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This is why I am going to emigrate ...
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:41 am    Post subject: sharter's not a racist Reply with quote

The original article about people needing a certain income to support 'foreign' spouses is fine by me. My mum's currently paying 1.5k GBP per week for dementia care when Jonnie come latelies from abroad are getting medical care for free; it's wrong.

Foreign spouses get medical care for free in an NHS that's already broken. They also get access to all our public goods.

Then you have the economic migrants. I taught asylum seekers a decade ago in the UK. Out of a class of 22, all but one were from the Middle East. They got free accommodation, 3 meals a day, 5 hours of English tuition per day, free access to lawyers, doctors and dentists, a free monthly bus pass, a phone card and a bit of cash. Most of them had come through many countries to get to the UK. I still see many of them around town when I'm back as I was 11 weeks ago. They are no longer refugees.

Then you have women of a certain religion who, for whatever reason, don't work and have a kid every year. Child support, housing benefit...you know the story.

It's simply unsustainable. I married a Pole and I don't get free stuff there, so why should we do it in the UK?

They're also tightening the visa regulations for language students.....about time.

I've lived in Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar and Libya. With the exception of Libya, where the people were great, I can only say this; no churches in Saudi and bibles confiscated; people fired for closing the window during call to prayer; bonded slavery; total racism and repression of foreigners; absolute sexism; educational underachievement;corruption;a complete lack of willingness to keep an open mind about others' beliefs....I could go on and on.

Anything that helps to bring the UK situation back to reality is welcome.

They were calling Dr Starkey a racist recently because he dared to suggest that gangster culture from the US has been imported to the Uk and that British youth needed a grounding in our history. Madness.

Ironically, we'll soon all be trying to get out.......We'll be the ones marrying for visas.
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:44 am    Post subject: And.... Reply with quote

I'm not a racist, I was married to a foreigner and my son has a foreign passport. Question any UK minority and the pc brigade start throwing darts. I always paid for my wife when she was in the UK and that was before Poland was in the EU.

I just don't want ideologies like nazism, fascism, communism and the one that makes people blow themselves up on tubes becoming prevalent in the UK. Is it wrong to voice that opinion?

'Take not Jews and Christians as friends' is a direct quote from their book, which is the word of Allah.
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Knaved



Joined: 27 Jan 2010
Posts: 34
Location: Earthquake zone

PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mikalina wrote:
Sharter

You may have been in the ME for too long now and do not realise that your comments are racist.


Mikalina. You may have been in the overly politically correct UK/Canada/USA/Australia (delete as applicable) for too long now and do not realise that your comments are detatched from the reality of what is happening in the UK today.
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steviok85



Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tend to agree with Sharter and Knaved.

When I think of sending off another job application for work in the UK, I am overcome with gloom. I am competing with all the eastern Europeans in my town for warehouse work now. Nothing works here. And no Government will ever fix it.

Back to the world of TEFL, I am overcome with more gloom as I know my Masters in English Language Teaching (or TESOL, call it what you will) will be overlooked in the UK. Its all about the DELTA here. Even that has something to do with political correctness, believe it or not.

Stan F. K

ps The Daily Mail tends to see the PC brigade for what it is
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 4:34 am    Post subject: erm.... Reply with quote

I left a career in the city to do TEFL many years ago. I left banking because it bored me silly. You have but one life! However, ELT is a cruel mistress; it's underpaid, there are too many teachers and not enough good employers.

Once you've done a good CTEFLA/CELTA and got about 5 years experience it's all you need. I haven't done an MA because it will not make me a better classroom teacher. I have also done the reading and developed the knowledge myself. The DELTA is just laughable. That said, they are both bits of paper that can help you get a job. Delta style lessons don't work out here in the Middle East.

If you can put up with life under apartheid, I highly recommend earning some dosh out here in the Gulf. It's really for those over 35 with bills to pay. The money isn't what it used to be but it's still in the 30k (GBP) plus range with free housing and no bills. Any port in a storm.
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PC Parrot



Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I too left a career in the city to go TEFLing .. but unlike sharter I got the MA ..

Was it worth it? I would say so ...

I've been in the Gulf ever since I got it 10 years ago .. uni job, 3 months hols, 16 contact hours + 12 office, housing, flights, health & schooling .. and with the current exchange rate, the pay is currently running at �45,000 + bonus ..

And to the PC lot, I'd say this ..

my wife is a member of the faith - albeit a member who is capable of self-criticism and self-reproach - and she thinks the UK is nuts the way it bends over for everyone to shaft it ...
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Knaved



Joined: 27 Jan 2010
Posts: 34
Location: Earthquake zone

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The DELTA is now a becoming more and more a requirement in getting a teaching job here in the UK. Even for a �12 per hour position!! It's a must for any UK ADOS/DOS position.

The MA is more useful in securing an overseas University position as PC Parrot has stated. Sounds like a good deal you've got there Parrot.

