Job Discussion Forums

[misslacelle]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and have tried to read a lot of the posts on this kind of subject, but I know I haven't read it all. That being said, I apologise in advance, more specifically to VS because I know she hates answering questions she has already asked. I certainly don't want to be on her bad side though as she is obviously a fountain of information.

So here is the deal. I am presently working in South Korea and can't say I want to stay here past this one year contract. I won't bore you with the details. This contract finishes next March (I know, far in advance but I want to be prepared and well educated when making my next move) after which I am gonig to take a few weeks off and then I would like to go to the UAE to teach. The reasons for wanting this area are primarily money and the fact that I hope to get a teaching job not as an ESL teacher, but as a qualified teacher from Canada.

So here are my questions:

Do I need TEFL or other such certificates to teach there seeing as I am a qualified teacher in Canada?

What are the best places to look at or contact? I have tried typing in "schools Dubai" as recommended by another forum user and am just not sure where to go from there.

Will I find it hard, as a single woman, to meet people and live in their society?

Those are the ones for now. I'm sure I'll have more but will wait until I know better what to ask.

Thanks.....any info, negative or positive would be welcome. Next time I want to be sure to know exactly what I am getting myself into.

Cheers

Misslacelle

[whatgoesaround]

[megs]

Certified in which subject? Assuming that you are certified to teach elementary or high school, there are a lot of schools in the UAE. Check out these websites:

http://www.asdubai.org/
http://www.dubaiacademy.org/
http://www.aag.ae/home.asp
http://www.uptownprimary.ae/
http://www.diadubai.com/html_1/careers.html
http://www.eischool.com/aboutus.html
http://www.zayedacademy.ac.ae/jobs_@_szpag.htm
http://www.alnahdasch.com/girlshome.asp?TempId=0&LLink=Home
http://www.aisa.sch.ae/home/home.htm
http://www.ais.sch.ae/


As a Canadian, you can forget about working in the British National Curriculum Schools as they only hire British Nationals.

[misslacelle]

whatgoesaround, and Megs,

Thanks for the sites Megs. Too bad about the British schools, but oh well. Whatgoesaround, I guess it was a little vague of me to say I didn't want to teach ESL. I guess I'm just a little disappointed in my job right now. Sorry if the comment seemed overly negative. To shine some light on it, I guess what I mean is that I want, if at all possible, to teach where I feel like I have more than 40 minutes to get everything across. I don't know, I'm dexcribing it really well. Again, I've only been here for two months so I'm new at all this. I'm going to admit that I'm having a hard time making the adjustment from teaching in Canada to doing the Hagwon thing here.

Anyway, thanks again.

[Ka-CHING!]

Specificity is your friend. )

Are you a primary or secondary teacher? If secondary, what is your subject? How many years teaching experience do you have? What degrees and qualifications do you have? Are you a recent graduate?

It's much easier to find what you're looking for if you narrow the field a bit.

[Ka-CHING!]

Specificity is your friend. )

Are you a primary or secondary teacher? If secondary, what is your subject? How many years teaching experience do you have? What degrees and qualifications do you have? Are you a recent graduate?

It's much easier to find what you're looking for if you narrow the field a bit.

[misslacelle]

Hey ka-CHing,

point well taken. I am a primary/junior qualified teacher who has four years teaching experience. I have taught Kindergarten French Immersion, Core French to grades 1-8, Grade 6 and straight Kindergarten. Seems like a lot of jobs but the market isn't as good at home as they said it would be and I ended up working full time, just more than one job a year on LTO (Long Term Occasional) contracts. Never had a problem getting a job, it was finding the full time conract ones, the "this is your job and you have it next year too" ones.

I graduated in 2001 from the Univesity of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. I received my primary/junior qualifications from there and have one course left to take in order to receive my reading specialist from Queen's University.

[whatgoesaround]

[abiollo]

Misslacelle,

You wrote,
"I have taught Kindergarten French Immersion, Core French to grades 1-8, Grade 6 and straight Kindergarten."

My mother in law works at a French school in Alberta. She said it's hard to find French speaking teacher there. She said even in her school there's a teacher who got the job right from the university.

Unless you really want to travel around the world, you might want to check the french schools/ french immersion schools in alberta. There's a big need for french speaking teachers according to what I've heard. Perhaps you might get a better luck there.

abiollo

[veiledsentiments]

Look out misslacelle!! VS is here!! I'm such a meanie to the poor newbies... You're just lucky that I was busy typing my fingers to the bone on the other thread. Meanwhile, I see that my fellow board members have helped to narrow things down for you.

