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CELTA - choice between two countires
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zeddy



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 11
Location: Northern Territory

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 5:13 am    Post subject: CELTA - choice between two countires Reply with quote

Hi all,

Am seeking a bit of advice between two options I'm thinking of for CELTA.

Basically I'm living in Northern Territory, Australia and looking at teaching in Budapest, Hungary [or neighbouring countries] mid next-year. I was born there so would like to go back and live/work there for a while. and have the EU passport - sorted! Summer schools initially, then something more regular at the start of the school season in September. My two options are:

* Doing the CELTA course in Budapest.

* Doing the CELTA course in Sydney.

The Budapest-based course [through International House] is way cheaper, and even moreso with the exchange rate and the high Aussie dollar. Aside from the financial side of things, I figure it would be easier to make contact during and after the course and land a job while I'm there - plus I'd be already somewhat established in Budapest.

The Sydney-based course [also through IH] has the advantage of having a dual certification of CELTA and Cert IV Tesol. From my understanding this certifcate would open more doors in Australia when I come back to work in educational institutions, such as TAFE.

I guess I'm leaning towards doing it in Budapest for my more immediate goal of getting over there and landing a job, rather than applying for them in Australia.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

zeddy
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coledavis



Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, saving money is usually a good move. My one argument in favour of studying at home is that you get to teach multilingual classes. This means no short cuts with a dictionary if you've learned to read Magyar. So you have to practise mime in order to elicit, which makes you a more rounded professional (in my opinion), so it's easier to work back home when you want to. But on the whole, if you can save money by going to Budapest, I think I'd do that.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The Budapest-based course [through International House] is way cheaper, and even moreso with the exchange rate and the high Aussie dollar. Aside from the financial side of things, I figure it would be easier to make contact during and after the course and land a job while I'm there - plus I'd be already somewhat established in Budapest.


I think you've got this pegged fairly accurately. Training centres usually provide a decent bridge into country/culture and this can be particularly valuable in regions (like Central Europe) where jobs aren't usually found from abroad. Given that this isn't the easiest job market to crack, I'd suggest the in-country course would probably give you a greater chance of success finding a job in the region.
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coledavis



Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 12:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, Spiral's argument pushes it even further towards the Budapest option. Besides, wherever you do the CELTA, the qualification is usable elsewhere in future, especially when you've got some employment experience under your belt.
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zeddy



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 11
Location: Northern Territory

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for the feedback there and some good advice, although I would have thought that in that area demand for English teachers [and therefore jobs] would be relatively easy to come by... maybe not so.
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coledavis



Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, this just my limited knowledge. I think that there is demand for English, but also that major Central European cities are rather popular with teachers. So I think that competition was being cited.
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Sashadroogie



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Come to Russia! Do the Celta in Moscow!
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
although I would have thought that in that area demand for English teachers [and therefore jobs] would be relatively easy to come by... maybe not so.



Not really, though you could reasonably expect to find something. If you arrived outside the regular hiring peaks (end August - end September, roughly, with a little bump in Jan to make up for teachers who didn't return from holidays and clients who start contracts at the beginning of the calendar year), you'd probably be looking at cobbling together a few part-time gigs to make ends meet until next hiring season.
Also depends a bit what city(ies) you target: the more desirable, the fewer openings, obviously.

Also, keep in mind that there's very little going in July/August (Europeans generally take holiday time VERY seriously) and what's on will go to people with established local reps who know where to hustle to grab the bits that exist. If you'll need to be employed throughout, you'll want to get on this as early as possible.
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Kofola



Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 159
Location: Slovakia

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to add my penny's worth -

If your main goal is to teach in Hungary, then I would do the CELTA in Budapest because it will be easier to make contacts that way and that might help you find a job. I don't know what the Australian certification is or how much that might benefit you later on?

Quote:
although I would have thought that in that area demand for English teachers [and therefore jobs] would be relatively easy to come by... maybe not so.


I'm in Slovakia, so I have no idea about the current job market in Hungary. However, here in Slovakia there is still great demand for English. I freelance and at the moment I'm getting enquiries every week. Plus lots of my students do business with Hungarians and they tell me that their Hungarian business partners' English is often much worse. That might suggest there is market demand. This does not necessarily translate into schools looking for teachers, though. Schools round here are not always very well managed and I know that some local schools are doing less well because they don't really know how to target the market. Plus the Hungarian economy is in a worse state than the Slovak one. Taxation is much higher than in the rest of Central Europe and it probably leaves little in the purse for English lessons. You really need someone teaching in Hungary to give you the rundown on that one but they seem to be a little thin on the ground round these parts...

