Job Discussion Forums

[dsherter]

Hello all,

Im an American (with French citizenship as well) just fresh new to TESL (second carreer at least)

Id like to work in Italy - I have a Masters and some experience as a (Health) educator.

I understand from my advisor at Oxford Seminars that there may be a hiring preference in Europe in gen'l for UK citizens as opposed to U.S. citizens - what have you all found?

Is there TESL work? If so, which venues?

Thanks much for your thoughts,

Dominique

[ilaria]

Dominique, as you're a native speaker of English with EU citizenship, it's certainly possible for you to teach EFL in Italy. I doubt very much if your American accent, idioms and spelling will put schools off! Quite the opposite - many schools would be pleased to hire a legal American, as students can benefit from exposure to different types of English.

Oxford Seminars, hmmm... It sounds as if your placement advisor is deliberately trying to steer you away from Europe. Call me a jaded old cynic, but I suspect that he/she may be earning some kind of bonus or kickback for placing teachers in Asia.

[spiral78]

The other drawback with Oxford is the lack of supervised teaching practice with feedback from experienced teacher-trainers. Most newbie teachers in Europe have certification from an on-site course (100+ hours including this hands-on teaching segment).

To overcome this, you may want to play up your previous education experience - and if possible, to volunteer (and get some letters of recommendation, ideally) at a local language school/immigrant centre, or something similar before you go.

I would think that your age, education, EU citizenship, and presumed professionalism would stand you in good stead in Italy. I agree with the poster above - why not Italy?

[Jetgirly]

A lot of companies that I worked for were offshoots of American companies. IBM, HP, Motorola, etc... all of my students at those companies interacted far more frequently with American colleagues than British ones.

[dsherter]

Thanks for the thoughts - all appreciated. Maybe I will stay arrogant and hegemenous just as I am.

This whole venture is in fact a little daunting, given the relative lack of signposts, guidance etc - you get what you pay for - so all additional info is great.

Thanks!