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LeftTurnClyde
Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:19 am Post subject: Entry-level TEFL jobs in London - where do I look? |
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Hello there,
I have recently qualified with a CELTA certificate and am looking for work in London. I am unemployed and have no savings, so a teaching position out of the UK is out of the question at the moment.
I moved down to London in October and seemed to have missed the recruitment spike (if there is one) before the academic year started as I have had no luck finding work.
I have been checking TEFL.com and Critical Need ESL jobs online, but I am at a bit of a loss of where else to look for work.
Is there a list of language schools I could cold call or would this be ill-advised?
I would appreciate any pointers to other avenues to explore.
I am thinking of applying for other jobs just to get off the dole and waiting for the spring/summer to apply for summer school and other jobs. Is this the best strategy or should I keep looking for work over the autumn/summer?
Any suggestions/advice will be eagerly and gratefully received. |
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steviok85
Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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Dear LeftTurnClyde,
I suggest you browse the forum. Also, the title of my recent thread: 'This is why I am going to emigrate..' might lead you to some conclusions.
If people with four years experience, CELTA, and a proper on-site MA in ELT, are having problems finding language school stints in London and the UK, then I am afraid encouragement for you is hard to generate.
Stan L |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Come to Russia. Plenty of work here... |
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LeftTurnClyde
Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Sashadroogie wrote: |
| Come to Russia. Plenty of work here... |
i can't afford to move abroad unfortunately. |
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LeftTurnClyde
Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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| steviok85 wrote: |
Dear LeftTurnClyde,
I suggest you browse the forum. Also, the title of my recent thread: 'This is why I am going to emigrate..' might lead you to some conclusions.
If people with four years experience, CELTA, and a proper on-site MA in ELT, are having problems finding language school stints in London and the UK, then I am afraid encouragement for you is hard to generate.
Stan L |
thanks. i read the first page on that and it worried me so much, I had to stop reading  ETA: oops, i meant this other worrying thread: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=92706
i was looking for specific advice about where to look though. i'm so desperate, i'm not too worried about wages. i just need to get experience. |
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Perilla
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
Posts: 792
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| LeftTurnClyde wrote: |
| i can't afford to move abroad unfortunately. |
Correction! You can't afford to stay in the UK - certainly not at entry level. TEFL jobs that pay reasonably in the UK are few and far between and becoming scarcer - and they're all at the higher end of the pecking order.
If you work for a language school in the UK you'll need to earn extra income from somewhere else - because they pay peanuts. Borrow some money if you need to and head east - Far East. |
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Yorks Lad
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 93
Location: England
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:33 am Post subject: |
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| Some overseas jobs provide free flights and accommodation so not having money behind you might not be such a hurdle. Alternatively, if you can fix up a job in a European country, you should find that you could get there very cheaply. To be honest, in your shoes, I'd definitely look abroad. The experience and often quality of life/standard of living is better abroad than in a sweat shop in London. |
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PattyFlipper
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572
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| Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 1:12 am Post subject: |
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| Yorks Lad wrote: |
| Some overseas jobs provide free flights and accommodation so not having money behind you might not be such a hurdle. |
I agree with your comments and your advice is mostly good, however I think for entry-level jobs, Korea is about the only place which still provides pre-paid flights (employers in China, for example, usually offer reimbursement, often at the end of the contract). There may be the odd exception elsewhere, but I think they are fairly few and far between.
My main point however is that newbies should exercise extreme caution in heading off to exotic lands to a a job with an unknown employer with only a wing, a prayer, and 50 quid in their pockets. TEFL can be a ghastly business, with some of the most exploitative and abusive employers you may ever have the misfortune to encounter. It is extremely unwise not to have an exit strategy planned should things go awry, and more importantly the financial wherewithal to put it into operation. Read a recent thread in the Thailand forum for tales of people becoming trapped in the poverty cycle, hating where they are, but unable to afford the airfare and start-up costs to go anywhere else. Such experiences are more common than you may think. At least at home there are support systems and a safety net - however derisory and rapidly diminishing these may be.
Cutting your TEFL teeth in Europe would perhaps be a safer bet. |
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Yorks Lad
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 93
Location: England
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| Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:50 am Post subject: |
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You've made a good point there.
The other thing the OP might like to consider is a residential language camp - they're much more common is summer, obviously, but there are some being advertised on tefl.com for Jan/Feb and Easter. One of the big advantages is that they include board and lodging so you can save most of what you earn during the month, (which could make a uesful start to a TEFL travel fund). These camps are usually hard work because they're very intensive but lots of fun and good experience. |
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PeterBar
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Posts: 145
Location: La France profonde
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| Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 10:34 am Post subject: |
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If you're registered unemployed you could ask the Job Centre European advisor to pay your benefits in an EU country for 3 months.
If you have an interview in another EU country the job centres did (maybe still do) pay your expenses and subsistence |
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leonidis
Joined: 29 Nov 2011
Posts: 1
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:16 am Post subject: Entry-level TEFL jobs in London? |
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I'd agree with a view of the comments on here. Finding a TEFL course in London could be incredibly difficult. I know that you said you can't afford it, but will you be able to afford living in London, whilst working on very little? I tried to do a little scan for you, but didn't find too much. Try here though: http://jobs.adzuna.co.uk/london/tefl - when I looked not so long ago there were a couple of roles based in London. Keep checking because the jobs change regularly and something will hopefully pop up for you.
I wish you the best of luck. |
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ancient_dweller
Joined: 12 Aug 2010
Posts: 415
Location: Woodland Bench
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
Sashadroogie wrote:
Come to Russia. Plenty of work here...
i can't afford to move abroad unfortunately.
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are you for real? you can afford to be in Britain but not move to Moscow? |
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ancient_dweller
Joined: 12 Aug 2010
Posts: 415
Location: Woodland Bench
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Some overseas jobs provide free flights and accommodation so not having money behind you might not be such a hurdle |
Korea, Thailand! |
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PattyFlipper
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 7:36 am Post subject: |
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| ancient_dweller wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Some overseas jobs provide free flights and accommodation so not having money behind you might not be such a hurdle |
Korea, Thailand! |
Thailand rarely provides accommodation, free or otherwise, and I have yet to see or hear of a single Thai employer who provides free flights, except perhaps the handful of real international schools. In Thailand, you will also have the additional privilege of enjoining battle with the byzantine immigration maze, which means expensive (in proportion to the ludicrously low salaries) visa runs until you get the paperwork sorted. Thailand is absolutely no place to be with very limited funds. |
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