If you speak Hungarian that would be a major plus.
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General Disarray



Joined: 23 Jun 2010
Posts: 58
Location: Kent

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember teaching in Slovakia for a while and asking a 12 year old girl what is the most sold drink in the world? Her answer; Kofola!!!!

Blast from the past seeing that drink!!

I left Hungary 4 months ago, mainly to come back to England to do a Maths PGCE, but I miss Budapest a lot right now. I also did the Celta at the IH and good friends with a couple of the trainers there (very well structured course).

Fantastic city, was work available there, just be careful with your work permit, I don't know if being Australian will hold you back.

There are plenty of language schools in Budapest, I even got put in contact with 3 schools via other teachers who didn't advertise themselves on the internet or anything.

Private students can also be picked up.

There are a few big companies in Budapest who have contracts with some languages schools, CitiBank, Microsoft and IBM ring a bell.

It is my favourite city in the world (Hugely biased!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and thankfully very underrated. Make regular trips back when I get a spare weekend.

The annoying thing with Budapest is, it will take around 2 months for you to build up your lesson times after you pass your CELTA. Take into account you won't get paid for the first month as well. Normal city rules as well, most lessons will be in morning/evening with you having to move around the city on the public transport which is good.

Quote:
If you speak Hungarian that would be a major plus.


Won't hold him back though, a very unusual language, but I do miss it! Igen tudom.

Quote:
I guess I'm leaning towards doing it in Budapest for my more immediate goal of getting over there and landing a job, rather than applying for them in Australia.


You would have next to no chance of getting a job in Budapest by applying over the internet from Australia.
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zeddy



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 11
Location: Northern Territory

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks to all that replied, very much appreciated and great to hear your experiences.

I guess I'm not overly fazed by the cobbled-together, inconsistent roster that most likely awaits me. After working here in Australia within the public service with good pay and conditions [sick leave, rec leave, flex yeah!] I'm after a bit of a challenge. Although that's easy to say sitting here typing!


Quote:
Fantastic city, was work available there, just be careful with your work permit, I don't know if being Australian will hold you back.

I was born there so yeah, know it fairly well and have also got the EU passport too!


You would have next to no chance of getting a job in Budapest by applying over the internet from Australia.

My thoughts exactly
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zeddy



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 11
Location: Northern Territory

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
However, here in Slovakia there is still great demand for English.

I would consider Slovakia and neighbouring areas i.e. Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia
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Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

coledavis wrote:
Well, saving money is usually a good move. My one argument in favour of studying at home is that you get to teach multilingual classes. This means no short cuts with a dictionary if you've learned to read Magyar. So you have to practise mime in order to elicit, which makes you a more rounded professional (in my opinion), so it's easier to work back home when you want to. But on the whole, if you can save money by going to Budapest, I think I'd do that.


Of course, that's working on the assumption that all CELTA students will be indigenous to the country in which the course is being held. On my CELTA, in Jakarta, there were two Vietnamese students and an Iranian. I've since taught more Iranians, Iraqis, Emiratis (?), Thais, Brazilians, Russians, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Brazilians, Colombians, Japanese, Koreans, and even a Spaniard in amongst the Indonesian students.

Bear in mind as well that Jakarta isn't a particularly multi-cultural city - locals still stare, point and laugh at foreigners - so I'd imagaine in more cosmopolitan locations it's quite possible to often have multilingual classes, including on a CELTA course.
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coledavis



Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838

PostPosted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, in some countries, the CELTA will be multilingual, in others decidedly not. My guess is that in the case of Hungary, the classes will be monolingual. Perhaps someone in the area could comment.
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General Disarray



Joined: 23 Jun 2010
Posts: 58
Location: Kent

PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Tell your friends- we're having a SALE!!

Very shortly, the following 'special' is to be announced on our website:

Christmas special!! Get your CELTA application to us by December 10th and take 10% off of the normal course fee on any course starting between January and June 2013!!

If you have recommended the course to anyone in the past or know of someone who wants to do it- then this might be the moment for them to make their application.

This'll mean savings of just under a hundred pounds / around 35,000 Forint.... got to be worth thinking about.


Taken from the IH Budapest facebook page. May interest you. To think, it's coming up to 2 years ago when I did my course....How time flies!!!
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