Job Discussion Forums

[janecampbell]

Hi. I have just gained my CELTA certificate and have made the shortlist for a job in Spain. I have been informed that the class contact hours will be 6.5 per day (possibly more), 5 days per week. I may also have to teach Saturday morning classes if there is a demand. This seems a lot of teaching hours to me as I will also have to set aside time for preparation. Can anyone tell me if this would be too much to handle and what the average teaching hours are per week?

Thanks!

[spiral78]

32.5 hours per week is overload!! 24 +/- would be more normal....
A few additional questions to ask: are the hours per day in one block or will you be expected to work split shifts?
What does the school estimate in terms of daily travel time? Is this paid?
Are you teaching set lessons at all, or are you entirely on your own in lesson planning for each group?
How many groups does 6.5 hours per day represent?
Will any groups be similar enough so that you can expect to use the same lesson plans for multiple groups?
It sounds like they haven't got enough hours to support two teachers, but too many for one teacher to handle + have any kind of normal life.....

[sheikh radlinrol]

6.5 hours is too many. Don't accept. You can do better.

[CMB]

I think 32.5 is the legal maximum but it's an insane amount of work, especially for a new teacher. You'd be going crazy working 50-60 hours a week. I wonder if this is a standard contract for all teachers that allows them to give you up to 32.5 hours if they have it but doesn't necessarily guarantee you that many hours? Read the fine print, and think long and hard about this one!

[Jetgirly]

I think this would be manageable if you were at a chain school that had a set curriculum that you had to implement. If you are expected to plan your own lessons, this would not be a wise choice. However, you also didn't mention the pay. I'd do it for EUR 1500 (net) per month!