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Can a Canadian bilingual make it in Deutschland?

 
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spaceman spiff



Joined: 28 Dec 2012
Posts: 27

PostPosted: Sun May 05, 2013 12:34 pm    Post subject: Can a Canadian bilingual make it in Deutschland? Reply with quote

Hello all !

I posted this in the newbie forum (along with Brazil and General Europe), but here goes again :

My name is Ian - I am a first time poster, long time reader/stalker of these boards who has finally had it up to here with Canada (or Toronto at least, more on that later...) and as a newbie, I have a few questions that could use answering by some of you fine folk who know a thing or two about expatriating and teaching languages. I realize that this type of post comes up often enough, but my situation/skills are different enough that I feel like it's worth taking the time to listen to me!

First things first:
- I'm a Canadian citizen
- I have a degree in Linguistics at the University of Toronto
- I know how to sell myself reasonably well
- I DO NOT have a TEFL certification
- I spent last year teaching english in Toulouse, and tutoring English and French while I was a student at UofT
- The KEY point here is that I am a native speaker of both English and French (my background is Basque), I speak with a French accent and I can write well so teaching both languages is totally an option for me. As a result I have valuable experience both in North America and Europe, and it's this skill that will hopefully put me ahead of the monolingual Anglophones.
- I am in roughly 20,000$CDN debt from my school loans and at my current rate of pay I'd like to put about ~250 CDN (or whatever equivalent in different currency) towards my loans PER MONTH.
- Ideally the country of choice will be in this list : http://www.international.gc.ca/experience/destinations_out-destinations_sortant.aspx?lang=eng

Canada have a youth mobility accord with the following countries which greatly facilitates the visa process - unlike some who need to find a job within 90 days of entering the Schengen zone - I will be granted a long stay visa which permits me to stay in the host country with no bullshit for up to 1 year.

My native bilingualism makes my situation different from most I would think, and ideally I'd like to relocate somewhere where knowledge of both languages can be a serious point in my favour.

With that being said, I know that Europe is largely closed off to me for not having the right passport [I do not have a French passport - my family is rather estranged and I'm not really considering going through the hassle of getting their and my paperwork done for this passport]. Additionally, I have to be honest and say that Asia holds little appeal for me - even though I know that that's where the $$$ is.

----------------------------
So... ESLCafe-ers... is it a total pipe dream to head to Germany and hope for the best? I would think that theoretically there would be an appreciation to hire 1 guy to teach both English+French, and in the bigger city centres I could possibly make ends meet with other small jobs (I do film editing, sound recording, and graphic design so hopefully I could find enough gigs like I can do here in Canada if I hustle enough - I imagine that there are such opportunities in Berlin).

I'm expecting disillusioning advice from you lot - even though I'll have "enough" in start up costs (~3500$ CDN), and I have no problems with living super frugally. I don't mind cooking for myself, I don't particularly drink much, and I'm not at all interested in clubs or even much travel. Ideally I'd explore mostly the region that I'm in. I want to go someplace where I can learn a new language (such as German), and where the cost of living is low enough (maybe also Eastern Europe? Is there any demand for French there as well to put me ahead of the monolingual anglophone candidates - such as perhaps Romania ?)

I would really appreciate any information you could impart with...

Cheers !

Ian


Last edited by spaceman spiff on Sun May 05, 2013 3:57 pm; edited 2 times in total
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spaceman spiff



Joined: 28 Dec 2012
Posts: 27

PostPosted: Sun May 05, 2013 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would also like to add that my goals seem reasonable (with reasonable being a very subjective term) - I realize that I won't be saving anything, but if I can break even after up to a year of living in Germany (Berlin? Hamburg?) teaching both languages, finding artsy side projects to supplement my income (as well as making contacts in the process) and put 200-230 euro a month to my school, I'll be happy.

For what it's worth I've spoken to some Germans who have told me that my plan isn't too far fetched, but none of them are language teachers so your advice would be a big help !
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artemisia



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 875
Location: the world

PostPosted: Tue May 07, 2013 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I'd like to put about ~250 CDN (or whatever equivalent in different currency) towards my loans PER MONTH.

Can't help you with up to date earning capacity, sorry. Maybe another poster can help you there, but the wages in relation to cost of living won't be high. Europe, in general, is not going to be the best destination for paying off debts on TEFL wages. You'll have to take paying health insurance and tax into account along with the usual cost of living in Germany. There are other threads on these topics in this forum.

Having a linguistics degree should be helpful. Most language schools will be familiar with the CELTA, which requires no explanation. You have teaching experience, which is good.
Quote:
I will be granted a long stay visa which permits me to stay in the host country with no bullshit for up to 1 year.

A huge advantage if it applies to anywhere within the EU.
Quote:
My native bilingualism makes my situation different from most I would think, and ideally I'd like to relocate somewhere where knowledge of both languages can be a serious point in my favour.

I'd have thought France would be an advantageous destination in that case. You might be able to offer French classes as well as English in language schools in Germany, but you still don't have German. Not that it should stop you finding work, but having the language of the country you go to is a definite plus. More importantly, it will allow you to more easily make contacts in the arts/graphic design worlds, in which you hope to do supplementary work.

As is always the case in a new country, if you're starting off 'cold' without contacts, it will take time, perseverance and a certain amount of luck to build social/work networks. It usually takes longer than a year, which is one reason why I think France would be a better bet. I imagine, though, you could go ahead with an application for freelance teaching in Germany once the year is nearly up if you wish to stay longer. I suggest you weigh up your wishes (learning a new language, living in Europe etc) against your needs (surviving and paying a certain amount off debts). You might need to make some adjustments in terms of hoping to be able to do all of them in Europe.
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