Job Discussion Forums

[mmcmorrow]

I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of people with recent experience of ELT in the UK on this information for non-EU citizens looking for ELT work in the UK.

Specifically, it says:

Although British citizens take a large proportion of the available jobs, there are still plenty of options for native English speakers from other commonwealth countries, as well from the USA

Many schools prefer to avoid the complicated process of hiring native English speakers from countries outside of the European Union. However, teachers from the USA often have a better chance than teachers from other countries

The majority of teaching jobs in private language schools involve working on a self-employed or freelance basis which means you are responsible for paying your own social security and income tax

It's been a while since I taught in the UK, but back then, I wouldn't have said that the majority of language schools employed freelance teachers in this way. I always thought of it as a marginal practice that was open to legal challenge under employment law.

And I also wasn't aware of teachers from the USA having any advantage over teachers from other non-EU countries. The only non-EU teachers I taught alongside were Australian or NZ teachers who (I think) had either working holiday visas or some kind of long-term visa because their parents or maybe grandparents were British.

Martin McMorrow, New Zealand

[spiral78]

Dear Martin

Is this from the website of a TEFL certification program?
It sounds like advertising hype (and it is hype - or even tripe - indeed!).

Best,
spiral

[Xie Lin]

It's from TEFL International's website. There is a "TEFL Jobs" section with a page for each of the more popular countries. Most contain misleading information. For example, this is from the "TEFL Jobs in Italy" page:

"Teachers from countries within the EU, such as Britain and Ireland, generally have an easier time than non EU citizens when looking for work in Italy. Although it is not impossible for teachers from countries outside of the EU to find work here. If you possess a TEFL certificate you have a very good chance of finding a teaching position in one of the larger cities such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence or Bologna."

While the first two sentences are factual, and the third does not specify working legally--and so may be technically correct--the paragraph taken as a whole is extremely misleading.

.

[NYC_Girl]

I'm an American teaching in England. I've worked freelance at several schools, and only the two best ones put me on PAYE (paying taxes and medical insurance), with the others listing me as self employed (I've got to file and pay myself).

I've been the only American in these schools. I'm married to an Englishman, though, so my visa is not directly tied to work.

[sparks]

Being married is the key, althought I suppose in England your spouse still has to earn over a certain amount for you both to stay there. TEFL websites with info like that which is posted above, should be run out of the market.