Job Discussion Forums

[Evanzinho]

Hi,

I am currently teaching in South Korea. My contract is up at the end of May, and I have decided I do not want to re-sign with my school. I would like to go somewhere else to teach (or I would even consider SK again if I could find a decent school!) but I think I want to take a couple months off and come back to the U.S. I was wondering, are there many ESL jobs that are available just over the summer? I am from California and I would prefer to look for work in the Los Angeles or San Diego area, although anywhere in the State would be fine really. I have heard of some private ESL schools in the San Diego area have summer camp type of programs where students come to study English just during the summer.

So, does anyone have any experience with these kinds of "temp" ESL jobs? I know the pay is pretty low ($16-17/hr from what I've seen, and in Southern California that will barely pay your rent!) but what kind of work is involved with these kinds of gigs? Just FYI, I have a BA in Poli Sci, minor in English, a 130-hour TEFL cert and I speak advanced-level Spanish as well.

Or, does anyone have any other job suggestions for an ESL teacher that's just going to be back home for a few months? Standardized test scoring, tutoring, etc? Please don't suggest McDonalds!

[Symphany]

You might want to look into ESL summer sessions with colleges/universities in the areas you're interested in teaching in. My experience within North America is with Canada, and I know there are summer sessions offered by universities and colleges here, so I would imagine it would be the same in the US (you would have to check with local universities and colleges to find out for sure). Also, private language institutes might have the same kind of summer sessions available , it may help to look into some of those too.

[lapiegirl]

I don't think you'd have any trouble teaching at a language school for the summer months. A lot of international students come for a couple months in the summer so most schools need some short-term teachers.

Last summer I was in the exact same boat that you are now, and I got a lot of interviews and offers from language schools in San Francisco. If I were you I'd check craigslist starting in April or May. If you don't see stuff just start calling different schools in the city you'd like to teach, explain your background, and ask if they'll be hiring soon. Schools often don't know exactly how many teachers they'll need until the students arrive.

In San Francisco, the basic starting range for a teacher is $18-$20. With international experience you should be at the high end of the range, and I definitely wouldn't take less!

[Noelle]

I worked at a language school in San Diego while I was doing my M.ed

Now I'm in Korea but seriously considering moving back to S.D. when this contract is up.

My former employer there says that their student numbers are way up, because the U.S. dollar is so low. I think finding a summertime job in San Diego or L.A. probably would probably be quite feasible but you're right about the money.... $17-18 an hour would be standard, I think.

I actually only made $16 an hour while teaching there when I was a grad student. It was still worth it to me though... it's cool teaching older Korean students when they're sharing their class with students from Europe and the Middle East.

I highly recommend San Diego. Check into LSI, EF International Language School, International House, Converse and any other IEP (Intensive English Programs) you can find. Their numbers tend to skyrocket during the summer months!

[Tiger Beer]