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petite76
Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 4
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:29 am Post subject: Probably isn't worth it? |
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I'm a fairly new TEFLer, living in Oz at the moment on a working holiday visa. Was thinking about coming back to England (to live in London) for a year before doing a PGCE. After reading all the negative stuff on this site about how low pay is (quite a bit lower than Oz even!), I'm not sure if it's even worth me trying to get TEFL work in London. Would i be right there? I hear mention of teaching refugees/ immigrants, which i wouldn't mind doing. Does anyone know how much wages are doing that?
Katherine |
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SandyM
Joined: 05 Feb 2005 Posts: 114 Location: Here, there, and everywhere...
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Ma petite, without any (or very little) experience you'll find it very tough finding regular tefl work, except in the summer period, when firms are desperate for teachers. But you might strike lucky, and find a school that are willing to extend your contract - so make sure you work for a school that has a regular year-round site, as well as the summer camps.
But come anyway - if there's no tefl work available, you can do the normal Oz thing and work in bars, restaurants, etc. And you'll probably make more dosh that way, too...
good luck
sandy |
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petite76
Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 4
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:43 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, only thing is I'm already English and have lived in London before, so i wouldn't be doing the typical Oz thing!
Thanks for the advice.
Kath |
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MATTgoesTEFLcrazy
Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 4
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 9:48 am Post subject: |
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Hi Kath,
If you do decide to return to London and you were interested in volunteering a couple of hours a week, we are creating a project to teach English to the asylum seekers and refugees that are ineligible to apply to colleges for existing classes. We will be travelling to refugee centres around London to teach within their local community centres, and providing a system to support the teachers that volunteer with us.
We are putting together an appropriate syllabus and will be offering training to deal with some of the dificulties associated with teaching asylum seekers (ie traumatic history etc.).
We cannot provide wages at the moment, but will be able to cover travel expenses and other overheads, and any teaching you do with us will prove a rewarding experience.
(please read my post entitled 'Unity Through Language')
I hope to hear from you,
Matt |
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SandyM
Joined: 05 Feb 2005 Posts: 114 Location: Here, there, and everywhere...
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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Matt, why don't you pay the teachers? Why do you expect them to work for nothing? Are you doing the same?
Why are you being such a parasite??
Sandy |
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MATTgoesTEFLcrazy
Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 4
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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Sandy,
What we are doing is providing a service free of charge to those who are in need.
My intention is to help asylum seekers that have nowhere else to turn. They are not allowed to attend ESOL lessons provided by government funded colleges because they do not have refugee status, and they may be living in this state of limbo for many years.
I am not taking work away from TEFL teachers because for the people we are teaching there are currently no services available to them apart from those that are given voluntarily.
Maybe when we are more established, and if there is greater understanding and compassion, there will be more funding available to offer a wage, but for now we are only asking for volunteers.
To answer your question yes I am one of those teachers, and I am doing it for no money. I have a full time job. This is something I am doing voluntarily for a couple of hours on the weekend.
Matt |
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petite76
Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 4
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:05 am Post subject: Sounds good Matt |
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Hi Matt
Hey, the volunteer work with refugees sounds good and I would seriously consider it if i do come back to England cos I could do that and earn some money doing something else during the week. Will be in touch if I do come back!
Kath |
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SueH
Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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Matt,
My apologies to you as I was thinking the same cynical thoughts as Sandy, although Will's endorsement was a positive sign.
Mind you, I'm sure you'll realise why such cynicism is rife amongst us rich TEFL/ESOL types |
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Winmarr
Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 115 Location: Melbourne
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:13 am Post subject: |
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I'm not sure why Matt's post was miscronstued like that. I am/was a volunteer tutor in a govt-run programme of a similar nature over here. The asylum seeker reference in his post should have been enough to make people realise why he/they are doing it and why they aren't paying wages at this stage. |
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SueH
Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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Winmarr,
because there are private schemes out there which _do_ exploit teachers and as a group we tend to need to work quite a few hours just to get by. |
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Simone
Joined: 21 Sep 2004 Posts: 12
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 10:07 am Post subject: |
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Surely you chose to do a job that pays so little (I assume you are capable of doing better paid jobs)? How can you be cynical about someone volunteering to work for free for a good cause? Seriously - if you think you have worse prospects than an asylum seeker then of course you can justifiably withold some of your precious time. |
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