AUDREY GILLIS

Achiever of the week: Audrey Gillis

Feb 18, 2021 | By Nqobile Mdima

This week’s feature is Audrey Gillis. Audrey is from America. She holds a TEFL certificate from itoi TEFL. Audrey is an online English teacher based in Italy. She works for a company called PalFish. Audrey has been working and living abroad for two years. Before she moved abroad she was living in California working as a licensed hairstylist and a trainer at a motocross training facility. While working as a hairstylist, she went to Italy for two weeks in 2018 for a hair show. That is when she fell in love with not only the food, culture, and history, but also her boyfriend. Audrey is absolutely in love with the Italian's lifestyle because Italian people work to live and they don't live to work. She can see herself living in Italy for the rest of her life and never getting sick of the: food, the people, the culture, the language, and the traditions. 

Audrey shares her TEFL journey, her au pairing experience, advantages and disadvantages about living in Italy, juggling multiple jobs, what she likes and dislikes about TEFL and tips on finding online jobs. 

What were you doing before moving to Italy?

I was 21 and living in California working as a licensed hairstylist and a trainer at a motocross training facility!  

What made you decide to work abroad and why did you choose to work in Italy? 

I went to Italy for two weeks in 2018 for a hair show. That is when I fell in love with not only the food, culture, and history, but also my boyfriend! (We met during that vacation, fast forward three years, here we are living together)! However, what really made me want to move abroad was the lifestyle. It was so different in Italy versus America. People worked to live but they did NOT live to work. Coming from California, where you have to have multiple jobs to stay out of debt, need to have the most expensive items, and the most lavish life seemed so useless when you saw all the people in Italy: smiling and enjoying life…. people in their 80’s out at 11 o’clock at night, friends enjoying aperitivo on a Monday.

Did you move to Italy alone or with friends/family? And what were the challenges or advantages of moving alone/ with company?

I have moved to Italy twice! First, for 3 months as an aupair (think like a nanny) and THEN on a year long student visa where I aupaired and went to an Italian language school! Italy and America do not have any “working holiday visas” etc. So for an American to be able to live in Italy you need to study (which is fine, I wanted to learn the language)! With that being said, I did use a company called “Aupairworld” to find my family! In my opinion, this was the best thing! Moving in with an Italian family really emerged me into the culture and the language! This made me feel like I wasn’t all alone in big city Milan!

How long did it take you to adjust to the new environment when you first moved to Italy?

Thankfully I felt right at home in Italy (this could be because I was there for two weeks on vacation hanging out with locals)! However, it took me about a week to get over jet lag! Here are some things that helped make my transition so smooth: learning the language before I moved (small things: hello, where is the restroom, may I have….? Etc), joining some Facebook groups for the city I was moving to, looking up #milanaupair on Instagram and sending a message to some of the girls (one who would become my best friend and actually lived across the street from the house I was moving too). 

Was it always your dream/goal to move abroad? 

I have ALWAYS been a traveler! When I was 14 I started working and saving all of my money (specifically for travel)! My first trip was with my best friend's family to New Orleans and then onto a cruise ship that was heading to Jamaica, The Grand Caymans and Cozemul. When I was 16 I was flying solo to LA to spend time with my aunts and uncles. By the time I was 21 I had already been to the Bahamas, Mexico (again), Thailand, Las Vegas, and many more places! As you can tell, I knew I wanted a life with travel! I thought I would maybe do a couple months to a year of living abroad. However, I never thought I would be dating an Italian and planning to stay my whole life here… that was such a movie or fairytale. I never thought it would become my reality. 

What do you like or dislike about TEFL?

 In all honesty, I absolutely LOVE my TEFL! Why? I can honestly say it changed my life. Here I am: living aboard, financially independent, able to work anywhere in the world, online (which I am currently doing), in person (which I did before at a bilingual school), teaching adults or kids, ANYTHING! My boyfriend found out he was being transferred to a new city with only ONE MONTHS NOTICE. Did that change anything for me? No, because I work from home! But I think the main reason I love the TEFL is because you are giving someone endless opportunities. By someone learning a new language; they can travel the world, move abroad, have more job opportunities etc etc. I know learning Italian gave me more opportunities here in Italy: making more friends, fitting in and not sticking out like a sore thumb, the list is endless. So I LOVE that I am able to give that to someone else! 

One thing I dislike is the stereotype behind being a TEFL teacher… many people think that you do not have to work hard and that things are just handed to you. This is NOT the case, just because you might not need a degree, does not make me any less of a hard worker or educator than people with degrees. This is not a job for the lazy!

You teach online and in-class. How do you balance work and your personal life since you have multiple jobs? 

