Job Discussion Forums

[Floridalou]

Hello All!
I am a graduate student in teaching English as a second foreign/ language at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
I have a bachelor�s in psychology, a masters in technology education and I am certified in teach (technology) in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
My working experience includes several years teaching technology in the public school system.
When I graduate, I am very interested in seeking employment as an EFL teacher in United Arab Emirates, teaching adults perhaps in the Higher Colleges of Technology.
I prefer to work in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
Any advice for what to watch out for and what to expect?
Are the apartments they provide decent or dumps?
What about the working conditions and the pay?
I am interested in Arab culture and have respect for their traditions.
In fact, I am inclined to wear a dishdashi and head piece (?) while teaching if that would make the students more comfortable.
Is this advisable or rather famous last words?
Thanks
Lou

[globalnomad2]

Well, I see you don't know much about the Middle East yet. First off, Westerners and anyone else not from the Gulf, including Arabs, do not generally wear local traditional garb. In fact, a five-minute stroll through any large shopping mall in Dubai will set you straight: women dress as revealingly as in Paris or New York. Men who are not from the Gulf certainly do not wear dishdasha garb! (Except for special occasions, and even then it's rare.)

Second, I don't think you will considered for any college/university job in the UAE without some full-time college teaching experience. I applied to the Higher Colleges in 1994 from Saudi Arabia; at that time I had had seven years experience in Malaysia, Japan and Saudi, with two master's degrees in Student Development and in EFL and they still didn't consider me. Two years after that I finally got hired by HCT and went on to the Petrloeum Institute and now George Mason.

My advice to you is take your entry-level COLLEGE job (not language school--avoid those like the plague) in the best-paying location you can get without having had any full-time experience. When I was studying for the EFL master's, I knew I probably would have to pay my dues in Saudi Arabia for at least three years. I got very lucky and instead wound up with SUNY-Buffalo in Kuala Lumpur, but that's a different story.

[Afra]

HCT usually requires post-graduate teaching experience in EAP.
Only Emirati men wear dishdasha and gutra to teach; expats, perhaps, wear national dress on National Day at the colleges. You do not need to make the students feel comfortable; they have been meeting and interacting with expats all their lives.

[zooey]

it is the ministry of higher education which sets the requirements for university faculty in uae. and they are getting more organised and more picky; thus excluding many suitable teachers. for EFL university jobs you HAVE to have a masters in some branch of efl, esp, app ling, etc. AND this HAS to be from one of the preferred countries - you can guess which, and it CAN'T be an online degree. in order get teaching visas, the uni has to comply with these requirements. sorry

[veiledsentiments]

Your experience and education are currently better related to teaching in the international schools system rather than universities.

My first recommendation would be to spend a few days reading the threads on this board. You will learn about different employers, pay scales, living conditions in various cities, housing, and the expat lifestyle. I fear that your idea of wearing a dishdasha in class caused us all to laugh out loud.

Don't limit yourself to just "Dubai and Abu Dhabi" or even just the Emirates. Check out the other countries in the Middle East section of this board.

VS