, select which version of Acrobat is required to read the document.
3. Select the check box under 'Permissions', and then type a permission password. This password is not required to open the document, only to change the security settings. It must be different from the 'Open Document' password.
4. Specify which printing and editing changes are restricted or allowed, and then click ok.
5. Confirm the Permissions password, and then click OK.
Adding a Watermark to your Photos:
1. You can add a watermark to your photos using an online program such as PickMarkr: http://picmarkr.com/
2. You can add a watermark to your photos using Adobe Photoshop by following the instructions here: http://www.all-things-photography.com/add-a-watermark.html
To Learn More About Identify Theft, please visit the Federal Trade Commision Site.
Search engines cache the first couple of lines of a post so even after deletion, it can still be viewed. In addition, major search engines are starting to go into attachments (word and pdf) to include this information in search results. We have no control over the policies and practices of the major search engines so use caution and limit information you post on the internet...anywhere!
You will find many stories, both good and bad, surrounding the use of recruiters. We advise that you make your own mind because there are recruiters that provide a valuable service to the ESL teacher community by vetting schools and positions prior to offering positions. Please feel free to view our sister sites' Teacher Discussions or ESL Recruiter Page.
If you need teacher training prior to accepting a position, please see TESOL Training Page and TESOL Training Accreditation Article.
Our posting forums email address box can protect your email address against robots looking for email by choosing to "use contact form only" (i.e. hide your email address). Regardless, this doesn't protect against manual extraction by a human or robot if you post the email within the body of the post. We recommend that you not post personal emails in the body of your posts nor provide emails of other individuals such as references. Many posters obtain a free email through google, yahoo or hotmail specifically for postings so as to never disclose their personal/private email address.
Total ESL (and all Icon Group Thailand sites) does not send spam in any way, directly or indirectly. Spammers sometimes use our name as an introduction to scam individuals. If you are contacted from an Icon Group Thailand site asking for personal information, please note this is a scam and contact us to report this though we have very little control in stopping the spammers around the world.
To help other people to avoid the same traps and problems, share your information on our sister sites' Teacher Discussion Forum. Please be mindful that we don't allow profanity, threats or attacks of a personal nature in postings.
If you come across a scam, please contact us so that we can add it to our Jobs Scams Listing.
We have many sources of information to help the new or experienced teacher on our Icon Group Thailand sites:
New Teacher Guide
TESOL Planet - Regional Information
Country Information
Teacher Discussion Forum
Job Scams Advice
We also have some great articles written by the site admin:
-Evaluating Teaching ESL TEFL TESOL Job Offers from Schools Abroad
-Interviewing for ESL TEFL TESOL Teaching Jobs - Virtual or Face to Face
-Preparing Your ESL TEFL TESOL Teacher Resume: Know What Schools are Looking For
-Enhance ESL TEFL TESOL Language Learning - English Langauge Learning (ELL): Multi-Media in the Classroom
-Using Literature with English Language Learners (ELL) in ESL TEFL TESOL Teaching
-Enhance ESL TEFL TESOL Language Learning - English Langauge Learning (ELL): Multi-Media in the Classroom
-Advice on Avoiding Teaching Job Scams
-TEFL Training Courses – Accreditation and Certification
We welcomeyour emails. We carefully review each email we receive.
By using this site, you agree that we bear no responsibility regarding any info on this site. Enjoy the site, enjoy the submissions and enjoy your life. We will you the best as you teach English and travel the world. That's an amazing thing! Celebrate and investigate, collaborate and commiserate, laugh and cry, shake your head and wonder why. That's what Total ESL is all about.
Site Administrator will make the final decision on any and all information, posts, requests, etc. for posting on this site. Please read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy regarding further information on the use of this site. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. You can learn more about Icon Education Group here.
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Common ESL Industry Acronyms:
English as a Second Language (ESL) | Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) | English as a Foreign Language (EFL) | Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) | English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) | English Language Teaching (ELT) | English Language Learning (ELL) | Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) | Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) | Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)