Job Discussion Forums

[ewe]

hello, i've never done any tefl teaching before (apart from volunteer teaching in thailand). it's something i've been wanting to get into fora while now. unfortunatly i have a commitment for next may, as my best friend is getting married so can't commit to any long term year jobs. are there any countries where it is possible to take on shorter jobs possibly for just one or two terms?

[naturegirl321]

First of, what does your friend getting married have to do with it? You can take time off. A wedding is only a day or two. You're usually entititled to between a week and three mnonths off per year.

Second, this topic has been discussed heaps of times, llook here

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=61974
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=60983
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=60492
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=61327
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=61945

[denise]

I can understand the OP's time constraints. Flying back for a wedding can be quite an expense, and there's no guarantee of getting the time off--some schools can be picky about when you take your vacations, so they don't coincide with exams or other busy times. Maybe I'm just looking at it from an American perspective--for me to fly home from any of the places that I've taught, I'd have to shell out a couple thousand dollars (which can be a substantial chunk of your monthly salary, or even a few months' salary, depending on where you are teaching) and spend anywhere from 12 to 24 hours on planes.

There are short-term placements available. Since you haven't specified where you'd like to go, may I suggest Japan? Westgate has contracts for 3ish months, and I think they even pay airfare. They're always advertising here and on tefl.com.

d

[naturegirl321]

HaVE you considered working holiday visas? Look here for info
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=665243&highlight=#665243

[Glenski]

I'm with naturegirl here. Weddings are short-term events, and employers don't care or need to care about such things (especially the expense) as long as the employee is at work on time and is performing up to snuff.

A wedding will not cut into your work time seriously. If you can determine what time is needed for you to be away, get hired first, then professionally explain this to the employer.

[denise]

I wasn't implying that the expense of flying back would be an issue for the school. It would be an issue for the teacher. If, for example, I had flown back from South America to go to my ex-boyfriend's wedding (yes, we're on good enough terms that I would go to his wedding!), I would have ended up spending two months' salary on the airfare, for a trip of just a few days.

d

[ewe]

thanks a lot for the feedback guys, nice to know altruism is alive and well! Might even consider doing a tefl closer to home, so massive airfare and jetlag won't be problem.