Job Discussion Forums

[MBee]

Hello,

What teaching opportunities are out there for non-native speakers with an excellent command of English? Are there countries or companies that are open to hiring non-native speakers?

Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate your help and time, and hope you're enjoying the world out there, wherever you are!!

[nomad soul]

Hello back at you, MBee! What's your education (degree) & specific TEFL experience, if any? Do you have a TEFL cert? Your nationality?

[MBee]

Thanks a lot! I'm actually asking for a friend. She's Italian. She has 2 degrees: Lingue e Letterature Moderne, and Studi Linguistici Letterari--Literature and Language degrees. She does not currently have a TEFL but it's possible she could obtain one in the future.

[tttompatz]

Degree and a TOEIC (600), TOEFL CBT(180), TOEFL ibt (65), or an IELTS (5.5) score and most of ASEAN becomes open to her.

Thailand or China would probably be the easiest to land a job in East / S.E. Asia.

Thailand = Boots on the ground in April and be in the classroom by May.
China = start looking for a recruiter. There are lots out there.

.

[MBee]

Thanks! Any other ideas out there?

Ttom: when you say "degree" do you mean a 120-hour TEFL/CELTA certification?

[tttompatz]

[MBee]

Thanks. She is Italian.

[RoscoeTX]

Hi MBee,

Well here in Moscow, Russia I had an Italian teacher friend who was teaching, then promoted to head teacher at an English language school I was teaching at. I believe he had a CELTA or some other TEFL certificate and was also nearly finished with his MA. He was teaching English and Italian at the school. And I believe he was hired via skype while he was still living in Italy. He actually is now teaching in Vietnam and is the head teacher or DOS at a school in Hanoi. So it is possible!

I must say there is a high demand for Italian native speaking teachers here as well. But some well qualified non-native speakers may be able to get in the door at some schools. Of course it may be more likely to find those possible positions if you were on the ground.

In addition, I have a German friend here who also teaches English at a larger language school in Moscow

[jonniboy]

Kazakhstan definitely. At the IH schools here we have two Poles, two Romanians, a Bosnian, a Turk, an Italian, a Brazilian, a Czech and a Slovak.

[MBee]

This is awesome guys, thanks so much. Any more ideas out there?

[Glenski]

Yes, here's an idea. Get your Italian friend to join this forum. If her command of English is so good, she should have no problem answering and asking questions. And, you'd be out of the middleman slot.

FWIW,
In Japan if she wants to teach English, she'll need to prove 12 years of her education were all taught in English. If she wants to teach Italian, she needs to prove 5 years of experience doing that. (Not much call for Italian, though.)

[Sashadroogie]

Dear MBee

Continue being a middleman if that is what you and your friend wish. Nothing wrong with that.

In answer to your question, as has already been posted, Moscow is a good bet. Plenty of non-native speakers of English are in employment with BKC, for example. In the main, they teach their own language, in Globus - School of Modern Languages, but they also teach English depending on various factors. ( The chief one being a serious shortfall in the number of English teachers recruited in a particular season - not relevant qualifications.)

Check out this link:

http://www.bkc.ru/languages/

Not the most detailed info, but was all I could find quickly. But there are contact details at least.

Best of luck.

[MBee]

This is all really great information, thank you so much for taking the time! Any further suggestions are much appreciated too! Enjoy your weekends...