Job Discussion Forums

[desire]

Hi everyone,

I've been researching this whole TEFL in Turkey for awhile but I still have some questions. I am a 24 yr old female from San Francisco, CA with a BA in modern literature. I am interested in teaching English in Istanbul, even though I have never been to Turkey (only heard great things about it). I have traveled (in the middle east and lived in India for 6 months), but I have no teaching experience.

I would be taking the month course at Via Lingua in either April, May or June and then hopefully finding a job in Ist. Is this what most of you do? Has anyone been in my situation (never been to Turkey with no TEFL cert and no teaching experience?) I would love to hear experiences by people in similar situations.

What did you all do about summer work? Would I most likely have to move to another city? Do most of you TEFLers work through the summer just as extensively as you work through the school year?

Are most schools' contracts for a year?

And... is this process all easier or harder than it seems?

Thank you everyone for your kind attention and suggestions.

desire

[JoeInIstanbul]

Hello everyone.. I am new to this site and forum.. any suggestions on how to make the 1st experience easier are welcome. TEFL in Istanbul.. I did my TEFL certification with Via Lingua at Kent English in Istanbul. It was a good experience and I enjoyed it. Yolanda at Kent English is great.. and really concerned about the participants and students in general. There are jobs in Istanbul and you might even be able to work without the certificate but get it anyway...Maybe it will help with pay. Different types of schools offer different things as far as pay and accomodation. Your best bet is to do what I did... come for the TEFL course and use some of the time to do some research. Kent English is very helpful in this area too. I hear horror stories from people that are recruited from other countries and come here based on what the school tells them.. sometimes trust is not a good thing.. especially when it comes to some of these schools. Good luck with your course.. message me if you have any other questions..