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Teaching English in Europe | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Languages & Work |  | |
| Maifun Newbie United States Joined 5287 days ago 3 posts - 3 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 1 of 7 21 June 2011 at 3:23am | IP Logged | |||||
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Hello,
I would like to know just what sort of requirements one must have to teach English in countries other than the US and UK. Or even tutoring? Where can one expect to find work in another country teaching or tutoring English? Elementary, secondary or higher education? Any other suggestions? Personally, I've never wanted to ever become a teacher, I suppose I'm shy? I feel like I'm terrible at explaining things. But just how bad (or good, rather) can it be? I'm not really sure what other questions to ask, if any one is experienced in the area I would love to hear from you. Umm, I suppose since I'm learning German, teaching in Germany is probably the most logical start, but I'm open to other areas as well, if limited knowledge in the area's language is acceptable. Thanks for your time. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6093 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes  1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 2 of 7 21 June 2011 at 10:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi Maifun,
If you're not sure you want to teach than it's best not to start teaching Eng. in Germany. People usually want some sort of credential that you can teach them something better than their school could. It's not too bad if you don't know the German language but you'd absolutely need to have the TEFL to back you up. A Volkshochschule (VHS) would probably hire you with just a TEFL-certificate. You'll get offers even if you're not living in Germany. If you're prepared to take a part-time position (that's all they have) then it's a go! The tough part is getting permission to stay. You'd only have 3 months (visa), you know. I don't know if you're affiliated with a university but they're usually the ones to handle such matters. Usually teachers do exchanges through schools.. For the record, private is difficult. People are usually looking for a discount. Franchises are okay, but you have to get through the interview. Google "Nachhilfe, English" and you'll get a lot of information on what people charge and who's teaching. To teach at a school (elem, second...) you'd need a masters degree, or you'd need to be specialized in something. PS, this is Germany I'm not sure about other countries, but the demands are probably similar. Edited by Sunja on 21 June 2011 at 10:17pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5138 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 3 of 7 21 June 2011 at 11:53pm | IP Logged | |||||
That would surprise me for a non-EU passport holder. At least the rest of Western Europe won't even consider an American/Canadian/Australian, as there's a surplus of English teachers already in the EU - the UK. I've heard that it's still possible for a non-EU passport holder to find work in Eastern Europe, or at least parts of it, such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, but even those jobs are probably quite scarce for an American. In any case, check out sites such as Dave's ESL Cafe or ESL Employment for the full skinny. Dave's ESL Cafe in particular is quite active and has all sorts of information on the requirements to legally work pretty much anywhere. R. == 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6093 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 4 of 7 22 June 2011 at 9:44am | IP Logged | |||||
I don't want to mislead anyone so I'd like to clarify that as best I can. It's possible to get a job offer but the VHS would expect that you would be in the process of getting a visa/work permit. This is extremely hard because they only hire part-time. Yet only full-time workers are entitled to insurance. What to do. The VHS won't help with getting a visa. Example: my husband (American) got a job offer with his TEFL-cert. while he was still in the States. He came to Germany and found that he couldn't support himself teaching Eng. part-time at the VHS, he also needed to be insured, so he ended up finding a full-time job in addition to teaching. The hard part is finding the right employer. Rare but not impossible. It takes some perserverance (and probably a lot of googling and reading at those ESL websites.) Edited by Sunja on 22 June 2011 at 11:09am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5138 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 5 of 7 22 June 2011 at 6:44pm | IP Logged | |||||
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After re-reading Maifun's original post, I thought I'd also comment on wanting to teach English, because s/he stated that they never wanted to teach.
If that's really the case, I think you'll have a tough time of it. You really need to *want* to teach, particularly if you end up in one of the many private schools (which is where you'd most likely end up without valid working papers). There are lots of these schools all over the place. The adult conversation classes are decent, because you usually have motivated adults and they're paying their own way to take the class. But they're hard to come by. Alternatively, you can and would probably have more classes filled with school-aged kids with no real interest in learning the language. They're there because their parents want them to learn English, at least that's the way it was when I was teaching EFL. That said, there's probably no real reason you can't try it. You may find you like teaching. If you've not at least got a TEFL certificate, I would seriously consider getting one. They're not cheap at $1500 or so for a four week course, but you'll know before the going gets tough whether teaching is for you nor not, at least. You should probably also be aware that if you want to teach in any sort of higher education or non-private school, you'll need at least a BA/BS and people with Masters are definitely preferred. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5677 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 6 of 7 22 June 2011 at 9:06pm | IP Logged | |||||
Ouch! The Czech republic is in central europe, not eastern europe. Vienna is further east than Prague, for example. Anyway, you are right that since joining the Schengen zone, it is now MUCH more difficult for Americans to get visas and find work here. Of course, that doesn't mean it is impossible, but it is much harder than before. On top of this, the global financial crisis means that many teachers are now losing much of their work (since many people see English lessons as a luxury to be cut back on). Another point is that many locals (native Czech speakers) now speak English well enough to become teachers themselves. In the past it was simply enough to be a native English speaker. That may still apply at some level, but nowhere like in the past. Still, there do seem to be opportunities, particularly for very good teachers. Even though I am not an English teacher, I have been asked several times by locals if I will teach them. Often, though, they want something very specific. For example, a law firm asked if I would teach them "legal English". Since I do not have a law background, I have been hesitant to accept. Somebody with such a specialist background, though, would find work and be relatively well paid. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5138 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 7 of 7 22 June 2011 at 9:24pm | IP Logged | |||||
Sorry. Of course you're right. I meant to convey anything not considered Western Europe. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful |
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