Job Discussion Forums

[usool]

Hi there

Im looking for a English teaching position in Jordan, any ideas about places to try? I have an MA in TESOL and teaching experience and am currently teaching English in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Regards

[Paulie2003]

Hey, I might be able to help you out...I've had an offer from Jordan -

Could you tell me why you'd like to teach there...what do you know or what have you heard about it.

Thanks, Paul

[shfranke]

Greetings.

You might visit the websites and check on open positions for ESL faculty at these universities:

1. Jordan University, Amman

2. Mutah University

3. Yarmouk University, Irbid

Also, several community colleges are operating in Jordan (most seem to be smallish and based in Amman, al-Zarqa' and the larger-sized cities). You'll have to do some web searches (try < www.dogpile.com > or < www.google.com >) to get their details and contact data on positions there. ESL instruction is a strong factor in preparing Jordanians for employment or further education abroad.

*** You might well bear in mind that suitably-educated and otherwise-qualified Jordanian nationals will get priority consideration for ESL and other academic positions. ***

*** Living and university work in Jordan can be nice, although the salary and compensation packages (or expats) are no great shakes if you want to build savings toward a nest egg. ***

Alternatively, you might check the employment scene in Qatar, esp. the various national institutions and foriegn campuses inside the new "University City" section of al-Doha. They all conduct ESL programs, and English is the principal language of instruction.

As a related observation: You might also look at governmental / quasi-governmental institutions and private sector firms that deal in technology transfers / engineering fields and accordingly operate their own in-house specialized ESL (aka "ESP") courses for training their nationals as technicians, trend in the Arabian GCC countries (I don't know about the scene in Jordan).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro, California
(Been all over the region,
including Iraqi Kurdistan)

e-mail: < [email protected] >

[shfranke]

Greetings.

You might visit the websites and check on open positions for ESL faculty at these universities:

1. Jordan University, Amman

2. Mutah University

3. Yarmouk University, Irbid

Also, several community colleges are operating in Jordan (most seem to be smallish and based in Amman, al-Zarqa' and the larger-sized cities). You'll have to do some web searches (try < www.dogpile.com > or < www.google.com >) to get their details and contact data on positions there. ESL instruction is a strong factor in preparing Jordanians for employment or further education abroad.

*** You might well bear in mind that suitably-educated and otherwise-qualified Jordanian nationals will get priority consideration for ESL and other academic positions. ***

*** Living and university work in Jordan can be nice, although the salary and compensation packages (or expats) are no great shakes if you want to build savings toward a nest egg. ***

Alternatively, you might check the employment scene in Qatar, esp. the various national institutions and foriegn campuses inside the new "University City" section of al-Doha. They all conduct ESL programs, and English is the principal language of instruction.

As a related observation: You might also look at governmental / quasi-governmental institutions and private sector firms that deal in technology transfers / engineering fields and accordingly operate their own in-house specialized ESL (aka "ESP") courses for training their nationals as technicians. Such ESP training is an emerging and strong trend in the Arabian GCC countries (I don't know about the scene in Jordan).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro, California
(Been all over the region,
including Iraqi Kurdistan)

e-mail: < [email protected] >

[Paulie2003]

Thanks Stephen,

This job is rather unique in that it combines English teaching with Fine Arts.

Just looking into it right now but, what is the compensation like on average in Jordan? This is with 10 years experience...

Paul

[shfranke]

Greetings.

Thanks for your note.

Regret that I can't venture a guess about current compensation factors for ESL faculty (the times I was in Jordan, I was on active military duty with the US Army as a training advisor or exercise liaison officer).

Since you have qualifications and experience, perhaps your best bet is to contact each Jordanian national university, community college and private instititution you find which has announced TESOL openings, and ask about the established salary range AND the contents of the complete employment package (supplied housing, furnishing, transportation, and related incidentals). While I may be misinformed, the community colleges would offer the lowest salary ranges and meager employment packages, since the notion of a kingdom-wide community college system is a fairly new development and the larger and more-prestigious universities get the bulk of government funding (such as there is).

Follwing suggestions are based on assumption that you are a US citizen (others can select and pursure their national equivalents)

1. You might also visit the website for AMIDEAST ( www.amideast.org ) and navigate to the section about that organization's office and academic programs underway in Jordan.

2. You might also query the US Information Service at the US Embassy in Amman and ask about US and other academic entities in Jordan (ESL seems a integral part of most programs and tertiary curricula / higher education).

3. Another possibility is the group of high tech (esp. in IT and telecom) firms in Jordan's version of Silicon Valley. English is the language there, and a firm or a grouping of hem) may have in-house ESL programs (actually ESP for purposes of management, marketing, technology transfers, and related "techno-speak," rather than basic acquisition ESL).

Related subjects of professional interest to adult ESL/ESP learners include

o Public speaking and public relations

o Business communication, MARCOM and corporate presentations (esp. the various kinds of briefings and narrative during product demonstrations)

o Accent reduction or mitigation

o Voice projection and modulation

o Specialized English vocabulary (and pronunciation) for technical subjects

4. You also might do some web searches about the actual costs of living, getting around and working as a resident expat in Jordan, versus being a short-term visitor or tourist.

Hope this helps.

Enjoy Jordan and the Jordanians if you manage to get there.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro, California