Two things come to mind after reading the threads. Do your teaching credentials qualify you to teach any other subject than French? (Abiollo's comments about looking into Western Canada are a great idea... cold over there though...) There would be little call for French teachers in the Gulf. Right now you would not be qualified to teach ESL, but you might want to consider adding that to your credentials under the Canadian system.

The second is your age. Obviously you have been reading my posts, so you have probably read that I don't think the Gulf is a very good place for people in their twenties. With the exception of Dubai, you would probably be bored. And your young age also means that you have limited experience. To get the jobs that pay very well, you would need more on your CV.

I would get some more qualifications and experience and keep reading about places and options. Time is on your side.

VS (see... that didn't hurt a bit, did it?)

[misslacelle]

Thanks VS,

No that didn't hurt one little bit. But don't you worry, I may be young but I can handle the heat and give it back if necessary I'm actually not qualified to teach French. My actually teaching it was a result of a system in Ontario which is in such great need of French teachers that someone like myself who is bilingual (French paternal family - French scool until grade 7) can teach it without qualifications. That being said, I absolutely HATED teaching it. Never again.

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll limit my search to Dubai and see what happens from there. Of course I am looking into other countries for next year as well.

Can you clarify why I am not qualified to teach ESL? Is this strickly for the UAE?

Thanks again

misslacelle

[seanmca]

Miss Lacelle,

If you are a certified elementary teacher with experience, you can find good jobs with international school in Europe, Asia, South America, or the Mid East. All pay well and pay for housing etc... Since you won't be looking for work till next August, start researching schools now and try to visit the ones you are interested in. There are great international schools in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Bali, Jakarto, Manilla, Shanghai, Bejing, etc.. so you could easily pay them a visit on a short holiday since you are in Korea.

If you have French Immersion experience, you should definitely visit the Katoh school in Japan. It's an English Immersion school for Japanese kids. The headmaster is from Canada, and is well know in the field of immersion education...http://www.bi-lingual.com/

If you can arrange an onsite interview with a teacher, you should have a good chance of getting a job. That said, almost all the schools hire through the placement agencies, with SEARCH associates being the biggest. The SEARCH website has a really great book on teaching at international schools. You can download it for 10$ US I think.

Don't be so tempted by the money in the UAE as many international schools pay really well. Although it's not as good as the UAE, it can be quite high.

Budapest, for example, starts at 35,000 tax free, a 2500 moving allowance, 800$ for rent (you can rent a mansion in Budapest for 800 a month).

Finally, the good news is that your ESL experience in Korea will be a real plus for you. Many of the teachers are from the US and have never encountered ESL kids. Since most international schools have lots of ESL kids, you will have a leg up on the competition.
So even if you are frustrated with your job now, you can take some solace knowing it will help you land a better job.

here are some links to placement agencies...
http://www.search-associates.com/ Top dog of all the companies for American schools...you have to have experience and meet their standards to be invited to their recruiting fairs.
http://www.iss.edu/ not as good as it used to be, so I hear
http://www.ecis.org/ Top agency for European and British schools
http://www.tieonline.com/ list of jobs....great site.

[veiledsentiments]

[megs]

Miss Lacelle,

you still haven't told us what you are certified to teach. If you don't have teaching credentials, then the reputable international schools in the UAE will not be interested in hiring you.

Dubai is okay for single people. I have lots of single friends in their 20s and 30s and they are having a grand social life here. If you stick to Dubai, then you should be fine.

[Ka-CHING!]

Miss Lacelle,

If you're an elemenatry school teacher and used to the schools in canada, I can see whya hagwon would be frustrating for you. I did four years of "hagwon hell" in Seoul.

As others have mentioned, you could find a job at any one of a number of international schools. Narrowing down the choice involves researching different areas and cities and schools until you find what you're interested in. It took me about a year of reading online before I settled on the ME and finally the UAE. For the meanwhile, you could apply for jobs in Canada. You have a much higher chance of finding a full-time position if you go outside the main urban areas. Try northern Canada, either in the provices or the territories.

Once you've made up your mind on where you want to go and what you want to do, you can start working on getting credentials to suit. For example, if you'd really like to teach ESL, but in an elementary school setting, you might look at the CELTC, which is an internationally-recognised certificate in teaching ESL to children. It's from Cambridge University, but it's offered all over the world, including several locations in Canada. Google CELTC or CELTA (the adult version).

Good luck! The world is your oyster.