Job Discussion Forums

[aq0437]

Hello Esl masters,
I am currently teaching English in South Korea and have decided to move to Istanbul. I am hoping to create a career out of esl teaching and have heard that there is a large number of business English schools in Istanbul. As it stands, I will be traveling to Istanbul in two months time.

At the current moment, I am lacking a Tesol certificate and have set my sights on obtaining a CELTA from ITI in Istanbul. I have read about this institute On this forum, but I am still wondering about the application procedure. Does anyone have any first hand experience with the application process? If so, how exclusive is the institute and how long does it take them to set up said interview? Are there any obvious errors I should avoid which would instantly disqualify me?

Also, since I have a free plane ticket (From my old employer) and have not been accepted to ITI, there is a chance I will arrive in Istanbul without a job, or a course to attend. I was wondering if anyone has any advice in case this situation arrises. Would it still be possible for me to find employment? Would I be forced to teach little children? Should I find a celta course in a neighboring country and try my luck there?

Any advice you could give me would be great. As of now I stand at croassroads and any advice from esl veterans would be infinitely helpful.

[kaurinz]

I am currently a prospective ESL teacher and in no way am I a master of any sort, but having recently registered with ITI for one of their CELTA course I can give you a bit of an idea regarding their application process.

The first step is to apply for the desired CELTA course on their website. Doing so requires that you provide quite a bit of information about your teaching experience (if any), work history and the composition and submission of an essay. I suggest composing your responses in another program and copy and pasting it into the online form just in case you have any internet issues.

After you submit the online application you will receive an automated e-mail response providing you with several assessment and awareness exercises that you must complete and e-mail to them prior to an interview being arranged.

If you demonstrate a suitable degree of English proficiency you will receive an e-mail from them with an attached interview exercise. After you submit the interview exercise the staff at ITI will work with you to arrange a suitable interview time.

I found that the entire process took about two weeks to complete and that the staff was exceedingly cordial and helpful throughout the process.

If you invest enough time and energy to conscientiously complete the assignments, you will most likely not commit any large errors (be sure to consult resources if you have access to the internet or English grammars). In one area of the application I made a few errors and during the interview the individual I spoke with at ITI suggested some approaches I could take to strengthen my knowledge of that area.

For summer courses they may experience a higher application workload from prospective students, so I would suggest applying as soon as possible.

--Working in Istanbul--

According to other posters there are opportunities to teach in Istanbul if you have a degree, but do not yet possess a TEFL certification. I suggest searching and reading the forum as many other experienced posters have already commented at length on this particular topic.


--Border Arrival Tips--

When arriving be sure to keep in mind that for most nationals Turkey grants a tourist visa valid for 90 days out of a 180 day period, so if you wish to stay longer you will need to get a residency permit. This means that if you spend ninety consecutive days in Turkey you will have to leave the country for ninety days before you are allowed to re-enter; failure to do so will result in fines and jeopardize future re-entry.

Another thing to note before you arrive is that any mobile phone purchased overseas must have its IMEI number registered with the Turkish authorities if you wish to use a Turkish SIM card in it. If you fail to register it, phone operators will block your phone from the network in as little as seven days from first use. You can, however, roam as long as you'd like using a foreign SIM with your phone.

According to posts else where on the internet, the process of registering a foreign cell phone is as follows:

-declare your cell phone at customs, and have them write the IMEI number in your passport
-go to a cellphone kiosk and ask for a Turkish SIM card, let them know that you are using a foreign phone and show them a government ID to prove your identity
-during the process of issuing you your SIM card they will make the appropriate calls or file the appropriate paperwork to ensure that your phone is registered

I am not sure how accurate the above mobile phone registration information is, but I will find out in a week when I try to bring in my foreign mobile phone to Turkey.

~Cheers

[aq0437]

Thanks for the info kaurinz. I finished applying and completed that test, so I guess I'll wait a week or so and see what happens. With any luck I'll be heading towards Turkey soon.

[OnurluOnur]

There is another school in Kadık�y called Kent English. I might consider doing your certificate course there as well.

Wish you luck.

[aq0437]

I'll look into it. As it stands, I have an interview scheduled for later in the week. Hopefully everything will work out

[kaurinz]

Good luck with the interview. Just a short update to what I posted earlier.

If you are flying on a one way ticket and you are Canadian, the airline may refuse to "uplift" you without proof of a one way ticket out of Turkey. My partner experienced this problem on our recent entry. If you are American there does not seem to be any issue with this. The agent was kind enough to turn the screen around so that I could read the information on it and if airlines share the same system you may very well encounter the same problem that we did.

Once you arrive simply walk to the "VISA" money collection desk. Provide your passport and pay the fee for your nationality. She/he will affix a VISA stamp into your passport. Now go to the immigration control line and await your turn for the immigration officer to look briefly at your passport, grunt, and let you through.

Customs: There didn't seem to be an operational customs area when we arrived at Ataturk at 5AM. I approached several individuals near the marked area to ask them what needs to be declared, they shrugged and motioned me to walk through.

Leaving the Airport: Please note that if you leave the airport you will have to pass through security to get back into the building. Also, if you are taking Havas shuttle, the pickup is on the right side near the huge taxi area. They appear to cancel their service by attaching small barriers to the road around their designated pickup area, if you see these, daily service is probably cancelled. (as it was on our day)

Mobile Phone: There is no need to have your IMEI recorded in your passport. The Turkcell desk always seems to be very crowded, the Vodafone one not so much. (Turkcell is the largest carrier with a roughly 50% market share, Vodafone, 25%) The fee for a new SIM card is around 50TL and they will ask to make a photo copy of your passport. Vodafone has a "deal" (not sure if it really is) 110TL for SIM and effective 20TL of talk time. One thing to note, is you might want to hold off on registering for service at the airport as the Vodaphone tariff plan is for foreigners and cannot be changed.

I hope that revised information helps you on your way.

Cheers