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Medellin

 
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FrankJMo



Joined: 12 Oct 2015
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 12:31 pm    Post subject: Medellin Reply with quote

I am currently planning to visit Medellin for an extended period at the end of October through early December to look for work teaching English. I have no experience teaching English. I do have a TEFL certificate from Bridge and a BS in Electrical Engineering. I have read that Medellin is the technological capital of Colombia and much of South America. So I was hoping to find a job that would blend the 2 disciplines together, but I don't really know if teaching technical English is possible, or if it is even a thing there.
I have also read that sometimes Mathematics is taught in English. I think that given my science and engineering background, I would be qualified to do this. does anyone know more about this?
I am not sure what the prospects will be with out any prior teaching experience and that is my biggest worry. Can anyone enlighten me as to what my prospects might be?
What is the best way to find a job there? Should I just show up at schools and drop off a resume and ask? Are there any job placement companies that I might consider?
Are there any other tips that I might find useful?
I would also like to get to know someone there who teaches English for social reasons. I think that sometimes i will need to speak English, my Spanish is a work in progress.
Any comments or help are appreciated

Frank
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do an Internet search using Medellin buzz teaching --- you'll see a personal blog with very useful info.
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FrankJMo



Joined: 12 Oct 2015
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:
Do an Internet search using Medellin buzz teaching --- you'll see a personal blog with very useful info.



thanks, that is definitely helpful.
does anyone have any knowledge about technical English? i.e. English more suited to technical or engineering disciplines?
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jimpellow



Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Posts: 913

PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

FrankJMo wrote:
nomad soul wrote:
Do an Internet search using Medellin buzz teaching --- you'll see a personal blog with very useful info.



thanks, that is definitely helpful.
does anyone have any knowledge about technical English? i.e. English more suited to technical or engineering disciplines?


I have been doing ESL for a good number of years in different countries, but teaching online here from Medellin. I do know quite a few people come here looking to teach, and a fair amount leave without having been successful. Salaries tend to be very low as not only is it Colombia, but the teacher demand-supply dynamics. Sure there are others here in Medellin that could tell you more about the local scene than this newbie.

As for the mathematics question, you are indeed correct. Where you will see this most is in prepping ESL students who will be studying in an English speaking country. They know the math, but cannot produce it in English. I don't know to what extent these programs exist here in Colombia, but one avenue to look at. The demand tends to be very high in countries where they do exist because few ESL teachers have the necessary background in mathematics - physics and chemistry even more so.

When I taught in Saudi Arabia I was given a couple technical classes that dealt with engineering. What a disaster! Extremely few teachers qualified to teach such. The Gulf States are big on advanced degrees in linguistics, DELTAs etc, and hence have a particularly acute shortage in teachers qualified to teach technical courses. Of course, living in a Gulf State is somewhat less desirable than here, so not sure where your priorities are.

I work for the one online Saudi school right now and get along well with my manager. You can pm if you want and I could broach with him the idea of opening up more technical classes with you as teacher. Then you could live here and work remotely. My initial feeling is that he would be open to it, but the timeframe may not be there as they are growing very quickly and behind on things.

All the best on it.
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wanderingxelmundo



Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86

PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a program sponsored by the government of Colombia for "volunteer" teachers to work as assistant teachers in high schools or to teach in technical/vocational colleges (SENA). They pay a stipend of 1.5 million pesos per month, plus shared housing during 2 weeks training and your first month, two weeks training in Bogota, transportation from Bogota to your location, local health insurance (but they require you to have an international plan), a visa, and a 500,000 peso bonus at the end. There are different organizations that do the recruitment for this.

Working at a SENA center (vocational college) might be a good experience for you, and I'm sure they'd want to place you in a math/engineering type program. The pay isn't great but it's not terrible, especially since it would give you some experience and has some good benefits. I believe if you start in January it's for two semesters, or you can start in June for one semester, but you should double-check.

You could say you only want to do it if you're placed in Medellin if you have your heart set on living there, or you could accept other locations and consider this paid training and Spanish practice before then looking for work in Medellin.

Two of the organizations that do the recruiting:
http://www.heartforchange.org/index.php/en/
(they manage the program overall, but also subcontract some recruiting)
http://greenhearttravel.org

There are always ads for this on the eslcafe job board, where you can find other groups.

I have dealt with both these organizations. I have found them to be quite disorganized, so plan on needing to follow up with them even when they say they'll follow up with you, but I have read some good reviews about the program.
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