Our Graduates

Enjoy the benefits and adventure of teaching English abroad with the Next Level TEFL Certification. Earn your internationally recognized TEFL certificate in Prague - one of the most beautiful cities in Europe!

Cecelia Wambach Ph.D.
Professor of Education at San Francisco State University
April 2004 graduate
I took a chance when I selected Next Level TEFL. Next Level TEFL turned out to be a very intensive and serious teaching experience. The curriculum was developmental and well thought out, so that we were able to advance at our own level. The classroom experiences were engaging, informative and fun, so that the time (from 10 to 6) moved quickly. It was incredible to learn so much the first week, then to watch our professors teaching the second week, then to move into our own teaching experiences weeks three and four. At every level we were supported by excellent teachers, who assisted us in planning, teaching and then reflecting on our experience. It was such an excellent model of teacher preparation, that I
brought part of it back into my own work as Professor of Education at San Francisco State University.
The time at Next Level TEFL was well spent--everything was collaborative and supportive--the materials and resources for teaching English as a foreign language were all there, and we were welcome to use them for our own teaching practicum. One interesting difference between Next Level TEFL and the other language schools is this: They do just what their name says--their goal is to take us to the next level. So they become our ambassadors for success. They pick us up at the airport, find us wonderful housing, help to acclimate us to the Czech Republic, give us an intensive and learning packed four weeks, set us up with a teaching practicum at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. It is an amazing repertoire of "next level" generosity!



Matthew Dennehy
Matthew has a B.A. in English with a minor in Communications.
I've been planning and eagerly anticipating living in Prague for over four years, and the city is every bit as beautiful and charming as I'd heard. So why am I living in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic?
I've decided to take a slightly different course of action than most of my fellow TEFL mates, taking a job 100 km to the east in a smaller town. I plan to stay in the Czech Republic for at least three years, so I decided that scaling down a bit might help me at the beginning of this experience. I work for a small language institute and as I write this in June, I have a few individual students and a few week-long "intensive" summer courses with 6 to 10 students each. I am also teaching a short program for a company named Graffitec in Dobruska. I have found that my students here are very eager to learn and are happy to have a native English speaker to help them. As you may imagine, there aren't many native English speakers in the smaller towns, and the development of the students' language can be challenged by the fact that they never use and rarely hear English in their everyday lives. This creates some frustration for learners, but I try to be as encouraging as I can.
So, just as my colleagues in Prague, I have a varied and interesting mix of students. Factory workers to college students to housewives. But living here where few people speak English is definitely interesting, and it's challenging me to learn Czech and exposing me to what this country is really like. I can't say I'm disappointed.
Everything you read about the Next Level course is true. It's very intense, and fast, and intense. Keep your eyes and ears open while you're here. The instructors are excellent teachers and you can learn a lot about managing a classroom. I found everything involved with the experience to be professional. Top notch.
If I may add one thing, it would be this suggestion. Save more money for your trip. You can get by on a little money here, but you don't want to miss out on anything because you can't afford it. That's not meant to sound discouraging, just a suggestion.
So come to Prague! You won't regret it.



Ryan Newman
Ryan has a Bachelor's of Science in Marketing.
After studying markeing for four years, I decided that it would be in my best interest to get as far away fom the business world as possible. So, after a few months of research, I found myself in Prague, enrolled in the Next Level TEFL. Having NO experience teaching (or anything like it) I was quite nervous about what this experience was going to be like. The TEFL course itself was a big help in giving me the confidence I needed to step in front of a classroom and teach English. What I found most helpful was that throughout the TEFL course I was able to observe actual classrooms as well as teach a number of classes on my own. These weren't set up, mock classes. I was teaching high school English classes during my 3rd and 4th week at Next Level TEFL. The certification course itself was a lot more intense than I had expected, but it turned out to be just what I needed.
I am now teaching approximately 22 hours a week, which from what I understand is close to the average workload for EFL teachers. All of my students are adults, ranging in levels from pre-intermediate to advanced. Half my classes are one-on-one sessions, and my group classes have anywhere between 2 and 6 students. I've found that there is a relatively high demand for business English teachers, so having a business degree has helped get my foot in the door for a few jobs. When I first started teaching, lesson planning was stressful for me, but after a few weeks I was a lot more comfortable with the process and now it doesn't take much time at all to prepare for my 60 and 90 minute classes. With 22 hours a week I'm making enough money to pay the rent and have some fun on the side. My only suggestion would be to learn how to budget your money, because we get paid monthly so it would be easy to burn through your cash early in the month and have to scrounge for rent at the end.
Prague is a fantastic city with plenty to do. I spend most of my free time lounging around in the park across from my flat or going to bars with my friends and enjoying the amazing 'pivo' that this country is so well known for.
This experience has, thus far, been amazing. Working and living in a foreign country is an educational experience in itself. It's nice to be able to walk around the city and feel like it's home, and not just a place that you're visiting for a week before moving on to the next city on your tourist agenda.

