Job Discussion Forums

[belle de jour]

Hello there !

I need some information about teaching English in Italy ( Rome ) and the possible chances for someone who is
NOT a native speaker of English but has

1- BA in English Literature and Linguistics
2- MA in Linguistics
3- TEFL week-end course
4- Neutral accent - I sound american to British and British to American , funny huh
5- British residency
6- a couple of teaching English experiences in the middle east.
7- I speak a good level of Italian


I know that a CELTA course is a must but honestly can't afford it for the moment ,

- so what do you guys think about my qualifications ? am I hopeless ?
- when is the best time to apply for teaching jobs in Italy ? how long are the contracts for ? is it better to set up as freelance ?
- Recommended schools , centers in Rome ?
- any advices ? apart from the CELTA course and Rome as an expensive city


Thank you for reading this.

[spiral78]

British residency, you say, but what's your nationality/passport? That will be the key. British or other European Union country, you're a player - other, you're out.

Contracts are normally Sept- June, I think. Other advice: you'll need to go there to get a serious hearing from any reputable school. Don't expect to find something from abroad.

[belle de jour]

spiral , thank you very much

to answer your question , I've got a british passport (recently ).
As I mentioned before I'm not a native speaker but
I look like Italians / Greeks / Turkish.

But again, Is this really the only possible way to get a job in Italy ?
fly to Rome and get lost there ?

[spiral78]

But again, Is this really the only possible way to get a job in Italy ?
fly to Rome and get lost there ?

Well, no real need to get lost, but keep in mind that Italy, like most of Western Europe, is a job market FULL of qualified teachers who are already there.

It's really rare to get any kind of actual offer from abroad, unless you can fill a specialist niche. I realise you have a (sort of related) MA, but your quals still aren't anything highly special (I hire for a uni in a different W. European country and have partner unis in Rome and your quals wouldn't stand out for us). The thing is that linguistics often doesn't include any study of how to convey language knowledge to students, and your weekend TEFL cert is substandard for the region, where most candidates have a CELTA.

I'm not implying that you can't find anything, but especially as a non-native speaker, you will most likely really need to interview in person to get any employer to take you seriously. Remember that it's a VERY competitive job market - there are lots of teachers around.

It is most likely that you will have to plan to go to Rome and walk around for a few weeks to get something reasonable. Further, expect that this will be a newbie level job - you MIGHT get lucky and find something better, but the 'better' jobs normally require local contacts and reputation, and it takes some time to build those, obviously.

Good luck!

[Teacher in Rome]

I agree 100% with Spiral. It's not impossible to get a job if you're not native speaker and you don't have a CELTA, but the odds are longer.

I'd suggest coming out to Rome in early September and start looking around the schools and training companies. You might not get your ideal job first off, but you might get a few hours here and there which will allow you to build your experience - and your confidence. Try to get in with schools which will help you develop as a teacher, so show willing, flexibility and enthusiasm for the profession and someone might well take you under their wing.