1. My Experience of TEFL in The Congo
- Peter Cunningham -
On a nice sunny July afternoon, I was sitting on my balcony in Dublin just strumming my guitar when my
phone rang. It was my close friend and next door neighbour Mike Hogan ringing me from York Associates in
York, England. He had called me to say that there was a possible TEFL job for me in Brazzaville, The Congo
in Africa teaching English to newly recruited Flight Attendants for ECAir (Equatorial Congo Airlines) for the
month of August if I was interested. The package was enticing… Flights, accommodation, a daily food
allowance, visa and vaccinations all covered, and to top it all off… a generous weekly salary. Mike told me I
had 24 hours to make a decision as otherwise if I did not want to take the job, they would have to find
somebody else very quickly. I was told whoever did accept the job offer would have to quickly post their
passport, Yellow fever booklet, visa application form and 2 photos to York, to then be combined with the
invitation letter from the Congo and finally sent down to the Congo embassy in London.
Then I said… "Hang on a second Mike, did you say Brazzaville in the Congo? As in the Guinness
Advertisement that's been on TV here over the past few months?", and when he said yes, I said "Oh man, those
SAPUERS guys look like great craic! The Society of Elegant Persons in The Congo, with their colourful suits,
snazzy shoes and who strut with a swagger that just oozes with class. Immediately, with a doubt of hesitation I
said "Mike, I'm in. Let's get the ball rolling with getting the Visa sorted." Three weeks later I was on a plane to
Paris with my passport and visa back in my hands, on my way to catch my connecting flight with ECAir into
the heart of Africa. The experience of a lifetime was about to begin.
In preparation for this TEFL job, Mike arranged for me to have a Skype call with a very nice colleague of his
called Jackie Black. She told me all about what to expect in Brazzaville as last year she also spent the month of
August doing the same job I was about to do. Some of her tips were that listening exercises are difficult for the
students, so let them hear it over and over again, 5 or 6 times if that's what they need. She recommended that I
buy or make a big early learning centre clock and to also bring a picture dictionary to help visually
communicate to the students types of food, drinks, clothing, etc…, a set of my own markers and some blue
tac. Mike wisely suggested that I purchase a specific TEFL book tailored for flight attendants called English for
Cabin Crew published by Oxford University Press, which I bought in Dublin before I left and I also grabbed a
large map of the world along with what Jackie had recommended. I was told that I would have twenty students
and due to the relatively small size of the classroom, that I should split them into two groups, which I do. I
have a morning group (9:30 - 1pm) and an afternoon group (2pm - 5:30) Monday to Friday.
Before my students come to my advanced English class there are two local Congolese teachers that teach them
the basics for a month so I can work with them as I don't really speak French, although I am learning now.
That means that when my door closes, the room becomes a total immersion class. As I have 8 chapters in the
English for Cabin Crew book, I try to do 2 chapters per week with them and that works out at about just over 2
hours per class of reading, exercises and listening comprehension. The rest of the class is spent doing more
varied and interesting things, like teaching them vocabulary such as drawing their own picture of the human
body on a page like I have done on the board (which can always be funny with some of the faces they draw),
items of clothing, animals, colours, musical instruments, and food categories such as meat, fish, fruit and
vegetables. I give them recipes like my mum's roast stuffed chicken, and explain the secret to the stuffing is
lots of onions and lots of butter, plus herbs and breadcrumbs of course. They take turns reading out loud the
announcements they will have to listen to and eventually say on board. I also teach them to talk about their
hobbies and their families, to talk about their weekend on a Monday class and about about relationships as
well. At the end of every class for five minutes I ask each student one by one to say what is the time that I have
displayed on my cardboard clock.
When you have very intelligent students, with near proficiency in English you really have to raise the bar and
dig deep inside your brain to find ways to keep them intrigued and on their toes for three and a half hours every
day. It's a massive challenge for me the teacher, but I have always loved a challenge. I guess it's the engineering
background in me which is where that trait comes from. I print out interesting newspaper articles from the BBC
News website and Time magazine, I give them History and Geography lessons with my back to the map of the
world reciting the capital cities of any country in the world they choose from which always intrigues them. I
show them some poetry, we listen to music like Phil Collins and write the lyrics on the board, I show them
short clips of the funny South African comedian Trevor Noah, films such as Ice Age, Madagascar 2, and Dead
Poets Society. I dictate newspaper articles slowly to them and they have to try and write down correctly what I
say. I teach them about different cultures including my own, such as what happens on Saint Patrick’s day in
Dublin, symbols like the harp and the shamrock, what happens at Christmas back home and I describe what
real Guinness tastes like, with a creamy head not like that fizzy cola rubbish they sell here in bottles.