Alison Cope
I am from Houston, Texas, and have spent the past few years working at the Houston Press as an Advertising Account Executive. I now have the pleasure of teaching English to a number of business clients, including the Marketing Director of Dnes, the daily newspaper in the Czech Republic. In addition to my one-on-one business tutorials throughout Prague, I am also teaching a few intermediate classes at a centrally-located private language school, each class with about 6-9 students.
During the four weeks of the Next Level TEFL course, I was struggling to adjust, worried about the transience of my position, nervous about landing a teaching job, and subsequently angry with the world. It was my first time traveling abroad alone, plus it was the middle of the coldest time of the year, so with the stress of acclimating to a new place and wading elbow-deep in this intensive course, I faced Prague angry, teeth-bared, and morose.
I passed out a well-reviewed and polished CV to all the language schools that came to Next Level TEFL to recruit us. I had already been working a few hours teaching the intermediate classes at a nearby school and within a week I received a job offer and an eight-month contract from yet another top private language school near my flat!
Hence, here I am! At the moment, I am happily working 25 hrs./wk at two different language schools. I love my schedule; I love the city (there's so much to see & do!), and am glad to say that I'm on top of the world. I would encourage anyone to come and make this place a home. It's not easy, but the only limitations will be your own. The Next Level TEFL curriculum is strenuous, and like the hard-working Czech people I've come to knew, tough every step of the way, but with a substance of gold beneath the surface.

Julia Higgs
An interview with Julia.
Julia worked as a PA at St. James Place in London.

Briefly describe the 4-week TEFL course and whether or not it helped make you a better teacher.
"Coming over to Prague to Next Level worked out really well for me. Trying to make the maximum amount of money possible before I came out meant I worked right up to the start of the course, so I arrived in Prague the day before the course began. It was so nice to arrive with everything already organised, someone to pick me up at the airport and take to me to my apartment then straight out with the other students for a welcome dinner. Having everything organised really took the pressure off, gave me a chance to learn some of the language and settle in before I had to search for a flat and job hunt.
As for the actual course, it gave me a greater understanding of what my aims were as a teacher, how the language works and how to structure a lesson and language course. Without the knowledge and experience I gained during the course I never would have had the confidence to walk into a classroom.
The people I met on the course were great, and I count a few of them as my closest friends."

How many hours do you work?
"I work about 38 hours a week, although with cancellations that usually works out more like 32."

Cost of living
"Rent works out about half of what I pay in London, but other costs are less than a quarter, such as food and going out. However I really don't earn that much less than I do at home so I actually manage to save about half my wages."

What is it like to prepare lessons?
"I find I prepare lessons less and less, putting together just a few lessons a week, which I spiral up and down to suit all my students needs. It's a system that seems to work really well."

What companies and/or language schools are you teaching for?
"Sentia and ARS Linguarum."

What are your students like (nationality, age, personality, career position)
"My students are really varied. I have girls my own age from similar backgrounds and jobs to me, who I can gossip with, and much older students, some of whom I feel I learn more from than I am teaching them. They are all Czech and professionals, at varying levels from PA's to Directors."

What do you do with your free time?
"With beer being cheaper than water here I seem to spend a significant amount of time drinking. Other bonus's of Prague is that the opera, ballet and theatre are a great deal cheaper here than at home so I have been able to afford to visit them much more frequently than at home.
I have also spent quite alot of weekends outside Prague. My students took me wine tasting in Moravia, Czech friends have shown me some of the castles surrounding Prague, and I have been on weekend trips to Germany and Austria. I plan to explore much more of Eastern Europe in the next few months, starting with Budapest."

What do you like the most about this experience?
"Prague is the most beautiful city and at least once a week I find myself thinking I can't belive I live here, the weather is lovely (at the moment), the people are really friendly and there is so much to do and see and, unlike at home, I can always afford to do it!!"

Phil Mullis
Phillip has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in management.
My name is Phil and I've been in Prague since the beginning of this year. This is a really beautiful city and working in the Czech Republic has been a wonderful experience. The city itself has so much to offer in the way of architecture, museums, nightlife, and more, but the hussle and bussle of Prague quickly gives way to rolling countryside and spectacular mountains and forests, so there's plenty to do for those who like the outdoors. I try to get out of town as often as possible to see the small towns and woods. Interestingly, the Czech Republic contains a number of UNESCO world heritage sites as well as some of the most magnificent castles in Europe.
I teach English at several banks here in Prague, including CSOB and Komercni Banka. I have classes that range from pre-intermediate to advanced, with students of all ages and interests. I also teach several conversation classes for Modern Languages and have a number of private tutorials. Right now I'm working about 23 hours of class a week.
The program at Next Level TEFL helped to prepare me for the variety of classroom environments that I now teach in. The TEFL program at NL offers more classroom teaching time than others here in Prague, and I found that to be one of the best assets when starting off. The staff is also very helpful and friendly and they offer assistance with your job search. Very importantly, Next Level TEFL has a good reputation and relationship with language schools around prague.
How much will you want to teach? Well, if you work 15-17hrs a week, you'll probably pay the bills, eat, have a little entertainment, but just barely get by. So, if you work 25hrs or more you can live pretty well here, buy a ticket home once a year, maybe save a little or travel the summer on it.
How about living expenses? Housing might be the only thing in Prague that's not all that inexpensive. Most people I know have a nice place, 2-4 people per flat, good locations and tram/metro access. They pay 6000-9000Kc ($200-$300). Don't forget to figure in mobile phone expenses and your Metro pass into your expenses.

