View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
mamma mia
Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 6 Location: SoCal
|
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:32 pm Post subject: TEFL School in Florence? |
|
|
Can anyone recommend a good TEFL school in Florence? I am going to Florence to get my TEFL certificate this summer.
I found these school so far:
-Via Lingua
-TEFL International (has an academic board to approve course)
-EuroTEFL (independent, used to be aff. with Trinity)
-World TEFL (I think is the same as EuroTEFL)
-Windsor TEFL (other courses in other cities are Trinity)
But NONE are accredited by Trinity (which I read thru these threads is the best brand of TEFL cert.) Is there anything else that is good?
Thank you to anyone who responds! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Alfredo
Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 9
|
Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:21 am Post subject: |
|
|
Hi.
While I lived in Florence I didn't actually teach there or get qualified there. If it's just schools to obtain your TEFL qualification that you're after I'm afraid I can't help, but if you're looking for schools for teaching positions I should be able to find my old list somewhere, so let me know.
If you want to know anything about living in the city, rent and where to go you can drop me a message and I'll help you if I can.
Good luck, and a great choice of city !
Al |
|
Back to top |
|
|
bobinet
Joined: 19 Feb 2006 Posts: 15
|
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
Hi Al
I would be very pleased to be recommended schools in the Florence area, especially Pistoia and Lucca.
I am an ESOL teacher at a college of further education in Nottingham and have applied via TEFL.com to over 200 schools with few replies and yet have an excellent cv and references. I am a young 54. Could it be my age?
Bobby |
|
Back to top |
|
|
SueH
Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy
|
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
Bobby, doubt it's your age but maybe your qualifications scare them! Perhaps you've got the resources to come over and find work in situ? You may find this easier and might find ignoring the schools and doing your own thing another way to go.
Either way as an ex-ESOL teacher (PT) in FE the best thing I found was not having to bother about Sc/E1 4b and all that other codification overhead, and you may be of the same opinion! (If I had wanted to use code I could have stayed in computing and earnt 3 times as much.) |
|
Back to top |
|
|
bobinet
Joined: 19 Feb 2006 Posts: 15
|
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Hi Sue
Thanks for your answer.
I think I will try out your suggestion as I plan to visit again in October.
True, the curriculum codes are extremely tiresome and the paperwork gets worse.
I have the Trinity cert TESOL and am about to start the PGCE which I would prefer not to do.
I have been teaching for two years now with great success and excellent observation references from the standards officer.
Kind regards
Bobby |
|
Back to top |
|
|
bobinet
Joined: 19 Feb 2006 Posts: 15
|
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Fortunately, I do have the resources to just go over but ultimately would like some sort of secure(whatever that means, lol) income.
I have wonderful and helpful friend in Pistoia so initial accommodation is not a problem.
Bobby |
|
Back to top |
|
|
SueH
Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy
|
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Just a few ideas: apart from private lessons, where it helps to have Italian for organisational reasons, try training agencies, companies, adult education, local schools etc. Usual professionalism rules apply: contactable by phone, Italian CV, business card, network etc. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
robitusson
Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 74
|
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
I thought I'd post here rather than start a new thread.
Anyone got any experiences on teaching in Florence currently? I'm looking to study there and hopefully teach part-time to help finance the study. Anyone know about teaching English in the evenings or weekends?
Thanks. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
florencebound
Joined: 20 Dec 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Australia
|
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:02 am Post subject: teaching in florence |
|
|
Alfredo wrote: |
Hi.
While I lived in Florence I didn't actually teach there or get qualified there. If it's just schools to obtain your TEFL qualification that you're after I'm afraid I can't help, but if you're looking for schools for teaching positions I should be able to find my old list somewhere, so let me know.
If you want to know anything about living in the city, rent and where to go you can drop me a message and I'll help you if I can.
Good luck, and a great choice of city !
Al |
Hi I would love any help with getting work in Florence. I have a Tefl certificate from i-to-i. We will be moving to Florence in July 2010. I need as much help as i can possibly get even if i start off helping another teacher in the first few months of us getting there.
we will (at the moment) be living about 20km south of Florence in Incisa in Val D'Arno. So any schools or students requiring tutors around this area would be great.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Maleena |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Harvey
Joined: 12 Dec 2009 Posts: 39
|
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
i to i is a joke and everyone knows it. It is not a TEFL certificate but a con to defraud newbies. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
florencebound
Joined: 20 Dec 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Australia
|
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:19 am Post subject: |
|
|
Harvey wrote: |
i to i is a joke and everyone knows it. It is not a TEFL certificate but a con to defraud newbies. |
thanks for that Harvey |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Teacher in Rome
Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286
|
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Nothing is that black and white Harvey - especially not in Italy! I took on a teacher whose only tefl cert was 1 to 1. She was a great teacher, popular with students, hard-working, happy to put in the hours planning... It really depends what other skills you can bring (i.e. do you have business experience - really sought after) and how much the school needs you. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
florencebound
Joined: 20 Dec 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Australia
|
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Teacher in Rome wrote: |
Nothing is that black and white Harvey - especially not in Italy! I took on a teacher whose only tefl cert was 1 to 1. She was a great teacher, popular with students, hard-working, happy to put in the hours planning... It really depends what other skills you can bring (i.e. do you have business experience - really sought after) and how much the school needs you. |
that is alot more encouraging. i do not have any experience teaching yet, but what i do have is a willingness to learn and listen to any advice given. I understand that maybe the online course I did was not exactly hands on and I dont have a degree in teaching, but I would really love to give it my best and try. I want my family to experience life outside Australia and we are not looking for the Ritz, just enough to pay rent, food and utilities a month and to catch the train here and there on weekends. We are by no means living in style here in Australia and we understand struggling. We also have our eyes wide open for this, if we dont find work (any work) in the first 3 months then we go home to Australia and look at it as an experience where we met people and explored a city in Italy.
I know it will be hard, but that is part of life, just have to enjoy the good times as they come along.
Thank you for your encouragement Teacher in Rome. If you have any advice please point me in the right direction. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Teacher in Rome
Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286
|
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
I'm assuming you've also got Italian or European citizenship, as without it, working in Italy is going to be difficult and risky.
I wouldn't advise going to Florence first without anything lined up - it's ferociously expensive I've heard. Perhaps you could try the smaller towns around - at least to live in. You'll get better hands-on advice from expats in italy dot com.
As far as teaching is concerned, getting a bit of experience before you go would be optimal. Flag up any other experience you have which might be of use - business experience, nursery school / elementary school experience, and so on. English teaching in Italy spans all age groups, and all types, from Cambridge exam preparation through to corporate training.
You don't mention a partner, but one person's teaching salary is going to be tight if you're intending it to support a whole family.
Good luck with your venture - hope it all pans out well for you1 |
|
Back to top |
|
|
spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
|
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Just to second Sue's useful advice (not the she needs to be corroborated) -without a passport from an EU member country, your chances of finding legal work are realistically nil. I think perhaps you are already aware that you have a 90 day window to be legally in the Schengen zone as tourists, as I suppose this is why you mention your 3-month ending point. But it's important to have realistic expectations, and without the citizenship to qualify for legal working papers, it's just not going to happen for someone with very basic newbie level qualifications.
Further, yes, you will need to be aware that you will not likely make enough to even pay for the start-up costs of getting to Italy and accomodation, etc., nor would a job support the entire family by any means, supposing that you find work. I guess you are already calculating the out-of-pocket expenses and have budgeted for this.
I, too, wish you luck - and a wonderful time even if it's limited to the 90 days. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|