Job Discussion Forums

[lia83]

Hello everybody. I am curious about the schools in greece. I would like to teach english in greece (temporary as a start) and most likely end up permanently there because I have always wanted to move back to my rooted country. soooooooooooooo.... having an E.U passport and a canadian passport will be an advantage am i correct? well i hope so . i would like to get some feedback on that and also as i have been searching all over for postings....all i have been finding is "anglohellenic" everywhere. NOT MY CHOICE. i'm not really fussy where in greece. although i do have a home in athens. i would really appreciate some assistance on these topics. thannnnnnnks a million!!!!

[dorat]

Hey,
I'm also a Canadian Greek planning on moving to Greece this summer to look for work as an English teacher. I have done lots of research and have found it is a bit difficult to find work from here, you really have to go there first. DO you have a degree? You need to get it authorized by the Greek consulate before leaving along with your transcripts. THere is also a new rule that you have to have completed Greek at a high school level in order to teach English in Greece. I do not have this and so I have been worried about it but apparently you should still be able to find a job pending the completion of a Greek proficiency exam in Greece. I would love to talk if you have more questions, maybe we can help each other. When are you planning on going? Send me a private message if you want to discuss more.
Dora

[teacheringreece]

With an EU passport you can work legally in Greece as a teacher at a private school, so long as you have a degree. There's no new rule about completing Greek at high school level. If you have Greek citizenship, though, things do get a little confusing because the rules for Greeks are actually a bit different - you don't need a degree but you do need Cambridge/Michigan Proficiency in English. As a Greek-Canadian you're caught in between the two systems - I'm not sure legally what the situation is (I'm not sure anyone is) but I know there are plenty of Americans and Canadians with Greek citizenship working in Greece, and I can't believe they have all taken the Proficiency exam. In fact, native speakers are not allowed to sit the exam as it is for non-native speakers only, so if you did decide to sit the exam to be on the safe side, I'd advise making some mistakes here and there are putting on an accent in the oral examination!

[dorat]

Hi,
Okay first, I'm very glad to hear you say that there is no new rule because I think it is crazy and stupid to expect an English teacher to have a proficiency in Greek and I have been trying to argue this but I was recently in contact with the Greek consulate in Toronto to find out what I have to do to teach English in a Greek private school. The person in charge of the education department in the consulate asked me if I have anyone in Greece who could go to some specific offices to find out the right and current requirements. I did have someone in Greece go for me and apparently, this is a new rule. They faxed the papers over to the consulate in Toronto and the woman from the consulate confirmed with me that I do need to have either completed Greek high school, or sit a Greek exam in Greece. She also told me to still just go to Greece and try to find a job without this exam. I told her that it doesn't make sense because there are sooooooo many non-Greek speaking people teaching English in Greece, I know, I've spoken to many of them on the internet, THEY DON'T SPEAK GREEK but apparently this is some "new rule". Well, with anything in Greece, no one really knows or follows the rules but this is still bothering me as it doesn't make sense. Thank you for your reply, are you currently teaching in Greece?
Dora

[mdb76]

Hi Dora,

I don't know if this website will be of any help. You probably know it anyway.

http://www.hau.gr/hau/en/exams_greek.html

If you do decide to just go without the Greek competency covered, perhaps you could go to a university in Canada that teaches Greek and speak to one of the proffessors and ask them if they would be willing to write you a letter certifying that you Greek, they may even have a similar exam at the univeristy for their students. Some universities (in Australia anyway) offer a Certificate of modern languages which would mean having to study. If you already speak Greek though it would obviously be a breeze. I guess it depends on how much you want to get the certification. Good luck.

M.