View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
bellard
Joined: 15 Dec 2012 Posts: 1
|
Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:10 pm Post subject: Teaching English in Netherlands |
|
|
Hey all,
Hoping someone can give me some advice about teaching English in the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam. I'm currently in a long distance relationship but the time has come for me to look into shortening the gap. I recently taught English for eight months in Japan, and I was thinking this is a good way to attain work while abroad.
Has anyone ever attempted to move to Holland to teach English? I currently live in Vancouver, I know it's not as easy for Canadian residents as it is for EU members.
Thanks! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
|
Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Slim chances there. I really think you are wasting your time. The Netherlans has home-grown teachers.
If you really want to go there you might get a visa through marriage but I really think you would have to look in other fields for employment. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
|
Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 9:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
I thaught in the Netherlands for some years on an exceptional visa (I'm American). The exceptional visa was granted because I had a specific speciality which was needed at the university where I taught, and which they could legitimately say was not on offer by any EU candidate for the position. Further, I had local contacts who knew of my work and who recommended me for the postion.
Long story short, getting a work visa for the Netherlands is very nearly impossible. Your eight months in Japan won't help.
Scot is correct that English is taught to a functional level by local teachers in all state schools; it's rare that high school graduates can't function in English. There tend to be a few higher-level positions around. The last few openings at 'my' university each attracted more than 20 'good' applications, meaning related MA+ years of experience + EU passport.
There are some private language schools around, mostly catering to non-Dutch immigrants, but they are largely staffed with very competent Dutch English teachers (and of course the immigrants need to learn Dutch first and foremost, so English is secondary for them anyway).
I have known other North Americans who have tried to get other types of work in the Netherlands (waiting tables, construction, etc) but the laws in the country relating to immigration and work are VERY strict and there is almost no black market for labour. Basically, what you are looking at is 90 days in with no legal work, followed by 90 days out, before you can return.
(Google Schengen zone, Netherlands in case you aren't already all-too-aware of this!)
Honestly, marraige is most likely your only realistic in to this Dutch job market. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
"Carrying coals to Newcastle" |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Teacher in Rome
Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286
|
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 9:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
There are a few language schools in NL - Linguarama among them. I think the most popular place is the "nuns in the south" (forget the name of the school) - a convent where English is taught immersion style.
Not all Dutch speak brilliant English, but a lot of English courses focus on business English, such as presentation skills or writing skills. You'd likely also have high-ranking students working in ministries and so on, so a few months teaching in Japan wouldn't really give you much credibility as a teacher.
But it's all immaterial anyway if you don't have the legal right to stay and work. I wouldn't bother trying to do it illegally either - NL is pretty tightly regulated and "efficient" when it comes to keeping tabs on people.
Depending on where your partner lives in NL, you could perhaps think about a neighbouring country. I thought that Germany was easier for non-EU freelancers, but I might be wrong there. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|