Job Discussion Forums

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica

What is the ESL situation in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia? Wages, visa status, etc. Does any one have information on this please?

amisexy · Joined: 24 May 2012 Posts: 78

Are you an EU citizen?

All the countries use the Euro now, which has pushed prices one way. Estonia is fairly expensive. Latvia and Lithuania aren't too bad.
From what I understand wages are around subsistence level. I've mainly seen 700-800 Euros per month.

You see jobs advertised online sometimes. I imagine there's more money to made on the ground. But I haven't any teaching experience there.

ccoll · Joined: 16 Oct 2014 Posts: 19

I lived in Estonia between 2006 and 2011, and then on and off since 2012, and the English level of young people is basically like the Nordic countries. A recent EU survey ranked the English language fluency of Estonian children as third best in the EU.
Very little TEFL jobs available, but high schools take native speakers, especially in smaller towns and villages because there is a lack of teachers in Estonian schools.

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica

ccoll · Joined: 16 Oct 2014 Posts: 19

I think the Netherlands were first followed by Sweden, and I meant to say most fluent speakers of English as a second language.

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica

ccoll · Joined: 16 Oct 2014 Posts: 19

I think a major reason is television. All non-Estonian language tv shows and movies are shown in the native language with Estonian subtitles, and the most common language you hear on tv besides Estonian is English.
Last time I was in Latvia and Lithuania I remember everything was dubbed, not sure about nowadays.
Let me know if you visit Estonia and we can meet.

ccoll · Joined: 16 Oct 2014 Posts: 19

Estonian and Finnish are the furthest languages from English in Europe, even Latvian and Lithuanian are slightly closer to English.

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

GF · Joined: 08 Jun 2003 Posts: 238 Location: Tallinn

Don't underestimate the power of Cartoon Network! On a more serious note, my daughter's school teaches English starting from the 1st grade. Some start in 2nd grade, others in 4th, but the point is that the kids get formal English instruction at an early age. I work in 2 highly ranked gymnasiums and the new 10th graders we get every year come in at the B2/B2+ level.

jm2505 · Joined: 20 Jun 2009 Posts: 35

jonniboy · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:08 pm Post subject:

Still reasonable enough demand in Latvia. Pay at language schools has flatlined, though. Pre-economic crisis you could have got 14 euro an hour net, now it's more like 12, so you're better off going the private route at the first opportunity. This is the first year that I've noticed a change in the market and a definite trend away from an adult-heavy market towards more young learners.

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica