Job Discussion Forums

[daveryan]

Once again, thanks for all earlier advice and info. It has been of great help so far and on the whole I am reassured to know that there is such a cool crew, operating in Turkey. Those of you who read my first post will be aware that the whole business of TEFL is a leap into the unknown for me, albeit one that I am determined to take. To this I must add that for a whole variety of reasons Turkey is my inevitable destination and I can assure you that I fully intend to join you in the New Year.

I re-emphasise this from my earlier post in order to reassure you all that your great and impending efforts on my behalf will not be in vain. Put simply, what I need is an idiot proof guide, either by post, e-mail, telephone or pigeon, as to how to find myself some sort of teaching job by February at the latest. Although I would prefer working with kids, my priority is getting there, biting the bullet so to speak, and am therefore willing to consider any position with a reasonable wage.

Fortunately a number of old and great rock stars have taken to the road this year and this has provided me with the wherewithal to make an exploratory trip to Turkey in early January. At this point of course I would hope to ply you with vast quantities of alcohol in gratitude for your patience and kindness..........but in the meantime

1. I receieved an e-mail the other day in response to a question I had posed on another web-site. In short I was advised to avoid all private K-12 schools as they were nearly all fronts for the Turkish Mafia and problems were inevitable. Having spent some time in Turkey I am to some extent aware of the unorthodoxies in the Turkish business system. But is this an issue that I need to be wary of?

2. Cheers for the list of K-12 schools, if I send speculative letters along with my CV. should I write in Turkish? (via a transalator)

3. Is it usual to send copies of references, certificates etc with initial applications. For that matter should I send my CV or just a spec letter?

Well that's all I can think of for now although I suspect that you will be hearing from me again in the near future.

Thanks
Dave

[yaramaz]

1. I receieved an e-mail the other day in response to a question I had posed on another web-site. In short I was advised to avoid all private K-12 schools as they were nearly all fronts for the Turkish Mafia and problems were inevitable. Having spent some time in Turkey I am to some extent aware of the unorthodoxies in the Turkish business system. But is this an issue that I need to be wary of?


I work for one alleged branch of the mafia. No problems yet. They pay on time, pay well, provide a free flat with utilities, give great holidaysand summer pay. I'm happy with my lot.


2. Cheers for the list of K-12 schools, if I send speculative letters along with my CV. should I write in Turkish? (via a transalator)

No, send it to the English department. If they can't read an EnglishCV they shouldnt be allowed to teach English in the first place.

3. Is it usual to send copies of references, certificates etc with initial applications. For that matter should I send my CV or just a spec letter?

Send a CV anda letter, see what happens.

O, and by the way, I will reply to your PM-- things are just a bit hectic right now and I've not been able to sit down and write anything comprehensive.

[ghost]

The advantages of k-12 schools are the decent pay and holidays and the fact that you have weekends off. The disadvantage of the k-12 schools is the frequent poor quality behaviour of the students. Many of them are lazy and do not take the lessons seriously. Also there is a tendency for Turkish students not to take 'yabanci' teachers seriously, creating nightmarish classroom management situations. When you are dealing with lazy, spoilt kids on a daily basis it creates stress for the teacher. Many of the teachers I know resort to alcohol and other things to relieve the stress. The noise level in my classes is so bad, for example, that I wear ear plugs to class. I cannot tolerate the frequent surprise screams and other noises that come from the students.

If you can teach 'academic classes' in the Lycee with students who have been pre-selected by an exam, the work would be a lot easier and more pleasant, but those are prize jobs that are not given to everyone.

In language schools it is nice to teach adults because they are usually motivated to learn and hence your job is a lot easier and more pleasant. The disadvantage of language schools is the relatively low pay in many, short holidays and working weekends with only one day off in the week.

The best gigs are probably in the Universities but those jobs are harder to obtain.

In short if you have poor tolerance for unruly student behaviour you should avoid working in the k-12's.

[yaramaz]

I am teaching in the Lise this year and o god it is a breeze compared to last year in Primary. Last year my chest ached from speaking at a level the kids could hear above their roar. I no longer feel like crying before or after lessons. My kids this year seem dedicated and sweet and hard working. Last year i felt like no matter what i did it was irrelevant.

[gelin]

I taught high school for seven years in Ankara and now am on my third year in Istanbul in the middle school at private K-12 schools. I must say that middle school is a breeze. My kids listen, talk when they are supposed to talk and not much more. I expect them to be that way and they are. Unfortunately, my classes are the exceptions. Guess I just got lucky. Hope you all get some relief.

[FGT]

Following Ghost's comments about languge schools would just like to add that teaching adults is definitely interesting, fun and rewarding. Class sizes are small and classes are made up of students at the same level so teaching English is the priority, rather than discipline as with most kids' and university classes.

Reputable language schools usually give 2 consecutive days off (though not necessarily at weekends).
The pay isn't bad - probably between $1k and $2k a month depending on location, experience and teaching hours. This is usually paid in local currency which, during the last academic year, was preferable to dollars but this year, who knows.
There is usually free accommodation or subsidised rent.

[ghost]

FGT mentions discipline being a requirement for University classes in Turkey.

If students of University age need to be disciplined in Turkey then it is really a sad situation because people of that age should know better.

Turkish lack of discipline is manifested everywhere. I notice it especially in the Internet cafe's where you see a bunch of adolescents and men in the 15-25 age group spending hours playing those stupid fighting games (oyun) on the Internet. They also smoke in there, scream at each other and engage in other inappropriate behaviour. I have been in Internet cafes throughout Europe including countries with relatively similar economics (Czech Republic) and never do you witness the appalling behaviour and lack of respect in those other countries that you see in Turkey.

The teachers in the Primary section of the Koleji I am at agree that they are not really teachers but rather class managers, and entertainers. They are unable to 'teach' in the classic mode because to teach would require a relationship based on the model of the students actually wanting to learn and hungry for foreign language knowledge. Most of the students do not fall into that category. The stress is high and you basically have to prostitute yourself to earn your pay cheque.

[FGT]

Re Ghost (again) - hey is this something supernatural or what?

Can anyone out there who teaches in a university say, hand on heart, that discipline is NOT a problem?
Attendance? Homework? Use of L1? Willingness to learn?
Never (yet) taught in that environment but if I'm missing a whole new group of eager beavers I'd like to be put right.

[daveryan]

Thanks all for the various info. The general concensus seems to be that teaching kids in Turkey is hard work but f