Job Discussion Forums

[luteplayer]

Hi, I'm writing for open advice from anyone in the know about places/chances for English teaching positions in tertiary level (university, prep year) institutions in either KSA or Oman/UAE in 2015.
I have a BA in theoretical linguistics(2005), U of T (Canada) and 7 years continuous experience teaching at a premier university (it's still shit) in Bangkok where we teach in a number of faculties, mostly EAP courses plus international students. I have references from superiors, etc.
I'm wondering what my chance is of finding a job in a decent pay range - 45K and up- in a bearable university environment in current circumstances in GCC states.
Unfortunately, I don't speak Arabic though did have Egyptian(Cairene) about 20 years ago when in Egypt for 3 months. By the way, I'm 53 and let's say single.
Any opinions from informed commentators welcome.

[nomad soul]

You don't need to know Arabic unless it's indicated as a requirement. Besides, you're hired to teach English.

I assume you're Canadian and male (and not really a newbie). Do you have a credible TEFL qualification---one that entailed 120 hours of onsite instruction and included supervised/assessed teaching practice with real students? If not, you need to complete a CELTA (or equivalent) course to show you've been properly trained to teach. That said, some employers will only consider teaching experience gained post-TEFL cert. Additionally, employers in the region generally require applicants provide original, official signed letters of employment (on letterhead) or employment certificates verifying job title, and employment start and end dates from each previous employer. Reference letters won't count unless this information is also prominently indicated. It's the applicant's responsibility to verify years of experience. Many employers use these documents to calculate salary.

If you have the requisite qualifications, you should have no problems getting hired in KSA or Oman. (You can't just "move" to countries in this region and knock on doors; you need to apply from outside.) However, you're not going to see a salary of 45K (US) in Oman; it pays the least in the GCC. Take a look at Oman's Sultan Qaboos University's website for openings, although they tend to do all their recruiting in March at TESOL Arabia in Dubai and TESOL International's conference in North America. There's also TATI and Hawthorn for Oman TEFL jobs; they hire year round.

For KSA, check the Cafe's job board for openings, but be aware most of those positions are with Saudi contracting companies (middlemen) and some don't provide visas for Canadians. These companies tend to range in various degrees of sketchiness, so if you get an interview with a recruiter, ask who the actual employer is and do your research. On the other hand, you might qualify for a few of the better direct-hire positions for those Saudi universities that accept a relevant BA at the minimum---King Abdulaziz University and Prince Sultan University come to mind. Check periodically for postings on TESOL Arabia's job fair page to see if you qualify and can apply without attending the conference/job fair. (Many direct-hire employers in the GCC recruit at the job fair.) Alternately, take a look on each university's website for upcoming openings for the 2015-2016 academic year.

As for the UAE, you'd need a relevant MA.

[luteplayer]

Thanks for that NS

Yes, I omitted mention of the TESL certificate and the fact that my teaching at post-sec. is all post TESL/TEFL qualification.
In fact, I have already applied to the KFUPM, U of Nizwa, and a few other post sec. institutions when they posted openings in the region but received no replies. That's why I posted this inquiry at Dave's. I'm wondering if something is missing in my qualifications aside from an MA which most openings list as optional given a related BA which mine is, plus TESL.
Moreover, I don't know what teaching in the ME is like compared to Thailand which is dismal (student lateness, unaccounted for absences, rampant plagiarism, handheld device addiction, teaching staff apathy and incompetence, pedagogically outdated and virtually useless in-house materials and administrative issues), but after a BA in linguistics, I found the TESL cert. a complete waste of time, utterly superficial, often pandering outdated unresearched often factually incorrect ideology and of no practical or theoretical value once I started teaching at a university. In other words, it is a qualification in paper only. Otherwise it has no value in the SE Asian English teaching context, and in my opinion, is theoretically unfounded. But that's another discussion.
I have been following forum discussions for several months now and get the impression that I'm probably competing with people who A. have an MA and/or B. have significant experience teaching in MENA.
Finally, I would ask, is a related MA and relevant experience in MENA a minimum requirement for university jobs teaching in either Oman or KSA or UAE in practice?

Thanks in advance

[nomad soul]

[spiral78]

[luteplayer]

Thanks for the feedback.
Just to respond to the latest points made: 1. Yes, my TEFL cert. is 130 hours with observation -in fact I doubled that component by simply requesting to observe more teachers myself- plus supervised class teaching etc. It was given by a university faculty in Thailand so I doubt there is any issue about it as a qualification. I always submit the diploma with details when applying for positions.
2. I sort of expected 7 years post BA and TEFL experience teaching at university steadily would have counted for something but perhaps I'm mistaken on this. 3. I always write a cover with applications indicating specific details of my teaching experience, duties, committee work,exam writing, academic focus (EAP and mostly writing courses in specific faculties, but some grad writing as well), plus personal interest and reading in various issues in SLA, etc.
Given these details are included in my applications to adverts for ACTUAL openings, not blind applications, I suspect it is the lack of MA that is disadvantaging me.
Anyway, that pretty much covers everything. I guess I'll just keep applying for openings when they come up but without the MA I might be wasting my time.