Before COVID 19 I was working 40+ hours a week in person and doing private tutoring! It was a lot, however, I had my weekends free so I really made sure to make use of them. When COVID 19 hit Italy, everything went online… The bilingual school was online, I started with PalFish because the hours at my bilingual school dropped and I was doing private lessons online. Honestly, looking back I was a bit crazy (I wasn’t affected by it because that was so normal for me in California)! Now, I have lightened my load! I am a Palfish teacher, I do 1:1 coaching with people in the process of becoming teachers and a private lesson here and there! I have learned with being an online teacher that it is easy to lose yourself because you can CONSTANTLY work. I have now started implementing a set schedule (or trying at least, lol)! Work begins at 9 a.m and ends at 3:30 pm everyday (that includes my reports). If one of my 1:1 teachers needs a chunk of my time I try to set an appointment with them. I guess we just have to remember that life is short and unexpected things happen (I think we have all learned that this past year), so don’t work your life away! Enjoy it!

How do you plan your lessons to make them fun and engaging online and in person?

Luckily, all of my online lesson plans are created for me! However, I keep them fun with extra games, awesome rewards, knowing how to use my props, AND extending the lesson. When I worked in person I would have themed weeks! For example, we could learn around the world one week. Each day I would read a book to them, show them a video, maybe learn a small song, then we did things such as coloring flags (this helped us learn colors and numbers), using the flags for math, and creating outfits from different countries ( remember I taught kindergarteners). I believe you should really adapt to each age group, always try new things, and don’t forget to ask for feedback (that can be as simple as asking your students if they liked the activity and why! This also gets them speaking more).

What are your best and effective classroom management hacks?

For online lessons, you mostly have to worry about time. I recommend going through your material beforehand! You know your students. You will know where they will need extra time and where they will breeze right through. Our classes are 25 minutes so I make sure to keep an eye on the clock. To keep a well managed kindergarten class I make sure they understand the ground rules: how to be a super sitter and  how to raise their hand with a finger over their mouths. Also, if they are in elementary level…. Dojo points! It’s a website where the students have their own monsters… if they do good you can give their monsters points, if they need to work on something you can take the points away.  A report can also be sent to their parents so they can understand how their children act in class. Let me tell you as soon as they see Dojo’s on the board they are superstars. I like to keep it up during my day as it’s also good for positive reinforcement. Our kindergarteners did not have nap time, with that being said, they did get tired and would act like any little human would when they were exhausted. I incorporated music time which was like quiet time, they would lay or sit down nicely and have some time to relax! 

Do you have an assistant teacher helping you during your lessons? 

I did NOT have an assistant teacher for the LONGEST time. Let me tell you, it was not easy having 26 kindergarteners and 1 teacher. Please don’t think everyday was a walk in the park with rainbows and butterflies. I don’t want you to think everyday was successful. With 4 and 5 year olds you sometimes have to adapt to them. So I guess that is how I was successful, by adapting. If something is clearly NOT working for your students change it and always have a second activity on hand. When I finally had an assistant we would break the class in half. She would have 13 students and I would have 13 students then we would switchchildren. This was wonderful as I was able to have more one on one time with the children. Do NOT only use the assistant teacher for photocopying and bathroom breaks, include them in your teaching and activities. In my experience, she absolutely loved it!

How many classes do you teach in a day and how long is each lesson? 

When I worked in the kindergarten I worked from 9 a.m to 4 p.m every single day from Monday to Friday. I had one 30 minute prep a week that was ONLY available if the guest teacher showed up (art, gym, etc). I won’t lie, this school was NOT easy. It was a lot of hours 40+ hours a week, oftentimes finding myself without a lunch break. (Please don’t think this is every school, it can just happen without an assistant teacher, if a teacher moves schools, if someone is sick etc. It’s life it happens! However, good management at a school is very important ). When I first moved to online teaching (PalFish) I was working 13-22 classes a day so anywhere from 6.5 to 11 hours a day as China was in lockdown. Once the children were able to go back to school I dropped down to 10 lessons a day which is 5 hours! Each lesson is 25 minutes!

What are your favourite benefits from your job?

When I taught in person they paid my taxes which was nice! As far as online goes you do not receive as many of these luxuries. I do receive a bonus for perfect attendance and whenever one of the teachers I coach passes their interview. However, I get the luxury of living anywhere in the world, setting my own schedule and being my own boss! I have a pretty nice situation in Italy (my boyfriend's work pays for 70% of our rent and health insurance is free so I didn’t need the whole package). As far as my salary goes, I made around €8.00 an hour at the bilingual school and now make around €18.00+ an hour working online! Oh another benefit to working online.. No commute! I used to commute a total of 3 hours, to and from the bilingual school, now I have a 30 second commute!

Do you speak Italian? And is it possible to survive in Italy if you are not fluent in Italian?

