Job Discussion Forums

[kpereira]

Hi all

Im from Mumbai, India. English is my first language. Ive graduated in Economics and Commerce from the Mumbai University in 2005. Since then ive studied and worked in the film business. Was facing a sense of stagnation and hence when a friend mentioned TEFL i jumped at an online course which i have now completed.

I have in the past spent time in the Czech Republic and really love the country. This is the main reason i was considering applying to teaching jobs there. Any reactions to that? Any suggestions, advice, recommendations, tips... All welcome and will be appreciated.

Thank you
Awaiting your replies...
K

[spiral78]

Unfortunately, you are likely to be at a disadvantage on several fronts.

1) online certs are substandard for this region. Prague is a hotbed of teacher training centres, all featuring 100+ hours on site, including teaching practice on real students. This is considered a key element of teacher training courses by reputable local employers.

2)if your accent is not in the standard British/North American range, students will be very leery....I'm not saying this is fair, but most students that newbie teachers work with are businesspeople who are NOT beginner language learners, and they are concerned with communicating clearly with British and North American speakers.

3)there is some level of racism in the Czech Rep that you will not be likely to have encountered as a tourist in Prague. This is usually targeted at the Roma population - if you have similar physical characteristics, this can be problematic. Please forgive me for being open about this - I absolutely do NOT agree with racism in any way.

However, I think it is extremely important to be realistic with people who are considering taking such a step as relocating to a foreign country, where they may not understand the local language or culture - a little bad luck can go a long way.

[Arab Strap]

I�m afraid that I have to fully concur with Spiral here and I might also add that you may have problems finding work legally as an Indian passport holder.

I have met a some Indians in Brno but they are all working in the I.T. sector and quite a few have been laid off recently.

The Czech government is now offering to repatriate foreign workers for free and give them a 500 Euro leaving present basically in order to bring down the unemployment figures.

Belts are being tightened all over Europe and it would certainly not be a good idea to turn up in Prague on spec with the hope of finding work, well certainly not without a fat wallet to back you up.

Moreover the Czech Crown is at an all time low against the Euro right now...........

[smithryansmith]

i agree with the other posters. an on-line tefl is worth nothing here, no matter how good the course was. and India is not considered a native speaker country, even if English is your first language. anyone from the UK, USA or other native countries will get a job ahead of you.

that said, i do know one Indian girl who is a teacher here. but she spent extensive time in the UK and "lost" her indian accent. her school had to bend over backwards to keep her due to her indian passport. i dont think that they will do that again.

sorry if that sounds bad. just want to let you know what youre up against.

[spiral78]

Bumping the thread up.

[newsygirl]

As a person of African hertiage, I worked in neighboring Slovakia for 3 months. I also met up with some people of Arab heritage and we could relate on what it is like to be a minority in the former Czechoslovakia.
Be prepared for stares 24/7. I'm a female so I wasn't heckled too much, but I've heard quite a few stories of men being picked on and at times were physically assulated. Just be careful. You do see skinheads over there and hate is on the rise in this part of the world.
To be fair I did meet and befriend a few locals. Most people are reasonable and won't bother you, but at the same time the Czech Republic is a small country, so you'll more than likely run into a few jerks every so often.

[smithryansmith]

In Prague Id be surprised if you got a second glance with dark skin. The further outside the capital you get the more likely you are get a stare or two.

the only guys i know who got beat up here, well, it was more likely their big mouths than their skin that caused it.

youd get a lot more distrustful stares as a blonde in the middle east or Africa than with dark skin here.

[ITTP]

[smithryansmith]

[ITTP]

[smithryansmith]

Im director of an EU grant sponsored programme that places teachers from the UK in czech basic and secondary schools. As we do the majority of our recuiting from abroad, I don't often have the luxury of demo lessons. I have to rely on phone interviews and official qualifications.

However as the need has arizen, we have recruited locally and been generally happy with our new teachers (from Akcent, Oxford and ITC, I believe). For the most part, it's more what the teacher takes away from the course than the course itself, in my experience. As far as I can tell, the schools in Prague tend to be better than say TEFL schools in Asia due to the competative market.

We aren't hireing teachers currently, but you can PM me for further info. I don't check this site often. I'm not a big fan of TEFL directors coming on these sites to offer "objective" feedback and sell their courses. They always have a vested interest no matter how altruistic they claim to be.

but thats just my personal bugaboo.

Have a nice week

[ITTP]

Hi smithryansmith.

Thanks for your feedback.

So, you are not Director of a language school but of an EU grant sponsored programme?
Pls, what's the name of the programme?
Are you based in the UK? (I ask because you also write on expats forums in Prague).

I did just want to add that whilst I respect your opinion, I do feel that my 14 years direct Prague experience is relevant and as objective as possible. I also don't try to pretend that I don't have a business interest in posting and I have made mention to this in the past.

Could you send me a link to your site - would be interested to check out your company.
Feel free to email me:
[email protected]
or,
[email protected]

Thank you in advance for your time.

Hezky den!

Neville

ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1