[nomad soul]

[luteplayer]

Thanks again for your ideas NS

To clarify, the opening at U of Niz was from the end of Oct. this year. It was a language lab job. It required an MA but my statement was that most postings for jobs on Dave's and other places give both the BA and indicate and MA is preferable which means that a BA is the minimum degree. That was not the case for the U of Niz job.
I also applied to Hawthorn and for a couple of other posts through a recruiter in Oman but no responses so far.

As for the TESOL question, no I have not joined though I was considering joining TESOL Arabia (but haven't yet). Frankly, when I came to Thailand I attended some of the RELC conferences and one or two others (not sure if they were TESOL Thailand) as our faculty are always given access to locally held conferences. They were so out-of-this-world boring and irrelevant, not to mention presentations being badly written, I stopped noticing them. A couple of years ago I had to edit 3 papers presented at one of our faculty's "international" conferences that were so badly ungrammatical and theoretically and practically nonsensical I couldn't believe my eyes. Needless to say, they were written by presenters from Asian universities (Thai and Taiwanese). That experience pretty much turned me off conferences so I never gave memberships much thought. Reading research is often more fruitful and certainly less a waste of time.

Thank you for your suggestions. It is all helpful.

[nomad soul]

You might find this thread interesting: "Job Fair" (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=109465).

[hash]

"Moreover, I don't know what teaching in the ME is like compared to Thailand which is dismal (student lateness, unaccounted for absences, rampant plagiarism, handheld device addiction, teaching staff apathy and incompetence, pedagogically outdated and virtually useless in-house materials and administrative issues.......),"

1. You should be aware that your description of "teaching in Thailand" which I quoted above, could easily describe the teaching situation in the ME (in general) to a "T". In addition, places like Thailand have "recreational" facilities that can only be fantasized about in the ME.

(That's why so many ME employees go to Thailand on holiday by the planeload.)

I'm surprised you haven't run into any former ME teachers in Thailand who could give you blow by blow personal experiences on the teaching situation in the ME. They're there in droves. Many I knew have actually "retired" there.

2. One more thing because it hasn't been mentioned. A certificate or degree that includes any "distance" work can be a problem. In KSA, for example, such credentials are totally unacceptable for a teaching position.

[plumpy nut]

[lcanupp1964]

Luteplayer,

After reading all the info on this post, I feel you have a shot at getting on at the ELI at KAU in Jeddah, KSA. I've been at KAU for almost five years. Your undergrad is close enough and as long as you can prove your teaching experience in ESL/EAP, you may get an offer of around 15,000sr a month.

Good hunting!

[luteplayer]

Some points:
It's odd to me to hear that a BA in linguistics from a top 20 ranked university in the west does not count as related to the field of teaching EFL or ESL. If studying language from a scientific perspective does not count, what does? Just TESOL? I work with more than 3 dozen people who have master's and Phds in TESOL from Asian and Brit and Am. universities only one of whom knows an iota about language. They simply don't learn how to analyze language from syntactic morphophonological or even pragmatic or simple semantic perspectives. Most shudder at the mention of the IPA. They have no awareness of syntactic development or variation in English or their own languages, comparative syntax or phonology (between languages) or first language learning theories (e.g. generative/ UG) much less SLA and bilingualism, not a clue about psycholinguistic processes including disorders of speech and language. The whole focus in the TESOL field seems to be to get people who are not qualified through the rudimentary language awareness aspects of a program then rush them through some corpus based bogus 'research' when they haven't the wherewithal to even comprehend, much less conduct actual research. Just check out the one year master's degrees in most Brit universities which are preferred by most elite Asians as they can get the paper and be back in under a year and avoid freezing in the dark for two years. Sorry for sounding supercilious, but I've encountered a lifetime full of charlatans in this business which I had not expected when I entered it in good faith.

I realize that the teaching environment in GCC is not much better and possibly a fair bit worse than in Asian academic situations but whereas I now routinely spend 20 hours a week marking students' work outside school time, not including class prep, dealing with students problems, etc, and get paid a relative pittance for it(1.5-3KCan$/mo., 8 mo/yr), at least in most positions I have read about in the ME, the pay is perhaps double this for possibly the same amount or even less work.
In other words, my motivation is identical to everyone else there: hold my breath and take the money until I can stand it no more.
Incidentally, I am one of the few living in Thailand who do not partake of the stereotypically degenerate, mind and body numbing pursuits of most expats. This is because my needs are 1. to live in a hot climate;2. have access to serious academic resources i.e. libraries;3. decent healthy food; 4. make enough money to live a quiet life in a hot country after age 60 without working to much.
I realize this may be a tall order.

Thanks to all contributors.
I will look into the KAU.

Cheers

[rtm]

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