Job Discussion Forums

[balboni]

My wife has taught 5th grade at a private school in America for 2 years. She has a BA degree in Elementary Education.

I have worked for 3 years as a journalist. My BA is in Communications. Besides a semester of tutoring Chinese children in English, I have no classroom teaching experience.

I am planning to receive a TEFL/TESOL certification this fall or next summer. There is a possibility that my wife may get certified to teach English, if we determine that she needs to do so.

We are both currently learning the Arabic language.

Our goal is to teach English in an Arab country (not necessarily Egypt) in the Fall of 2010.

My questions:

1) I've read on this forum that the CELTA is the most useful certificate for teaching English in MENA. How would this compare (in terms of qualifications) to the Oxford Seminars TEFL course that is offered at American universities? Oxford still offers a (very) short teaching practicum and it is offered in a classroom, so I would assume that it would be better than some easy online TEFL course.

2) What type of job should my wife be looking for? With her experience, can she teach English....or would she be better suited finding a private American school to teach at?

3) I obviously have extremely limited teaching experience. I understand that the Middle East is not a region where Americans can easily acquire English teaching jobs based solely on their native tongue. So what is the answer? Is there a particular country/type of school that I should focus my efforts on?

4) Would the fact that we are coming as a couple hurt or help our chances of landing a job at an Arab school?

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Thanks,

Bill

[veiledsentiments]

First I have a question... what is MENA? My second comment is that an online TEFL cert isn't worth the paper it is written on. No legitimate employer would accept it anyway.

I would suggest that your wife get her state certification to teach if she doesn't have it already. Adding a ESL/EFL cert is probably worth her time and money. I think the majority of her opportunities would be in elementary ed.

She is the one who should be able to get a contract job with benefits like housing and such. Read the sticky note above on this thread on the pros and cons of the international schools. There are ones that are OK down to awful. She doesn't have enough experience yet to get into the very top ones.

Since you don't have either the educational credentials or the experience, getting hired as a couple is most likely impossible. You will probably be relegated to language schools and part-time work. In a couple years, you might want to look into an MA for yourself if you decide that you enjoy teaching English.

Actually in your situation, Egypt is probably your best choice. If it a good place to expand your Arabic and there are quite a few jobs... though none of them exactly grand since you two are both entry level. But, it is a relaxed place to start out if you can afford to not make all that much money. Add some private lessons and you will be able to live comfortably on the local economy and travel around Egypt... and perhaps some neighboring countries like Jordan or Syria.

I suggest that the two of you attend some of the job fairs that ISS holds around the US every year. It would give an idea of what is out there and what they require.

VS

[balboni]

Thanks for the reply.

We are certainly not looking for cushy jobs. While we certainly don't want to get taken advantage of, we may not even know the difference between a "good" job and a "bad" job, at least starting off. We would be very happy to both land any kind of work where we would be able to support ourselves and afford cheap housing and transportation. We would not be bringing more than 1-2 months worth of savings.

So it looks like you think that CELTA is the only way to go? The Oxford TEFL certificate is not an online course. Of course, they "guarantee" that you will get offered a job after the course, but not necessarily in the region of your choice. It just seems there ought to be some international standard for these things.

Is state certification necessary to teach at most international schools? My wife is not state certified, and it would be difficult to find time to do so before we hope to leave. However, we could hopefully both find the time to get some sort of TESL cert.

I'm glad to know that Egypt seems to be a good choice. Do you know of any particular international or language schools that would be likely to hire entry level teachers?

As for the job fairs...is the ISS job fair the only one you would suggest? While a few hundred bucks is worth it if you find a job, it would not be cool to fly across the US, pay the fee, and then find out that we didn't have the qualifications necessary.

Btw....MENA: Middle East/North Africa.

[veiledsentiments]

Never heard of MENA. Sounds like government-ese only used in the State Dept or something.

Your wife should definitely look into state certification - any state. You have a year until academic year 2010. It is definitely required at the best jobs. She could get jobs without it... just at the lower pay, more poorly run places.

As to the CELTA, why not do it in Cairo? And yes, it is the best choice for the Middle East jobs. Not the only cert... but the best known.

Since I'm not a K-12 teacher, I can't tell you which places are good and bad anywhere in the Middle East. But, many places have been discussed here... the good, the bad and the ugly.

I recommended ISS because it is the only one that I have heard of. I have friends who have flown back to the US to attend when they were job hunting.

VS

[balboni]

Ok. Thanks for this info.

I would be very open to getting the CELTA in Cairo, assuming my wife had some sort of job that would get us going for a little while, at least. Is the admission process difficult?

[veiledsentiments]

We have a member here who is going soon. Let me send him an email and maybe he can drop in and tell you about it.

You can also google it up on CELTA and or British Council websites.

VS

[nstick13]

Balboni:
Are you employed now? Since you're interested in Egypt, it might be best to attempt to save a bit more than one-two months worth and come to one of the sessions they offer next year.

Through all the research I did, CELTA seemed like the safest bet--the international standard, with the Trinity (I am pretty sure that's the Oxford one) on about the same level. The British Council in Cairo offers the course--they offered it about 3 times in 2009, with the last (and one I'll be in) in October. Early this year it took them into February or so to put up the dates for the course for 2009. All in all it'll end up costing LE 10,000, or about $17-1800.

Also based on my research, your wife should be able to find something that will make ends meet reasonably well, but probably not pay for your CELTA on top of it. I'm a tad nervous about work immediately after my CELTA, and am looking at options in South Korea until I get a bit more experience. I'd prefer Egypt, but the student loans call.

BC Cairo has been very helpful throughout the process. My girlfriend and I each found someone in the area to live with (Craigslist) and have a good idea of what to expect. I'll try to get back here once or twice a day if you'd have any other questions.

Cheers!

[balboni]

Thanks, Nstick13.

This is all extremely helpful.

If my wife can find a job at an international school before we leave, I would think we're good to go. But based on what you just said, it may be wise to get the Oxford certification here in the states before I leave, and take my chances with finding at least part-time at a language school work once I'm on the ground in Cairo.

Is it safe to say that living in Cairo is relatively cheap? I am just not sure of what one can make (on the low end of the teaching scale) in Cairo, so I have no way of knowing. But looking at rent and general cost of living, it seems to be relatively inexpensive to me. (it's like 18 cents to ride the metro.....am I seeing that right?)

But maybe we'll just have to really scrimp over the next year and put away some serious savings.

[veiledsentiments]

If your wife gets a foreign hire contract, that takes care of furnished housing. I would want to have enough money stashed away that you can access with an ATM card... enough to fly you home for emergencies and get you set up in your first place. There will be small stuff you need for your flat.

One can live cheaply in Cairo... transportation is very cheap... food is cheap if you avoid imports as much as possible. (Oreos tend to be dear... )

You could do the cert in the US... but... there is always a job advantage if you do it in the country where you want to teach. The advantage of working with people who speak the local language. Not crucial, but just a small positive in your favor at an interview.

VS

[nstick13]

For a 2 BR plan on about LE 3500-4000 for a furnished flat. I am expecting living in Cairo to be cheap, as I can live on fresh fruit and vegetables with the occasional bit of meat

Something to consider about taking a course in the US is that they're not always conveniently located. Overall, for the month of the course, it's going to probably cost less for me to be in Cairo for the CELTA than in Denver or NYC. Obviously I've made some sacrifices, and it will likely be cheaper as an unmarried 20-something, but the basics and point still stand. You still need a flight (or other travel in the US), a place to live, and the cost of the course. I think London would've been THE absolute cheapest option, but Cairo was not far behind, and being in Egypt made it worth it.

[balboni]

Yeah, it's true. I don't think spending a month in Denver or New York is entirely practical. The only other option would be to take the 3 weekend-long Oxford Seminars TESL course at my local university. But based on the advice I get here, it is not internationally recognized and it may be best to get the training in the city where I actually desire to work. While that is a bit scary for a genuine beginner, it does make some sense.

And we're not exactly your typical over-consuming American couple. We don't need, expect, or want much. Even the 2 bedroom furnished apartments I've seen on Cairo real estate websites seem unnecessarily glamorous compared to the standard we're accustomed to in the major US cities. Honestly, I would hope to find a dumpy little 1 bedroom furnished unit for around LE 2000, but perhaps I'm optimistic here.

But if my wife can land a job at an international school that provides housing, then we're obviously good to go.

You said that you found your housing via craigslist?

[veiledsentiments]

Hopefully you won't have to worry about a flat or tickets because your wife will have a contract. She needs to be hired from overseas. If she goes to Cairo and then looks for a job, many - if not most - employers will consider her local hire and not provide any benefits. You do NOT want to be in that situation.

And let me warn you that most of the flats look much better in the pictures than in real life. Cheap flats tend to be... sometimes pretty scary. Things like no hot water in the kitchen... no screens on the windows (very common actually)... hot and cold running giant cockroaches. And this is in the fancy neighborhoods.

This is the "third world" or "developing" as they seem to prefer these days.

VS

[balboni]

Ok....no hot water in the kitchen I can deal with. My apartment here in the states doesn't even have that most of the time. But the cockroaches....not cool. Thanks for the head's up.

[veiledsentiments]

Cockroaches are a fact of life there. Very hard to avoid... and you will soon see why once you are there. In many (most?) buildings, people just put their trash in the hallways for pick-up, and the feral cats do the first check of contents. Windows and doors don't seal well and both the bathroom and kitchen floors will have drains. You may as well carry little 'welcome' mats.

That said, my last two flats had none, but the last did have ever present geckos on the walls... which was the first time I had geckos in Egypt. (had them in Oman) That last flat also had termites and I was there during swarming season. Now... there is an experience!! This was an unusual flat perched on the roof of a building with a view of the Nile... pretty neat... but it had lots of wood in the construction which is unusual. Did you ever see that Orkin ad with the swarming termites covering the window behind him... I must have killed a million over a week... RAID!! (...get the broom)

There are many reasons why we called it 'the adventure of living in Cairo.' You definitely ain't in Kansas anymore.

VS

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

My 2CW: You'll want a state cert before any of the "real" international schools will even consider you. It all has to do with accreditation requirements. It would be nice to know your general geographical location in the U.S. In any case, in addition to VS's lead, the University of Northern Iowa, Ohio State University and Search Associates hold job fairs for international schools worldwide. ISS and Search Associates tend to mirror each other's job fair locations i.e. I got my first gig in the ME at ISS in Boston just after SA had held theirs the day before across the river in Cambridge.

Hope this helps...

NCTBA