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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:05 am Post subject: What it's really like teaching in Romania |
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I was the one who talked about "the guy from the British council" Here's what he has to say. This is from the Job Information Journal.
Dear all
As being mentioned on someone's message (the guy from the British Council to contact for job information) I thought I'd write a short message about EFL teaching in Romania. I've been here 2 years and I am writing on what will be my last week here (Egypt here I come). Although not the world expert, I have advised many people who have emailed me in the past for job advice.
1: Private sector work: very limited. It's true you need lots of papers and most people who work here in a language school do so illegally. I always thought it didn't matter if you didn't have a visa to live here longer than 3 months - having said that only last week (Dec. 2003) I know of a British woman who had to pay an 80 GBP fine at Otopeni airport for overstaying her tourist visa.
2: Where to work? The British Council takes on teachers every September - maybe 1 or 2 a year - for its teaching centre in Bucharest. As the guy who just to recruit for the teaching centre, I can tell you that we look for UK educated, native speakers with at least a CELTA and 2 years' experience. You have to apply on line at http://trs.britishcouncil.org
Generally speaking I gave preference to teachers who had DELTAs, a variety of teaching experience in more than 1 country and those with strong links to the UK.
3: Teaching elsewhere: it does pay very badly - salaries are very low e.g. a university English lecturer gets about $150 a month. Compare this to the BC EFL teacher with a housing allowance of $400 - with the salary on top. So I always advised teachers wanting to work here to either expect a very poor salary or try somehwhere else.
4: Impossible? I was very upset to read that Gabi Chefnexu said foreigners had little or no chance - considering she works for the British Council in Romania. I found it quite hard to find good teachers for the teaching centre in Bucharest and that kind of message hardly helps.
Conclusion: Romania is a poor country - but far from cheap. It is however a very beautiful place to be and fascinating if only to visit. If you are rich, you could try working as a volunteer, or illegally in a language school. If you want more serious, well paid and career orientated work, look out for a British Council job around April time.
Darron Board
Bucharest
[email protected]
16th December 2003
Posted: December 16, 2003 |
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Nate
Joined: 05 Sep 2003 Posts: 61 Location: Korea
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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Anyone have more Romanian teaching experiences?
And does anyone know if the British Council would take Americans? |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home
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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:38 am Post subject: |
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I know that kerohaha went there in Feb, but I don't think that she is on this board anymore.
Chekc out the We love Romania group at the USA Yahoo site.
Might try for the BC, never know! Good luck! |
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kerohaha
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Posts: 26 Location: hongkong
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Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:15 pm Post subject: mi-e dor de Romania! |
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I went there in November, 2003 and taught there for almost 2 semester in Sibiu. I am sorry that I 'disappeared' for a while because internet access was not very convenient for me there. I've been trying to put my Romanian living/working/travelling experiences together and will soon contribute in the Romanian job journal. In the meantime, I will try my best to answer questions.
Romania is definitely worth going! I miss Romania!
Carol |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2004 9:18 am Post subject: Re: mi-e dor de Romania! |
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kerohaha wrote: |
I went there in November, 2003 and taught there for almost 2 semester in Sibiu. I am sorry that I 'disappeared' for a while because internet access was not very convenient for me there. I've been trying to put my Romanian living/working/travelling experiences together and will soon contribute in the Romanian job journal. In the meantime, I will try my best to answer questions.
Romania is definitely worth going! I miss Romania!
Carol |
That's wonderful! I will go there to teach in the future, maybe five years or so. There are TWO ads on TEFL.com for jobs in Romania. |
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infojunkie
Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Brazil
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2004 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Carol where you able to travel around Romania? Did you see any other towns? Was the Romanian language difficult for you to understand or where you able to learn some of it? |
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kerohaha
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Posts: 26 Location: hongkong
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 3:23 am Post subject: |
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yes, I did a few trips around the country and now i can say i have seen different regions of Romania.
My trips can be of reference to others:
1. Sibiu>Cluj>Sighisoara>Brasov, Sinaia(Transylvania)>Sibiu (1 week over X'mas)
2. Sibiu>Timisoara>(HUNGARY)Szeged>Pecs>Balaton Lake>Gyor>(SLOVAK REP)Bratislava>(CZECH REP)Brno>Prague>(HUNGARY)Budapest>Targu Mures>Sibiu (1 month over winter vacation)
3. Sibiu>Cluj>(Maramures)Baia Mare>Sighetu Marmatiei>Borsa>Prislop Pass> (Bocuvina)Vatra Dotnei>Gura Humorlui>(Moldavia)Piatra Neamt>Bicaz>Lac Rosu>Gheorgheni>Targu Mures>Sibiu (2 weeks over Easter)
4. Sibiu>Bucuresti>(Black Sea Coast)Constanta>(Danube Delta)Tulcea>Bucuresti>Sibiu (4 days in late May)
I highly recommend the 2nd (especially Brno!) and the 3rd trip (easter spent in Maramures is really wonderful!). I had so many wonderful caruta memories.
Regarding the Romanian language, it's a beautiful one and also similar to Spanish, Italian. As I have experiences learning Spanish and Italian before, Romanian was quite easy for me. After a couple of weeks, I could read 60-80% of a text (depending of the technicality). The grammar may be a headache but it's easier if you learn a language in that environment and if you don't mind making mistakes.
Carol |
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