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Moving in Aug
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CarolineMichelle



Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 2
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

PostPosted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:15 pm    Post subject: Moving in Aug Reply with quote

Hi everyone. I'm moving to Alexandria in the middle-end of Aug. I'm American but I have been living in Switzerland for the last year as an au pair. I was studying before that and I have one year left before I get my degree in french Foreign language Education k-12. I however don't like living in the US and so I have decided that I want to move to Egypt when my contract is up with the family I work for now. I have always wanted to teach EFL but I was going to first get my degree in French and then move to France to become an English teacher. I taught ESL for 2 years in my community back in the US but just for fun. However I would really like to know if anyone knows about English preschools in Alex. I have heard that they don't care as much in preschools if you have a degree or not and I love littler kids rather than older ones. I would like to know if I could make enough to live on (ie for housing, insurance etc) If anyone has any information on this I would greatly appreciate it!! Thanks!

- Caroline
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have a lot of questions...first off, do you have a Bachelors Degree in something? This will decide whether or not your hired in a school to teach. I have known people who worked as teachers' assistants in Cairo (try Maadi British School) without their degree, but this is not the norm. Is there a reason why you've chosen Alex to live in? There will inevitable be less opportunities in Alex simply based on population numbers.

Teaching salaries in Cairo for unqualified teachers fit a wide range. I would say you could expect to be offered between 3000 and 5000 as a local hire (if you go to Egypt to live and start looking for work, you will definitely be offered less money and benefits than your counterparts hired abroad). 3000 in Egypt is 'do-able', but you'd be much better off if the accommodation is included in that price. For 3000, you won't be living the high-life, but you can survive.

I suggest that if you are a graduate, you start applying to schools (you mentioned pre-school and most schools start accepting children for KG 1 and 2 and ages 3 and 4) from abroad. That would at least ensure an annual plane ticket, accommodation or an allowance for this (expect to have to share accommodation with another teacher in many cases with the lower-salary schools), and the proper visa(well, it should ensure that they'll get you the proper visa).

If you do end up looking into Cairo, there are more opportunities for someone like yourself in the larger schools where they might hire western teaching assistants (as a local hire-I'm assuming you have not graduated with an undergraduate yet). I worked at Choueifat, and I recall that 'foreign hires', as opposed to local hires, had to have an undergraduate degree in hand for any position. The school didn't see the point of bringing someone over and bearing the extra expense without the qualifications.

I've rambled on....a)If you don't have a degree, you'll have some luck getting a teachign assistant position, though I would expect to earn around 3000 AND you'll likely have to be 'living' in the country to get the job. Accommodation from your school or an allowance for it is unlikely.
b) If you do have a degree, start applying from abroad. Showing up there and applying will drive your value down (unless you can convince them that you're on holiday for 2 weeks). These positions are the ones that will pay between 3000-7000 LE/month and will most likely come with accommodation or an accommodation allowance and plane ticket.
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CarolineMichelle



Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 2
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey thanks for you reply. No I don't have my BA. I left the US last May and I had a year left to go. I don't see myself returning anytime soon to there either. Yeah the reason that I have decided to go to Alex instead of Cairo (besides the fact that I like Alex a lot better than Cairo) is because my Egyptain fianc� lives and works in Alex and will be working there til next summer, plus we're getting married in August. Housing then won't be a problem cause I'll be splitting rent with him. Plane tickets are not that big of a deal to me because I have nothing to go back to in the states so yeah. However should I at least start contacting nursery schools in Alex? I have already looked at the bigger language schools and all of them require having a degree. I am still going to email them anyways but I am not expecting anything. Also would it help if I took an TEFL course either by the internet or perhaps in Alex as there seems to be a school there for that. Thanks for answering my many questions! I appreciate it!
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

First off... just some general advice. If you want to get the better jobs - and this would relate to the rest of your life, I think you should finish that degree. You might look into the American University in Cairo to see what options you might have of transfer credits. (it is American accredited and thus should accept most of your courses - but probably leave you with 1.5 to 2 years to complete) It is not cheap, but would make a difference in your income for the rest of your life. Check with your previous college and see if you can complete your degree with them over the net.

Next, if you are going to do a TEFL course - do a recognized one - not one over the internet. The whole reason to do one of these courses is to get practical supervised classroom experience - an impossibility doing it on the net. Many employers do not recognize internet TEFL courses for this reason. Check out the threads here on the program that is offered in Alex... it should be helpful for you there and you will make good contacts.

