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American teacher to University level job in Latin America

 
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giovanni



Joined: 16 Oct 2006
Posts: 41
Location: Texas USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:38 am    Post subject: American teacher to University level job in Latin America Reply with quote

Hello

I need some advice. After May 2012 I will be free to make a career move. I am conversational but want to become fluent in Spanish, so I'm thinking a year teaching in Latin America would be perfect.

I would prefer a job in Ecuador, Argentina, or Venezuela but am open to other areas

Do you have any advice as to where to find a good University-level job for someone with my qualifications? I would prefer not to work in an international school as I think it would be too time consuming. I don't want to waste my time as an English monkey though as this is my training and profession.

My qualifications:

I'm a 26 year old woman
I have 2 years teaching English language learners in public USA high schools
I've taught ESL at the university level at a private language school for 4 months (moved on to better pay)
I have a masters in Bilingual Education/TESL (MEd)
I'm certified to teach biology, English, and ESL in my state.


thanks
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naturegirl321



Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home

PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 3:57 am    Post subject: Re: American teacher to University level job in Latin Americ Reply with quote

I hate to break it to you, but going to any country to teach ENGLISH in order to become fluent in the langauge in a year probably isn't going to happen to you.

If you really want to be fluent, go and study the language.

That being said, if you want to teach at uni you might try looking at
higheredjobs
chronicle
tesol.org
jobs.ac.uk
linguistlist.org

VENUSA for Venezuela. Sorry I don't know about Ecuador or Argentina, but the websites above might have some jobs.

Since you're a certified teacher, how about getting an international school job? Pay and benefits would be much much better.
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HLJHLJ



Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador

PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ecuadorian universities don't (generally) advertise abroad, you get a job here by knocking on doors with your CV. You would have no difficulty finding university work here, however, it would be be part-time. That is, perhaps 8-10 hours a week, and only paid during term times. Bear in mind that is contact hours, you will be expected to prep, mark, etc in your own time. You are unlikely to find anywhere willing to take you on full-time without having done a part-time stint first.

Having said that, the main difficulty you will have is not finding work, but getting a visa. Visa runs are no longer possible and the visa laws are getting more and more complex. Most universities won't get involved in visa arrangements, and in any case, they cannot get them for part time staff. Generally you have to take a job with one of the big language schools and get a cultural exchange visa through them, and then work for the uni as well.

By the time you factor in the visa issues, the unpaid prep time (the marking alone for classes of 30+ is extremely time consuming), and the unpaid holidays, international schools start to look a lot more appealing. You could probably get work at the British School in Ecuador. As a foreign higher you get a better package, prep time is done during school hours and your weekends and evenings are free for studying.
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MotherF



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W

PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your best bet is to look a little further north. Someone with your qualifications could get a good job in Mexico.

However, you might be suprised to learn that you will make more working less at an international school than at a university. The pay at universities at top international K-12 schools are comparable, but International school hours are 8 to 1 (teachers often work 7 to 3) were as universities are more likely to have you working 9-2 and 4-7 or something like that. (Or have you as a adjunt type position, just paying you the hours you actually give class).

I do agree somewhat with what naturegirl said about learning Spanish--it's hard when you spend a major chunk of your day working in an English speaking environment--but it's not impossible. Especially if you were working at an international school--maybe teaching biology in English, you could enroll in some activities in the evening, maybe a Spanish class, or maybe some other class, like dance or painting, that would require you to use Spanish.

Visit us in the Mexico forum for more details!
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giovanni



Joined: 16 Oct 2006
Posts: 41
Location: Texas USA

PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you so much for all your help- I know teaching ESL isn't the best way to learn Spanish, but it is my career so might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Will definitely look into Mexico. Thanks again!
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