Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

My husband and I are considering going to Russia to teach Spanish and are waiting a reply from Berlitz. I know that it's a chain school, but it's difficult to find jobs for Spanish teachers.
What is their reputation like in Russia?
Also where exactly are they located in Russia?
Any ideas about pay or hours?

Thanks!

[rusmeister]

[kazachka]

AAS added Spanish a couple yrs ago. I can confirm that they do have it. They encouraged me to put in for it but although it's one of my 3 endorsements on my teaching license (the other 2 being Russian and of course ESL) I only kept a minor in Spanish and never lived in a Spanish speaking country. They happened to have a Spanish opening and not one in Russian /ESL at the time. It's just not my area of expertise. I even quit my job in Fairbanks, Alaska back in 03 because they kept dumping Spanish I onto me! I'm much more comfortable with Russian and ESL (also offered at AAS). If you are a native Spanish speaker and have the training to teach it, it wouldn't hurt to contact them. What have you got to lose? As a side note- I have a colleague at Bonne who said Berlitz pay is really low. She quoted 500/mo in Prague and 6.50$/hr in the US!!!!!! I found the US quote disturbing because even minimum wage in Alaska is now 7.25$ and a high school kid at McDonald's could earn more than a qualified teacher!!!What's wrong with this picture?!

[rusmeister]

My best understanding of this situation where foreign teachers are paid so little is that authorities take so much and taxes and fees for the hiring of a foreigner that it's just not possible to pay a normal salary (maybe 100% or more of the proposed salary). Anyone out there with better inside info than me?
The other side of that coin is that there are enough desperate or adventurous/indifferent young people to fill most of the positions that they offer. The schools know that hiring experienced teachers worth several times those pitiful "salaries" is too expensive and that most would-be English learners can't tell the difference between teachers with experience and those without and don't stay around more than a year or so, anyway, giving no incentive to pay more and hire better/real teachers. The teachers come and go, the students come and go, and the schools manage to stay in business and make profits. Sad, but true.

[maruss]

I have no idea what they plan to offer when they open there later this year, but anything less than $20 per academic hour nowadays is not worthwhile, especially with increasing daily living costs etc.You can see in their website info. that they recommend newcomers bringing with them 'about $2000-3000 to cover initial accomodation costs etc' and this is frankly quite sensible advice as I discovered for myself earlier this year!
Appartments in Moscow are still soaring in price, both to rent and buy and there are serious fears that the freeing of the rouble from tomorrow will only exacerbate the problem, particularly if investors continue to pour spare capital into the real-estates market!
Be warned and check-out the situation BEFORE you make definite plans to go there!

[naturegirl321]

[GF]

I am curious naturegirl. Why are you two so desperate to leave Peru? Isn't Peru where you wanted to be? (I am trying to remember your posts from way back when) Is your husband willing to learn English? There is a reason why I ask. I am married to a Russian woman and after spending 5 years in Russia we left for another location to better our lives. She has very strong English skills and they have been invaluable to her for both social and professional reasons. I don't know how well she would have been able to adapt to our new situation otherwise. Just my two cents worth.

[naturegirl321]