I do speak Italian now. I am not fluent, it takes years to be fluent. But I can have many conversations in Italian and get by just fine. If you speak NO Italian and go somewhere such as: Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan, etc you WILL be fine! However, if you go to a small off the grid town... You will struggle. But the nice thing about that is it will force you to learn the language. I currently have the problem of as soon as someone realizes I am from America all they want to do is speak English. So they will speak English to me, but I respond in Italian!

How many countries have you travelled to in Europe. Which one is your favourite?

Oh golly! I have been to Portugal, Italy, France, Monaco, Austria, Malta, Spain, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Sweden(so far)! Honestly, it is hard to pick a favorite because they are all very different. For example, you can’t compare Croatia: a total beach, relaxation vacation to Austria: snowing with Christmas markets in the middle of December. They are totally different! I guess I can say my favorite is Italy because I can see myself living here for the rest of my life and never getting sick of the: food, the people, the culture, the language, and the traditions. 

Moving abroad can be quite expensive, did you pay for all the costs yourself? How long did it take you to save for this big move?

As I said before I had always saved my money from a young age so I had all the money I needed to move BOTH times! The FIRST time I came on my passport so there was no cost there. I lived with an au pair family who gave me housing, a cell phone, a metrocard, and food for free (in exchange for nannying 4 hours a day 5 days a week). So the first time I came I spent $169 on a one way flight to Italy and I took $300 and switched them to Euros (really didn’t need to do that because I was getting paid once a week but I was nervous)! The SECOND time I came was with a student visa! For 12 months at an Italian school it cost €3000, plus the visa application process $200, plus a plane ticket $169! The second time I came to Italy I brought the leftover money I had from the first time as an au pair which was €735! However, each situation is going to be unique! For example, I had to prove I had €1000 for each month of my visa! So I had to prove I had €12,000 in my bank account to even be accepted to come over on a student visa! As I said, each situation is going to be different depending on what your jobs offers, what the country’s requirements are for the visas, etc etc! I recommend just saving AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, better safe than sorry, right?

What are the requirements to qualify to teach English in Italy?

If you want to teach in a PRIVATE school you can most definitely get a job with just a TEFL, some might ask for a degree as well. To be able to teach in a public school you have to have a teaching degree (however, getting into the public school teaching system is difficult). 

Where can jobseekers search for opportunities if they are interested to teach in Italy?

I actually was already in Italy when I started looking at schools (I think this is the best way to do it because visas, trying to get someone to move across the world, etc can be a lot and many people flake)! I actually googled all the bilingual/English schools in Milan and sent them all my CV’s. I had a few interviews and was hired!

Where can jobseekers search for opportunities if they are interested to teach online? 

If you are from a native English speaking country and don’t have a degree I LOVE PalFish as you can do it from your smartphone or tablet! If you want to sign up on PalFish you can message me on Instagram: @TracvelRichMoneyPoor. Some other sites might be: Cambly, VIPKid, italki, and Magic Ears. 

This is my coaching link:

https://ipalfish.i2mi.com/main/teacher/invite?uid=2869456175&channel=30002&teacherregion=0%20)

Whoever uses this I will coach them throughout the whole application process. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages about living and working in Italy?

Advantages: ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! I get to eat the best food in the world: gnocchi with pesto, Caco e Pepe (goat cheese and black pepper pasta), pizza that is NOT dripping in grease, gelato that is so rich but won’t make you feel sick from eating way too much! I get to hop on a plane and within an hour be in another country with another language and traditions. I get to go out and enjoy an aperitivo with my friends that won’t cost $50! I can go to museums and world known monuments just a quick ride away! Don’t forget to travel inside Italy: Big snowy mountains that go straight into a lake, island life (Isola D’Elba), old historical cities, and mountains. You get EVERYTHING you can dream of in Italy! 

Disadvantages: If you have to do anything with the Italian bureaucracy (visas, taxes, health insurance) everyone will tell you something different and you will never get a straight answer to any of your questions!

What advice would you give to someone who is confused about making a decision to teach abroad, especially during a pandemic?

 The only regret that you will have is that you never tried. I am a big believer in “you won’t know until you try”. Take the jump.. the worst thing that can happen is that it wasn’t for you, so you end up going home? Personally, if it was me… I wouldn’t move abroad during the pandemic because you won’t get the true feeling of where you are moving to (depending on regulations). For example: in Italy you can not travel between regions.. you can NOT go from Milan to Venice or Milan to Rome… if you are coming here to have aperitivo with your friends, go traveling on the weekend, go out clubbing… Now is not the time.. Research the rules and regulations of where you are trying to go and what life is like there right now! You have to think “if this place goes into another lockdown will I be okay with not knowing anyone and being stuck inside my house?” If the answer is no, I would wait! You can start gaining experience by teaching online and move when you feel more comfortable and the world has opened up a bit more! However, if you are a person that needs some change from your current situation and you want to use this time to be alone in a new environment, absolutely do it. You need to sit down and ask yourself some somewhat difficult questions!