I have given up on the idea of retraining for other non EFL careers in the UK. Too much competition now that Public sector jobs are being slashed by the present govt.

So I am midway through completing the DELTA. One day I might want to settle back in the UK and �25,000 pa is a liveable wage in some areas.

With legions of newly CELTArd hopefuls being churned out by IH and it's ilk every month I need to get qualified up if I am to get out of the classroom and into a position with greater responsibility/salary.
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PC Parrot



Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Knaved wrote:

The MA is more useful in securing an overseas University position as PC Parrot has stated. Sounds like a good deal you've got there Parrot.



It is ... and with the wife teaching at a local high school, we've stashed the lot of it away ...

The �25,000 in the UK is more like �18,000 after tax ... which is fine if you've already paid for the house you live in AND have another one fully paid up & rented out to bring in some extra cash ...

Otherwise, �18,000 p.a for a family, isn't going to let you buy a house .. ever ..
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:08 am    Post subject: yeah... Reply with quote

Yeah...TEFL UK is laughable...it'll become what it was during the empire ie bored wives with wealthy husbands doing it to help the 'natives'. Smile

45k is impressive....nice that the wife's working too....well-done. I'm divorced, paying maintenance, which is fine but leaves me a bit strapped sometimes and the expense of an MA (and time)...kind of puts me off right now. I'm only 41...still time Smile

For the past 3 years I was on 38K, 18 weeks paid holiday and free BUPA, accommodation and meals, but a war happened and I find myself in the Gulf yet again. I'm a contractor this time, so the money isn't as good but it's over 30k and everything's free...the usual package, but less holiday.

All that said...there's something called a PGCT, doable through Sheffield that takes a year and I'm looking into it. I might even bite the bullet and do the MA in the next couple of years..........just too many teachers around and too many contractors who nick half the money.

But, TEFL Europe=abject poverty unless you're independently wealthy.
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PC Parrot



Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes .. shame about TEFL in Western Europe ...

Still .. if we can get a few more years here in the Gulf, we'll be able to afford to relocate to Europe ... and use TEFL for what it's good for - making a bit of extra pocket money from a part-time job overseas ...

If European job ads were more upfront, they'd all be the same:

Want to teach English in Western Europe AND have a life
Well go to the Gulf and come back in 10-15 years' time


Luckily in 3 years' time, I'll only be 46 .. and the missus only 42 .. so hopefully we'll still be healthy enough to enjoy life ..
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Knaved



Joined: 27 Jan 2010
Posts: 34
Location: Earthquake zone

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know Parrot. That's why I will head back to the Gulf sometime soon in order to stash away a sizeable deposit. Then rent out the UK property and continue to work in the Gulf until it's all paid off.

That's the plan.

By doing TEFL in the UK or Europe you'd be lucky to save up enough to buy a garage, let alone a one bedroomed flat somewhere!
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 6:42 am    Post subject: ha ha Reply with quote

Looks like we're all in the same boat then.

I'm gonna buy in Poland but it's expensive there now. I totally agree with all you've said. It's funny though, it wasn't always like that. My first ever job in the Czech Republic didn't pay much but I lived really well. Beer was only 7p a pint and that had a lot to do with my rosy memories of 1995.

The worry is, and I think this is what will make me do an MA, is that the wages in the Gulf seem to be going down. That's a frightening thought.
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PC Parrot



Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The salary seems to have stayed OK at uni level in the UAE ..

My worry for future TEFLers would be a reduced demand for English foundation programs in general ...

The ministry of education has quite rightly been targeting English at schools, and through ADEC, they have brought in thousands of westerners at secondary and primary school level .. it's only been running for a couple of years now and has at least another 8 years to go .. and if these kids grow up with the basics intact, they could easily get an IELTS 5.5 and make the foundation programs redundant ...

At our annual convocations for the last 2 years, the minister of education has been telling us of his plans to get rid of us .. straight out of the 'Motivating Staff' handbook, I know ..

Yes .. there would still be a need for ESP classes, but there would be much less work going and much stiffer competition ... only PhD's need apply ..


Last edited by PC Parrot on Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:12 am; edited 1 time in total
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GriffinParka



Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 41
Location: West London

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can only reinforce what a lot of people are saying (and planning) about emigration, or at least a prolonged spell abroad (again, in my case).

I have 20 years of EFL experience, plus the Delta, and an MA completed last year. What's the best I can get in the UK?

Well, my current job pays less than 30k a year - less tax, of course, meaning a monthly income of less than 2k!

That sort of says it all - it's NOT worth staying here at all, so a return to the Gulf will probably happen soon, where I can get 3k a month tax-free, plus free accomodation. Oh, and such wonderful students, too!
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:34 pm    Post subject: the ME Reply with quote

You can have a nice time in the Middle East.....it's not all doom and gloom. I'd rather be in Poland but can't afford it right now.

If I were younger, I'd get out of TEFL despite the fact that I really enjoy teaching.

Sad but true.
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