Good Luck

VS
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed, VS. Degree is essential. I'm sure there are some nursery schools that will hire you, but none that I could name specifically. Why not look into transferring your credits to AUC to finish your degree? Complicates things since your accommodation share will not be possible and there will be distance between you and your fiancee, but if you plan to make a professionally successful life for yourself in Egypt, you'll need that degree. You might consider approaching international schools once you're there to apply for assistant teaching positions.
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 4:20 pm    Post subject: A TESOL CERT Reply with quote

This is not a Trinity COllege of London or Cambridge accredited institution (the big names in TESOL certs), but they do have a large operation, and I believe that they offer a comparable course to Trinity and Cambridge.
http://teflintl.com/egypt_alexandria.htm

Check out http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/ and http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teaching/celta.htm for information on the TESOL certificate and CELTA respectively. That will give you some basic information about the course requirements to make a comparison to the first link. I don't think there is a Trinity accredited institution in Alex, and while the BC might sometimes offer the CELTA, it doesn't appear that they are offering it at this time. A good course can easily cost you near $1000 (perhaps a bit cheaper in Egypt). If you don't mind spending one academic-intensive month in Cairo, try ILI Heliopolis in Cairo. It's an International House academy and they offer the CELTA. Friends of mine who did the cert course there really liked it. [/url]http://www.ihworld.com/directory/affiliate.asp?affid=19[/url]

When I did my TESOL cert, they require a college degree, but I don't believe this is the same in all locations. If you're going to do the cert, I suggest following Veiled Sentiment's suggestions and do a good one. It will better prepare you for class, and should you decide, after completing your degree, to make a career for yourself in TESOL, then it should help you a long the way.
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 4:25 pm    Post subject: It's early in Seattle... Reply with quote

"BC" is British Council-an institution found all over the world(the one in Dubai just closed!). They often operate libraries with English materials, offer courses, etc. Didn't mean to use 'lingo'.
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madhouseminx



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 70
Location: I am here.

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did some research a few months ago and as far as I could tell no one was offering a Celta in Egypt at all. It's possible that that could have changed since January, but that is what played into my decision to go through TEFL International in Alex which is where I'm heading in two weeks.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 11:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Minx!! Let us know how it goes. Have a great time in Alex!

VS
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Fri May 19, 2006 1:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's surprising-ILI Heliopolis (International House) has offered it in the past, and their website says they offer it. Perhaps it's not offered in back-to-back courses.
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Fri May 19, 2006 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Minx, my fellow Clevelander, would you mind sharing how much the course costs? It didn't say on their web site.
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madhouseminx



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 70
Location: I am here.

PostPosted: Fri May 19, 2006 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tried to e-mail ILI several times (back in December and January) and never got a response, so, I don't know. The CELTA website had said that no one was offering it in Egypt at that time.

As far as course costs, it depends on whether you want to just do the 4 week program in Alexandria or the additional 6 week internship.

You can go to www.teflcourse.com (dates and fees) for the info or www.culturalextremes.com (projects - arabic cultural) for more details, but basically it's $1590.00 or $1840.00 respectively. (This includes accomodation) You can read the "Cultural Extremes in Alexandria?" topic that I started for some more information.

Thanks VS I'm looking forward to it and I will keep in touch!
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madhouseminx



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 70
Location: I am here.

PostPosted: Fri May 19, 2006 2:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry, that was www.teflcourse.net (dates and fees) but the .com gives the same info as the cultural extremes website.

They are all the same school, you just have to decide which website to book it through. You pay a $500 deposit then the $1090 balance after you get there, then I guess you pay the $300 + - after you decide whether you want to stay for 6 more weeks.
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nomadykaty



Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Sat May 20, 2006 2:15 pm    Post subject: BC closed in Dubai? Reply with quote

stoth1972 -where do you get your information that BC Dubai closed. I was just on the phone with them Wednesday dealing with my student's IELT score. Whoever is feeding you info about Dubai is miss informed, unless they went out of busy TODAY.
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stoth1972



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington

PostPosted: Sat May 20, 2006 4:21 pm    Post subject: Hate to be the bearer of bad news... Reply with quote

Unless the Gulf News got it all wrong...
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/editorial_opinion/nation/10039934.html
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