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Jamaica
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little horsey



Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Posts: 57
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 11:51 pm    Post subject: Jamaica Reply with quote

Hello,

I was wondering what the situation in Jamaica is like. Are there many ESL jobs (or any jobs for foreigners, for that matter) there? How are foreigners generally accpeted?

Anyone who has any experiences and/or information that might help me can post it here or if it's easier for you, e-mail me at [email protected]

Thanks for your help!

j.
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chriswest



Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 6:56 pm    Post subject: Its ok Reply with quote

Im not sure about the demand for English teachers in Jamaica. You shouldnt have a problem with racism against foreigners at all.
Try to live in Ocho Rios its really nice. Avoid Kingston. Lots of Crime.
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bnix



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 645

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 5:57 am    Post subject: ESL Jobs in Jamaica?But English IS the Language There.. Reply with quote

I doubt if there are many(if any) ESL jobs in Jamaica,since they do speak English.There might be a few English instructor(not strictly TESOL) jobs.This is not a place many people consider for TESOl...although I know...the beaches,etc,etc.But the crime rate is very high.Why not just take a vacation there?Teach ESL there?Well,uh...I don't know...though it is probably better in some respects than the Dominican Republic! Rolling Eyes
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little horsey



Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Posts: 57
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, but vacations are for little girls. I want to live there for a year and actually experience life in the country. I'll keep looking.

By the way, money is not an issue for me right now. As long as I have enough money for a plane ticket back, I'm a happy man.

Thanks for your responses.
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bnix



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 645

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 2:28 am    Post subject: Oh,So Vacations "Are For Little Girls?" Reply with quote

And you want to actually"experience the country"?I think I have heard this one a few hundred times before...in different places,from different people.Just curious,if you are going to teach English,do you actually have any qualifications? Best of luck with your"experience". Ever consider the Peace Corps? Rolling Eyes
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little horsey



Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Posts: 57
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 3:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know where you get off...

I'm a little qualified. I'll be graduating in the spring with an honours degree in linguistics and applied languages, as well as receiving certificate to teach english as a second language.

What's so wrong with wanting to "experience a country", instead of simply vacationing? I may be crazy, but don't you think the best way to "experience a country" would be to live there for an extended period of time?

Like I said before, I'll keep looking. But hey, thanks for the help!
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andrew murphy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 51
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't really fancy your chances, little horsey. Jamaica is after all a thoroughly English speaking country. (Jamaican English even manages to preserve some relics of Elizabethan/Shakespearean English extinct elsewhere! If your'e after that Caribbeabn experience why don't you try one of the French islands such as Guadeloupe.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 10:25 am    Post subject: Jamaica ? Reply with quote

Jamaica ? Forget it. Guadeloupe ? In the EU. You have a passport from one of the EU memberstates.
Try Cuba.
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little horsey



Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Posts: 57
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Thu Feb 13, 2003 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks. I'll check into Cuba...

I guess things have changed in Jamaica. Last December I was observing an ESL class here and the teacher mentioned that she had taught for some time over there. Must've been a while ago...
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Dr Disco



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 51
Location: wandering around town

PostPosted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 3:16 am    Post subject: Cuba ESL Reply with quote

Not a chance on that island.

I've spent a fair amount of time there over the last 6 years. Even studied Spanish at a University.

So far, there is no shortage of qualified people to teach ESL. If there was a small chance, you can bet that I would be on the next plane there.

The Cuban government simply will not allow ESL teachers from abroad take away much needed jobs in Cuba. Add that to the fact the many professors are lucky to earn USD 200 a month. I'm not even sure that they earn that much!

I met a lady who was in the Peace Corp teaching ESL in Jamaica. That could be one option. I would love to teach ESL there, or even in the D.R. I have also met people that made about 500 to 600 USD a month that taught ESL in Central America.
I appreciate anyone with a sense of adventure. Good luck with it! Congragulations on completing your degree!
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seanie



Joined: 28 Nov 2003
Posts: 54
Location: m�xico

PostPosted: Mon Dec 01, 2003 1:08 am    Post subject: Jamaica Reply with quote

OK, I can set the record straight. I have taught ESL in Jamaica, but not to Jamaicans. I taught English to foreigners at a language school in Kingston. At the time, there were only 2 such schools which offered ESL. All the other courses were Spanish, French, German, Japanese etc. - foreign languages for Jamaican students. As Andrew pointed out before, Jamaica is an English-speaking country. There's a wide range of varieties - from "broad Jamaican" which would be nigh unintelligible to any untrained speaker of a standard variety, to weird medieval retentions, to pretty "posh" accents. I'd say the ESL market would be miniscule and the pay wouldn't get you very far either, since you'd be working on an hourly-paid basis. Still, it was pretty interesting. The students were mostly latinos (loads of Panamanians, Venezuelans and Haitians.....well, maybe Haitians aren't "latinos", but..) who came to study English (fees were cheaper than in the States & Canada). There were also kids & spouses of Embassy personnel, foreign spouses of Jamaicans who'd returned from living abroad, and the next big linguistic group - the Chinese (brought over and "sponsored" by relatives in Jamaica...not really sure how it works). Anyway, if you want to try ESL in Jamaica you could probably only realistically do it in Kingston... and there is that crime to think about:-) If you have any foreign language skills you could try going as a foreign language teacher (especially Spanish & French). If you are in Canada - especially if you're in Quebec - you could try going with AFS. There is an AFS teacher programme. Check out the website www.afs.org I was on it to Costa Rica. Not much money, but you live with a host family and get to go on a couple of free trips. Or, hey, maybe you can get a grant to go to Jamaica and study Creole Linguistics. Really good linguists at the University of the West Indies. Somebody mentioned Peace Corps too. I met a PC vol in Kingston. In fact, the guy I met was involved with education... so you could do that, and then the crap money from a couple of hours of an ESL job wouldn't matter. Good luck, horsey!
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How much does it cost to study at the University of the West Indies? What are living expenses in Jamacia like? Furthermore could someone with an MA in German get a job teaching German? I will soon have my MA in German Literature and Pedagogy
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seanie



Joined: 28 Nov 2003
Posts: 54
Location: m�xico

PostPosted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The fees will depend on whether you are a citizen of CARICOM or not. In US$ they seem to range from about $2,000 (CARICOM) to $10,000 for all faculties except Medicine (much higher). You can find tuition costs by clicking on the following link:

http://www.mona.uwi.edu/postgrad/admissions/contributing.htm

I was back in Jamaica at Christmas and found prices to be 1.5 to 2 times higher than Mexico prices.

As for German, there may be some scope for it; but I can't really say how much or how much money you could make. There is a Jamaica/German Society (The Jamaican version of the Goethe Institut), which may be able to give you some info.

Good luck!
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for the info. I am looking for some where I can earn a second degree that is cheaper than the U.S. Does anyone know how much an apartment would cost in kingston?
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seanie



Joined: 28 Nov 2003
Posts: 54
Location: m�xico

PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Prices vary a great deal. Off campus you probably wouldn't want to spend less than about 300 US$, but there is postgrad housing (one-bedroom flats as well as studios) on campus that is cheaper. You can find that info on the UWI website as well. (Unlike the situation regarding fees, I think this is one area where non-Jamaicans would be given priority treatment. At least that used to be the case:-))
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