Job Discussion Forums

[Duncan]

I am currently teaching science to children (5-10 yrs. old) in a public American school, but am also finishing an ESL certification in a local university. As a citizen of the UK, I'm living in the states on a greencard and hope to return to Europe to teach English. How difficult is it to find work in France,Belgium, or Switzerland? I'll be moving with my 8yr old son and am a bit worried about cost of living over there, any advice? Where is the best place to start looking for work? I am essentially fluent in French, so language should not be a problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all who reply.
D

[theDangerousONE]

Hi
I am from Belgium, so I can offer a little expertise. If you are not perfectly fluent in French and Flemish, forget about it. If you do not have EU, then forget about teaching legally. And if you are fluent in both the languages, then you CAN find freelance work for 8 euro an hour or so. PM me for more info.

Same goes for the other countries you mentioned, if you don't know ALL the countries languages, then you cannot even be considered.

[Harry Swindells]

Forget about Switzerland and EFL. No chance of getting a work permit there.

Actually forget about EFL full stop. If you are a certified school teacher then work at International schools. Much better money, much better conditions (usually), far fewer cowboy schools.

Harry

[Roger]

Duncan,
where there is a will there is (sometimes) a way! While the two previous posters accurately described a statistical reality there are always those that prove them wrong.
As an UK passport holder, you can work in Belgium and France but not very likely in Switzerland, which is not member of the EU. That does not mean that they don't hire Brits there. In fact they do, though hardly any public school does.
The reason is that teacher training in these countries - I pertinently know France and Switzerland - is utterly different from that in the anglophone world. Teachers undergo specific training and study at SEMINARS (Switzerland) or universities. English teachers typically are trilingual and would have to teach not conversation English (as is so widely-practised outside Europe) but grammar, literature, reading and writing.
I guess your chances are highest with private schools, institutes and kindergartens, and freelancing is an option. Pay in Switzerland may be higher than anywhere else, so forget about teaching there except at low rates in private institutes. In France, teaching English is akind of no-frills option except if you are hired by a catholic or state-run school, and this on life-time terms (as a civil servant).

[scot47]

Forget EFL in these places. As Harry S says with your qualifications you should be looking at International Schools. And do not forget the schools run by the EU for the children of the overpaid and pampered civil servants of the Union. These are located in a number of different countries. Bureaucratic procedures involved in getting in, but excellent salary.