Job Discussion Forums

[Psaeragh]

I'm a 26 year old Canadian interested in preparing to apply for the 3 month CELTA program at Masaryk University in Brno, beginning February 2007. I do have a degree, but do not speak Czech, nor EU citizenship. Any opinions/tips would be greatly appreciated!!! Specifically:
1) How much should I save prior to departure?
2) Any suggested Health Insurance providers?
3) What are the job prospects in CZ for May/June?

[spiral78]

Non-EU member citizens are still legally eligible for work permits in the Czech Rep. It's a hassle, but doable. You will need a contract with a school, and they should help you with the paperwork (you need someone who does speak Czech to assist you!).

You will need some fairly substantial savings, I think. First thing you should know is that standard teaching contracts run Sept - June. There is not tons of work over the summer, particularly in August. If you scramble a bit, you can likely find some summer camp work, but it's not likely that you will be able to land a regular contract until Sept.

This means that you will likely not be able to secure legal working permits until sometime in the fall, possibly necessitating border runs to stay legal. I think Canadians get 90 days on a tourist entry, but this is a question you should ask. It usually simply means that you need to travel outside the country every 90 days and get a stamp - not normally a big hassle.

Most language schools pay monthly, at the END of the month worked. So, worst case scenario, you might not have a paycheck until end September (and that may be only for two weeks since school years start mid-Sept.) or the end of October. Obviously, you will need to support yourself until then.

In terms of cost of living, housing is by far the most expensive item on your list. Maybe someone with direct experience in Brno can tell you more, but I think you are looking at a minimum 3 - 400 CAD monthly for housing, even shared. (Here in my small town in the CZ, apartment rentals are 5,000CZK + services and utilities monthly at minimum). Food can be pretty cheap, and travel is relatively cheap as well.

I would recommend that you try to learn a few Czech phrases before coming - not so many foreigners make an effort, and it is usually appreciated by the locals.

[spiral78]

Oh, yeah, health insurance. I am not Canadian, but I live in Canada part time at the moment, and I sometimes travel with CAA insurance. You could check with them about length of coverage, etc.

This is something your CELTA providers might be able to help you with as well.

[Psaeragh]

Do you know of any other locations in Europe offering a comparable CELTA program (i.e., 3 days/week for 3 months...not the year-long ones)?

From what I understand, you have experience in CZ...what do you know about school board positions? I have a little bit if classroom experience (occasional volunteer in Canada), an Honours BA in Psych, and hopefully by then, CELTA.

[ak_tesl]

[Psaeragh]

$1000 CAD for living in CZ? That seems a little higher than what I've been told. How are you calculating this? Keep in mind that I would most likely not not be living in Prague...

How much does health insurance cost in CZ?

[ak_tesl]

[Psaeragh]

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks

Does anyone know anything about working for the Czech School system? I've read that some of the schools in towns outside of the major city centres hire for Sept-Spring contracts, and many include accommodation?

[spiral78]

You may be able to find some sort of position in regular Czech schools - but unless you speak at least functional Czech, it's not likely. Further, the pay rates at regular schools may be actually lower than what you can make working for a private school (as in many countries, professionals here are paid at a relatively low rate - doctors, university profs, etc).

There are a few schools around that hire native speakers and provide accomodations (I applied for a job like this myself some years ago, and turned it down after visiting for an afternoon), but be careful to check out such offers very carefully. Some are quite all right, but there is always the chance that you can find yourself in less than basic accomodations, and/or living in a place where NO ONE speaks English - this is great in many ways, but it can get rather lonely too.

The job I checked out way back was in Karlovy Vary, a beautiful spa town in the mountains in the western part of the country. The housing offered was a room with bath and small fridge in a dormitory for high school students. No cooking facility, key to be turned in to the desk upon leaving every time. There were, at that time, three English speakers living in the town. I had a chance to talk with the teacher from the year before, who said he'd had a great year for hiking and practicing his Russian (yes, not Czech - Karlovy Vary's 'owned' by Russky), but socialization opps were near nil, because he found the other two English speakers in town uncongenial. He'd enjoyed it to some extent, but didn't recommend the post.

[Psaeragh]

Good point. I'm pretty cool with isolation. It's learning Czech that poses the immediate challenge.

Have you any experience or reports of the CELTA course at MU? This is a question for ANYONE! I have yet to speak to someone who's taken the course.

[spiral78]

Sorry, I can't speak directly for this course. I suggest, to speed the process up, you might ask the course provider to give you some contacts I realize that contacts provided by the school may not present a necessarily balanced picture, but I can't think of any other way to get faster feedback.
CELTA courses are externally monitored, so, while quality can vary, it should vary within a fairly narrow range - one course sh��ldn't be substantially worse than any other.

[merlin]

Try this - Start trying to find work at a language school from the second week one of your course in February. Maybe some evening classes twice a week or something. What you would be looking for is a director who would be willing to help you with your visa paperwork from Frebruary to August and who you'd begin to work full time for in September.

This would give you experience in a real class, offset your expenses, and get your feet wet before you commit to a full year contract.

It should be possible to find some sort of classes in February. When you arrive for your course just start in the yellow pages under "jazykove skoly"

Ask Masaryk University to help you with the insurance - if they want your money for the course they should be able to give you some guidance on what insurance you shoud have while you take their course. By and large school directors aren't that well informed of the options for foreigners as everyone is required to participate in the national health insurance.

20,000 should be more than enough for Brno - by far.

[Psaeragh]

Looks feasible to me. Seems that with the huge presence of ESL in Czech, I'll be able to find some assistance or sounding board.