2. I give all my students some good life advice. I recommend that they open up a savings account when they
receive they first pay check so that in the future they will have enough money saved to be able to buy a car or a
house, for traveling on holidays and for their children's education. I teach them good manners, about how to
always be respectful to people and to always be polite and to always say please and thank you. I teach them the
importance of Punctuality and Service in the airline industry, something that doesn't exist here. It's not in their
blood. For one younger student who was always arriving late to class, I moved the time on the clock on her
phone forward by 10 minutes and now she's always 5 minutes early for class instead of 5 minutes late!
Otherwise, in the future if she's in the crew hotel in Dubai for example, and the pick-up time is at 6am, she
would turn up at 6:05 and the crew bus back to the airport would have had to leave without her, which would
not be a good result for her or for the company who would have to operate the return flight to Brazzaville with
one less flight attendant.
On Thursday on Saturday mornings they go to swimming lessons for two hours. It's not part of my job
description, but as I am a good swimmer, I feel it is important to go along and I teach them how to
swim. I demonstrate the arm and leg movements of the breaststroke separately at first and when they start to get
the hang of those in combination with each other, then I explain that the most important thing in learning how
to swim properly is that you have breathe properly while you swim, with rhythm and timing. I tell them that
when you pull backwards with your arms, to also pull downwards which results in the head coming up out of
the water when they then need to take that opportunity to breathe. It is a very rewarding feeling when you see
them progressing as you know that they need to be able to swim two lengths of the pool as part of their
final safety exam in a few months time in order to become fully safety and emergency qualified
flight attendants.
After swimming lessons, I treat them for a quick bite to eat down a little side street on the way back to the
training centre. When we arrive there I arrange a few tables together and about 10 chairs for us to sit down
together. The Mama there has all morning been barbecuing chicken and fish, frying up delicious fried bananas
along with having Cassava and some bread. I then ask my students what they want to eat and I serve them one-
by-one, showing them that you should serve ladies first, not men first as tends to be the way here. I serve
myself last and then we eat together, have a nice chats and tell each other jokes through a combination of
English and body language which helps create a nice team atmosphere. After eating we head back to the training
centre and then I ask them if they noticed what I was doing with the way I served them lunch. After a a curious
silence, I explain to them that I was acting like a flight attendant and that they were my passengers. Now they
understand what they have to do in the air in order to do their job correctly. I find that teaches them Service.
I demonstrate to them how to greet strangers properly, with a firm hand shake, good eye contact and with a nice
genuine smile. I show them an excellent technique on how to remember strangers names when you meet them
for the first time. I start off by saying "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Peter, what's your name?". He says "I'm
Rolf, nice to meet you too." The mistake is saying the word "too". Then I say, "A pleasure to meet you Rolf,
so where are you from Rolf?". He tells me he's from Brazzaville and I tell him I'm from Ireland and then we
soon part ways. I then explain to them that the trick is to say the strangers name twice and then that helps me
remember the other persons name when I repeat it in my head a few times as I walk away. I explain to them
that making an effort to remember people's names will come back to them tenfold when they meet that person
again in the future and then they will remember that persons name instantly, instead of just saying "Hey, how
are you?".
I teach them wise idioms such as "It's about Quality not Quantity", "Knowledge is Power", "Patience is a
virtue, have it if you must", "All good things come to those who wait", "Variety is the Spice of Life", and
most importantly "Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail!". I emphasise the importance of Double-checking everything
in their jobs, from their uniforms the night before, to setting their alarm clocks on their mobile phones to
checking their rosters twice to make sure they don't make any mistakes or else they could miss the flight they
were supposed to be on which could lead to them losing their jobs. I tell them that if they work hard, over the
next few years on their attitude, punctuality and service, they will be rewarded for it through promotional
opportunities such as Cabin Senior or perhaps even an In Flight Director someday if they play their cards right.
I have been teaching here for nearly 3 months now and from my experience I believe that the secret to being a
successful teacher is to always look at things from the other persons point of view. That's how I live my life.
With empathy and consideration for others. As my mother very wisely taught me, "It costs nothing to be
kind", especially to strangers you have never met. I know I am giving my all to my students, 110% with lots
of energy because I really care about them and I know that if they live their lives with politeness, kindness and
consideration for others and bring that into their jobs as flights attendants, that will have a positive knock-
on effect to the hundreds of thousands of passengers they serve when they fly in the many years to come. I
really feel as if I can make a difference here. I say to them, "It doesn't matter what job you work at in life,
whether it be a bus driver, or a baker or a teacher. If you are going to do a job, do it right."