Job Discussion Forums

[ronett]

Hia,

I am completely new to this amazing ESL cafe so forgive me if my question has been answered before (and I missed it).

I was wondering about the chances of pursing a carreer as an EFL teacher within Europe and perhaps also Asia.

I am a non-native English speaker (from the CZ) who has been living in the UK for almost 10 years. I have a degree from a UK uni, which covered anything from language learning & teaching to psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and various analyses (grammar, written/spoken discourse, etc.). Have been working in finance for the last 3 years and have decided to chase my dream- teaching English whilst travelling and learning other languages. I am currently working towards obtaining a CELTA certificate.

I am fairly self critical and if I knew my English was not good enough for this (accent, bad grammar, etc.), I would certainly not try to pursue this career. I know they say the 'gap' between the non-natives and natives never closes in terms of English language knowledge and usage, but having undergone several certificates (FCE, CAE, Acad IELTS) in my early years myself, I no longer believe nativity of the teacher plays a role here.. But then again perhaps I should get real...

I am just wondering what my chances are amongst the 'natives' as I sense there is a fairly strong competitive vibe in teaching English as a foreign language out there...


I am interested to see what the 'experienced bloggers' have to say.

Thanks ever so much for any opinion you may have

Veronika

[Sashadroogie]

Hi Ronett

I'd put your chances head and shoulders above the average native TEFLer just based on your first post here.

You may run up against some issues getting a work visa as an English teacher in some countries on account of your nationality. However, the EU is not closed to you as it would be for most non-EU citizens, so perhaps that more than compensates. In any case, don't in any way feel you you are being unrealistic in pursuing your career in English teaching.

Best of luck to you.

[spiral78]

At the university where I work, about half of the English department staff are non-native speakers. This work requires post-grad degrees in the field, so I'm not encouraging you to apply to unis yet , but to illustrate the fact that non-natives are considered valuable additions to a good teaching team.

You may run up against some issues getting a work visa as an English teacher in some countries on account of your nationality

Not in the Euro zone, I don't think. Some Asian countries, perhaps.

Sasha's right - you should be able to get something reasonable at the newbie level. If you don't want to teach in the CR (I'm aware of the rates paid by state schools there ) I think you could choose a city anywhere in the Euro zone and send CVs. I expect you can find someone who will value your skills both as a teacher and as someone who's successfully learned the language and understands the processes from a first-hand perspective.

[Glenski]

[ronett]

Hi again all,

Many thanks for your most valuable responses!

[spiral78]

I am just slightly worried that someone with passion, determination and a strong self-drive (like me) would always be moved on a side track by the disadvantage of being non-native. This, however, will not discourage me from trying.

No - I do not think you will be 'side-tracked.' Being a non-native is often considered an advantage! Keep in mind that the process you've gone through to develop your skills in English gives you an insight into the language that a native speaker cannot have by definition. You can present yourself both as a teacher and as a successful learner yourself.

Again, I can emphasize that good schools in the Euro region DO value non-native teachers in many, many cases.

[Sashadroogie]

Come to Russia!

[DoubleDutch]

[ronett]

Excellent! Many thanks all.

Once I am 'on the road' I will provide some updates. Perhaps there are more of us 'ambitious non-natives' out there.

Best

Veronika

[coledavis]

Consider teaching ESOL in UK further education colleges. It's well paid, although you would need Proficiency level English with CELTA (DELTA too?) on top.

[loveeatsleep]

Hello Everyone!

I actually have a similar question but on my part, i'm from South East Asia and planning to obtain a teaching post in EU or Russia but so far most job ads require you to either be their so called "native English" speakers or be an EU Passport holders etc. Yes this fact really makes me sad.

I'm also planning to take the CELTA soon but these things are important to consider because i will be shifting careers (i'm currently an advertising junkie slash social media slave) and it will be a leap of fate. I really want to know the chances and yes even if it hurts.

Thank you all and have a good day!

[Sashadroogie]

The CELTA course offered at BKC-IH has previously accepted applicants from South East Asia. Not sure how many of them went on to get a job in Russia, but it is not impossible. Most regulations are just on paper here, so you could probably disregard most requirements on Russian adverts.

Not so Euroland. I would not rate your chances at all there, nor for any other non-Euro citizens. Sorry.

In any case, best of luck with your change in career.

[spiral78]

Sasha's right - non EU member citizens have near-nil chances of getting legal work permits for most of the 'old' EU member countries, particularly at the newbie level.

[AGoodStory]

[AGoodStory]

This is from a China thread on the same topic: