Job Discussion Forums

[Charmed But Confused]

Hello -

I would like to move to Istanbul to teach, but I am struggling with a variety of issues. I'd appreciate any advice you can offer.

- TEFL, TESOL or CELTA? To do one of the latter two, I would need to go abroad in August which is, of course, possible, but means I would not be in Istanbul until 29 Aug at the earliest. Does that all but eliminate jobs at private schools or corporate training opportunities (the two types of positions in which I'd be most interested)?

- I could do a TEFL near my home in the States next month, but it doesn't include practical classroom experience as the overseas courses do. Would this significantly hinder my job prospects?

- I would like to begin sending my resume to international schools now knowing that they are currently hiring for the fall. Is this futile?
As background, I have a university degree in history and ten years of professional experience in journalism and non-profit management. I did informal teaching in Morocco this spring which led to me where I am now -- Dave's ESL Cafe!

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

[studymylesson]

In answer to your queries cmstamm:
- No
- No it wouldn't
- No
Hope that helps. Good luck!

[Charmed But Confused]

Thank you so much!

[Charmed But Confused]

Thank you so much!

[Misstanbul]

I do not know about corporate training opportunities, but at private schools you will probably have a 50/50 chance. Schools are starting late this year due to Ramadan (end of September) which means you will not have missed the start of school. Of the schools I know, a little more than half have finished hiring months ago (they started looking Feb/Mar), and the rest have not even started. I am sure you can find something.

A TEFL is perfectly acceptable, especially since you can put your informal teaching experience as, well, experience . The sooner you get the course done, the sooner you can start to look.

Send those CV's (resumes) to schools as soon as you like. It is definitely not futile!

Best of luck to you!

[keitepai]

Hello,

A comment re international schools - honestly I don't know any international school in Istanbul that would hire you with your current qualifications. Not to disrespect your training but it is just not specific enough to education and I would feel you should make the descision to come carefully.

You will be competing with trained teachers with years of experience in either PYP, British or American curriculum. A standard Masters or Bachelor of Education/Teaching is more desirable. My school finished recruiting in March.

Turkish schools or language schools may have different criteria and I agree a TEFL is a great place to start.

[Misstanbul]

Keitepai, I will guess, since your school finished recruiting in March, that you will be working for ENKA. Am I right? If you are, they are the exception not the rule . I know at least six private schools that are still in the recruiting process so there is hope, Charmed but Confused.

A degree in an English or Education related field is best, if you want to get a work visa, but there are more schools than not that do not care. As long as your are a native English speaker, you are golden in Turkey.

Hope everything works out for you.

[keitepai]

Ha Ha! I thought it was so obvious where I taught......not Enka anyway.

I am definitely using 2nd hand info from what other teachers have told me around Istanbul but looks like it has changed since I gossiped last
Any chance of letting us all know which schools in Istanbul are still recruiting?

[Misstanbul]

He he...I thought I was pretty good at guessing schools . Back to square one since I have no clue where you work now .

Just off the top of my head, these schools were still looking as of a week or two ago: Doga, Small Hands (kindergarten), TED, ACI (new campus), BIS (kindergarten), and Istanbul Intl. Things may have changed but who knows.

Also, the word on the street is that Doga is going for PYP cert. starting next year, so unless you want to be there for the trial and error phase, steer clear!!!

[keitepai]

Interesting.......I had heard about Small Hands. Things change so quickly here in Istanbul - definitely not boring!

[annie11]

I agree with misstanbul is about the bachelors in english or education

Private schools are still hiring however even the less reputable (and less organised) turkish schools are having to operate under tighter constraints from the ministry of labour. The ministry look for english or education mentioned in the title of the degree or a major in these areas reflected in the transcript. Without this they are reluctant to issue s work permit which means that even if the school wants to hire you they have limited options.

With a major in history you might have some luck targeting schools where the IB DP program is in operation. The DP requires subjects to be taught in English so these schools can justify the necessity for native speaking history teachers to the labour ministry.

From a schools hiring perspective the TESOL or CELTA helps a lot. From what i understand the ministry doesnt discriminate between the different TESOL courses and they view it kinda like a Dip Ed in the sense that if you have a degree in history and a TESOL then they will issue a permit to teach history in english - again this only works for schools that have DP in place

Hope this helps

[cijay]

[dagi]

The good schools (e.g. the ones who will get your paper work done) usually finish their recruiting in March/April - it's not just ENKA.

I'd say the majority of schools that are still/again recruiting at this time are the ones that either nobody wants to work for or the ones that won't bother about getting your permits.
Every once in while one of the proper schools will recruit again because someone has bailed out last minute.

Really, if you have no teaching qualifications and zero experience and do find a school that hires you on the spot at this time of the year you should be carefull.

[TeachEnglish]

A degree in education/teaching, including a masters will get you a great teaching job here. A TEFL is a very good way to start teaching here at many places if you have any English 4 year degree. You can take a 30-day TEFL course and be ready to teach and be able to easily get a work permit, provided by the employer.
Get the TEFL at Kent English in Kadikoy. Learn about the area... they will give you great support, including help you find a job here. They will give you classroom experience too. They might be expensive but they are great.

While living and teaching here in Istanbul, you can work on your CELTA and DELTA.

With a 4-year degree and a TEFL, you will have no problem teaching, getting a work permit(provided by employer) and maybe getting a job at a University. Good luck

[Marquess]

Why would you do a 4 week ersatz CELTA at Kent English and then work on your CELTA while you are here? You would be paying twice, doing the same work twice and only ending up with one worthwhile real CELTA.