Job Discussion Forums

[nomilkinmycereal]

I am planning on moving to Germany to work and learn the language, and had a couple of questions. I am a dual citizen (US/German), and my level of German is extremely basic. I have a BA in Communications, no ESL teaching experience, but I'm guessing that ESL might be the best place to start in terms of work since I'm not fluent in German. I was wondering...

1. Is a CELTA absolutely necessary in order to obtain an ESL job? I want to be sure of this before I shell out the extra money.

2. How long does it usually take to find a job once in the country? Is realistic to find a job with (very) basic German and no previous teaching experience?

3. If I do not find a job right away (say, within a month or so) would I be eligible to collect unemployment?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Hod]

Depending on the city, you probably would get some work without qualifications or German knowledge.

The Employment Agency / Arbeitsamt have an English site:

http://www.arbeitsagentur.de/nn_426130/EN/Navigation/zentral/BA/BA-Nav.html

You won�t get unemployment benefit, but you could ask them about an �Integrationskurs�, where you learn German up to B1 level for a token payment.

[nomilkinmycereal]

Thanks for the advice, Hod. I will definitely look into the �Integrationskurs�.