Job Discussion Forums

[SueH]

I suspect the Romanians will prefer British English as that is where they expect to go and work. I always highlight differences when I teach, but students do struggle with different accents. I throw in the odd regional UK accent sometimes as illustration as well as US differences, but my own accent is pretty neutral. It seems to be mainly Scots in the local language schools, some with quite strong regional accents, so I'm not sure how those students cope.

[grahamb]

Another cheap remark from an arrogant Anglo. And they wonder why they're so unpopular around the world!
Presumably learners cope with Scottish accents in much the same way as they cope with Brummie, Scouse, Mancunian, Geordie and Cockney accents. It's all a matter of exposure - any EFL teacher worth his salt should know that.

[grahamb]

The beeped word is C o c k n e y.

[scot47]

The accent I find weirdest is the one called RP !

[TwinCentre]

Going back on topic

I still stand by what I said about it being difficult to get a job if you are non-EU and will have to face hordes of Brits, AND the positions which are available to you will probably be at the bottom end of the market for the jobs available.

I was thinking on this today. And I came to my own conlusion: I have experienced the ELT/EFL industry in ALL of the countries mentioned in Eastern Europe: Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia in some capacity, either on a working visit, or actual teaching AND I can say that I experienced pretty much nothing but Brits in all of them. I met a few Americans married to locals, one of whom was in a very high position in one famous institution.

So, what am I (I said 'I', not you Spiral) gonna go with, unvalidated secondhand experiences, possibly perfectly valididated individual experiences from the US citizens who have responded to the thread, who don't say it was easy anyway, or with what I have seen myself????

I go with what I have seen myself.

So this is not a blanket statement, just my own experience, take it as you will......As far as I can see, if you are a Non EU passport holder and want to work in Eastern Europe. It is possible, but it will be very difficult to get a decent job. Not impossible, just difficult, and you might always get lucky, if so good on you. I personally enjoy diversity in my collegues. However, for most, your job of finding a good position will always be made harder as there are loads of Brits around, all over the blummin' place.

[naturegirl321]

[TwinCentre]

Yes, I agree!

For example, I really would like to be able to work in the US, I doubt I have much of a chance, but should I really decide to go for it, I would. I would send out those 10s or 20s or 100s of applications, and would feel elated to get one offer, perhaps I would get more, I don't know. So for those Americans who managed to find jobs in the EU, nice one!

[TwinCentre]

"It's like working legally in the EU without an EU passport. Maybe one person in a thousand finds a way to pull it off"

By the way, who said this on another thread I wonder??????????

[spiral78]

I did, in reference to the 'old' EU countries: Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Netherlands, etc.

Doesn't apply in the new EU countries yet.

[TwinCentre]

From my dealings with red-tape, and believe me, I have to do alot of it, in most ways, the EU is the EU and there isn't really a dividing line in terms of opportunities to work half way through the EU!

I believe there is still a little more flexibility for non-EU passport holders to work in some countries over others, but it is rapidly fading.

Which countries they are, well I may well disagree with Spiral. For example, from my and my collegues' experience; Spain seems next to impossible, but Germany seems easier than Slovakia, for some reason. Estonia seems tougher than Greece. Malta is the one whose markets appear to be the most protected. Italy is a strange one for getting Non- EU teachers into. Basically it appears to be is very difficult, but it looks like that there are so many exceptions there, such as all those Americans with Italian connections etc, and if I remember correctly, there might be exceptions with regard to qualifications too. Still, most if not all Americans I remember when I worked in Milan, were married to locals.

But, all in all!!! The whole picture is that working in the EU looks to be a very difficult task for non-EU folk. Eastern Europe, Western Europe, same difference. This statement is further qualified by the fact that is you step just outside of the EU, to the bordering countries, they are full of American teachers and there are many American ELT operations there, such as AmidEast in Morocco. These teachers are the ones who want to be close to Europe but cannot get in. Yes, go to Ukraine, Morocco, Turkey....there are plenty of US teachers!

When Spiral wrote; "It's like working legally in the EU without an EU passport. Maybe one person in a thousand finds a way to pull it off" , he didn't feel the need to cut the EU down the middle then, and there is no real reason to do it now. If it didn't occur to him to be distinct about only refering to the old EU when he made that comment , then it was probably because there wasn't one.


At the end of the day, encouraged by Spiral's comments not to make blanket statements on the forum, everything I have said above is, let's face it, just another poster's ramblings, just like Spiral's and everyone elses, my comments are only from my own experience and there is no proof, and I don't believe I have seen any proof from anyone else on this thread. To get the real picture you have to just go for it and apply for jobs in all of the countries across the EU, and undertake some kind of methodoligical research.

Anyway, I'm off to deepest Sub-Saharan Africa, I will leave you all to worry about the issue, from now on, I'll concentrate on the Africa Forum, enjoy Europe

[SueH]

[grahamb]

Not playing, dear lady. Your remark was typical of the kind of crap we've had to put up with for centuries. Your original posting referred specifically to the Scots. If you meant all non-RP speakers, why didn't you say so?
The moral of the story is, don't dish it out if you can't take it.

[canucktechie]

[grahamb]

Very interesting, canucktechie. I never realised the censor was so discriminating!

[seaskyclay]

I know I'm late to this discussion (two months late) but really I couldn't help but contribute to it to make two points.

First, in my experience as an American getting work in the new EU countries, for the most part it isn't a problem. The thing is, yes, they can get EU citizens for free, but these countries are seen as "less desirable" for a lot of people so most of the new EU countries have to pay to get teachers. I was able to get a work visa in the Czech Republic, Slovakis and Lithuania. It often just depends on how experienced the school itself is at getting visas for non-EU citizens. If the school knows how to go about getting you a visa, then they do it in no time. If they haven't got a clue, then it'll take a while.

Secondly, about hiring Americans to teach English in Europe and British vs. American English. As we've established the accent thing isn't really an issue because even the English have a good number of accents that are very different from one another. But someone made a comment about Americans teaching American English and the British (and those schooled in countries that use British English as their model) teaching British English. I've spent four years teaching British English. I learned it my first year of teaching and ever since then that's what I teach. I use the British textbooks that are provided and when there are two different choices of words or phrases I teach both the British and the American, which I think is the only fair way to do it so that the student is exposed to both. In that respect, I think my students are better served by me than many British teachers who often won't even consider that there could be another way to speak the language other than the original Queen's English.

My two cents.