{"id":12821,"date":"2021-02-23T08:15:51","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T15:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/?p=12821"},"modified":"2026-02-06T19:30:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T02:30:31","slug":"luis-colombia-teaching-esl-bilingual-school-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/luis-colombia-teaching-esl-bilingual-school-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis, From Colombia, Teaching ESL at a Bilingual School and Online"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An unexpected opportunity at a bilingual school led Luis Cardona, from Colombia, to shift from the design field to teaching English and other subjects. Aside from giving classes to young learners and teens, he\u2019s also set to start teaching with an online ESL company. We asked him how becoming an educator changed his career goals and found out about his experience with switching to virtual lessons during the pandemic.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi, Luis! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m an ESL teacher from Colombia. I graduated with a degree in product design and am finishing a Master\u2019s degree in Aesthetics and Creation.<\/p>\n

Which part of Colombia do you live in? What’s it like?<\/h2>\n

I live in Pereira, one of the three cities that comprise the famous coffee triangle (Pereira, Armenia, and Manizales). It is a small city compared to Bogot\u00e1 or Medell\u00edn. Even so, it has things that make it more enjoyable to live in. It has warm weather year-round, and the best thing is its people because if you need help finding a place or anything, everyone is willing to help you.<\/p>\n

I have lived here most of my life, though I went to Medellin to complete my university studies in product design. I love my city and my country, but now I’m looking to relocate to a different country. I\u2019d like to get to know new countries, cultures, and ways to see the world.<\/p>\n

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How did you shift from the design field to teaching English?<\/h2>\n

I started teaching just after I graduated with a degree in product design. A bilingual school called me to start teaching visual arts in English. It\u2019s surprising that there aren’t many professionals in Colombia that are fluent enough in English to teach a class like visual arts or photography. That was where the door opened for me to start teaching.<\/p>\n

Last year, I started working at a different school, and they saw on my CV that I have an online TEFL certificate<\/a>. They asked me to start teaching English as a second language, and that’s the story of how I changed from designing objects to teaching different subjects. This year is even crazier than the previous ones \u2014 I’m taking up the challenge to teach math, science, technology, and language arts.<\/p>\n

Get a Specialized Certification in Teaching English to Young Learners and Teenagers.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Can you tell us more about your current teaching job?<\/h2>\n

I work for a bilingual school in Colombia. Nowadays, I’m teaching at the same school I graduated from, so my students are a sort of mirror of how I was when I was their age. I have to teach 2nd<\/sup> to 11th<\/sup>\u00a0grade (which is senior year in most Colombian schools).<\/p>\n

I’m teaching four different subjects: technology for 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0to 5th<\/sup>\u00a0grade, math and science for 7th<\/sup> grade, and ESL classes for 9th<\/sup>\u00a0to 11th<\/sup> grade. All of the subjects use the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methodology.<\/p>\n

Earn Specialized Certification in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

What’s your schedule like?<\/h2>\n

The school gives me my schedule. We teach kids for 35 hours weekly, although the number of hours per teacher may vary.<\/p>\n

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Science class instructions that Luis made for his students<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

How did your experience as a designer help you as an English teacher?<\/h2>\n

I think having a background in design has helped me prepare materials that make my young and teen learners more comfortable, even in online classes. I saw lots of my friends struggling to find materials or design them, and for me, it was the easy part.<\/p>\n

Use these tips for creating materials for the EFL classroom.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Do you have any tips for English teachers who want to successfully land a teaching position in a bilingual school?<\/h2>\n

I believe that having a certificate, like those issued by Bridge, will positively impact your chances to be hired. Also, it is essential to know that hiding things isn’t a good idea, as they will come to light sooner or later, which will make your job more difficult.<\/p>\n

Check out how to get a job teaching English in schools abroad.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019re also going to teach for the online English school Skyeng<\/a>. How did you successfully get hired at this school?<\/h2>\n

I saw an ad on Instagram and I started the process there. Right now, I’m just waiting for my credentials to be updated and to get students assigned to my profile so I can start teaching them. The application process was simple: I had to run a technical test on my computer to check my internet connection, then I had to give a trial lesson<\/a>, and that was all.<\/p>\n

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When did your school transition to online classes?<\/h2>\n

We did the transition to virtual classes in March last year due to the COVID-19 emergency. There are still some students that aren’t coming to school because they have health issues related to higher risk if they got COVID-19 or because their families don’t want to send them back until the situation is “normal” again.<\/p>\n

What do you think are the pros and cons of teaching English online?<\/h2>\n

Teaching English online<\/a> wasn’t an experience I was looking for or prepared to have. Nevertheless, it has been enriching because it is a new experience and a new thing in life.<\/p>\n