Teri Chettiar
Teri has a BA in History from McGill University in Canada.
I have been working at a state secondary school since finishing the TEFL certification at Next Level. I teach students whose ages range from 16 to 19. In addition to this, I have a few private students in order to supplement my income as well as to gain experience teaching adults. Teaching teenagers is an experience in and of itself and inspiring an interest in learning the English language in this particular age group has been difficult but greatly rewarding. The results so far have been surprising: students seem to feel freer to speak their minds when it is in a foreign language and, as a result, classes are always interesting.
My current workload consists of about 25 hours of teaching time, and I usually spend another 10 a week on corrections and lesson planning. My out-of-class workload is decreasing now since I had to spend a lot of time in the first couple of months on developing a curriculum that was all my own. Though this was an unexpected extra little bit of work, it has been good to be able to be as creative as I want to be in my teaching. This means that I can teach students the topics that I find most interesting, while also leaving room to include topics that are suggested to me by them. The result has been a dynamic exchange of ideas relating to culture and politics, as well as to ideas about normal everyday life.

Erik McMorrow
Erik received his Bachelor's in Law and Society from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
experience I had with Next Level TEFL is the experience I would assume anyone moving to a foreign country to learn to teach would want. The teacher's knowledge and ability to explain it to a beginner far exceeded what I expected and the entire staff's friendliness and willingness to help did too. I feel that the training I received at Next Level TEFL was well worth the cost of the TEFL course. For me the best part is that their willingness and desire to help you does not cease after the 4 weeks. I am still in close contact with all of the staff and get help with everything from jobs, to lesson planning, to general advice about living in The Czech Republic. I teach about 30 hours a week, which is more than covers my living expenses. Teaching about 20 hours a week is enough to live a good life. People, like me, might work more in order to travel or just have some extra cash to spend on the weekends.
I will not lie and say that the work is never challenging or time consuming, because it can be. It just depends on the quality of teaching you want to bring to the class room. The students are always interested in learning the language and learning about you. This is the same with most Czechs I meet. I have meet a lot of Czech people and made some good friends. I have experienced little to no animosity towards English speakers, or Americans either. Basically, I have loved every single day I have been in Prague. The city is gorgeous and there is always something to see or something to do. I originally planned on staying 6 months. . . but I don't think that's going to happen. I would recommend the entire experience, from start to now, because I am not even closed to finished.

Bevan Mitchell
August 2003 Graduate
For me I believe it was a great learning and growing experience. I had never before put myself in a position abroad where I didn´t know one single person. Everyone was so nice and I made so many friends. I also got to live in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe for 5 weeks. In addition to the city and the people, the course was great. It is very intense, but I learned so much about how to be a teacher of a language. Things that I would not have known if I had gone into the situation blindly, without the TEFL class. It really helps so much, you learn so many things that you should or should not do, that you never realized! Next Level TEFL is really a great school, the people are so nice and so helpful, always there to answer any questions or concerns you might have. They really made my learning experience and, in general, my stay in Prague one I will never forget.

Jonathan Lemelman
November 2002 Graduate
I really enjoyed the Next Level TEFL course. The class was small and our teacher had time to give us personal instruction. It helped me learn the basics of teaching. The real life teaching assignments were the most beneficial part of the TEFL course because you were able to teach students and see what worked and what didn't and if you really wanted to pursue this as a career. The actual teaching experience really helped when you went in that first day of your real teaching job after the TEFL course and felt comfortable at what you were doing. There are many TEFL courses available in Prague and I found jobs at major Czech companies as well as at language schools.

Kate Callaghan
June 2004 graduate
Next Level TEFL was a great experience, the trainers and other staff were really supportive and helpful and got the best from the trainees. Accomodation, airport pick-up and tours around the city ensured I got the best out of Prague both as a tourist but more importantly as a trainee TEFL teacher. Since been qualified I've had a lot of phone interviews from schools around Europe who are very keen to employ a graduate from Next Level TEFL. I've decided to take a position in Slovakia.