Job Discussion Forums

[himynameise]

Hello,

My boyfriend and I are planning on moving to Istanbul to teach English. Neither of us have a TEFL/CELTA certificate yet, but we are registering for a course. Here are my qualifications:

1. B.A. in Journalism and International relations from American University
2. 1 year experience teaching high school English in Austria
3. Should have a TEFL certificate by April
4. Intermediate Turkish skills and general familiarity with Turkey (I lived in Istanbul for six months in 2007.)

Here are my boyfriend's:
1. B.A. in Drama
2. T.A. experience in college courses
3. Should also have a TEFL certificate by April

How good are our chances of being hired by decent schools? Also, any recommendations as to whether we should get TEFL, TESOL, CELTA or DELTA? Are they all viewed in the same light by most schools, or do you absolutely need CELTA/DELTA for some jobs?

Thanks for any advice!

[coffeespoonman]

You should have no problem finding decent jobs, though you're probably limited to language schools for the time being. If you don't mind a rather erratic schedule, you should be able to find a decent enough school or schools, and with the two of you, you should be able to earn enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle.

I see you taught at a high school for a year. If you play up that experience, you might be able to get into a private high school, which would give you slightly more money, though for longer (but more regular) hours. And if your boyfriend is good at selling himself, that B.A. in Drama could go quite far with a certain type of school, especially those aimed at children (if he can tolerate that). There's a lot of money to be made teaching children, but not everyone can do it. (I sure can't)

If you want to go the university route, DELTA is a great thing to have, as you'll have a better chance of being hired and get more money. To be honest, I don't see a lot of benefits of the CELTA over normal TEFL certificates, but maybe I just don't know very well about that. There are places here to do them fairly cheaply (compared to other countries) if you should choose to in the future. Also, with the new modular DELTA, you could just do one module, see how that goes, and then you could advertise that you are in progress with your DELTA (which can be just as good as having it done for some places).

Good luck!

[himynameise]

Thanks! That is very reassuring.

We're counting on coming to do the full-time CELTA at ITI in the end of April-May. Would there be enough language schools hiring over the summer or is that just extremely bad timing?

Thanks again for the advice.

[fishmb]

I think April-May will be a good time to be here - you can start exploring job opportunities before you finish your CELTA. I think all the non-language school jobs normally start in September/October.

My girlfriend and I just finished our part-time CELTA at ITI. We definitely thought it was worthwhile. For us, the important part was the observed teaching practice. I think that's something anyone should look for when trying to figure out which sort of certificate/degree to get.

[himynameise]

Thanks! So do you generally think there would be language school opportunities available over the summer? I'm not sure that I could manage to work anywhere but a language school anyway...or perhaps I'll just try to secure a contract that starts in September and spend a few months enjoying Istanbul and traveling.

[fishmb]

Well actually, I was thinking that it would be a good time to apply for contracts to universities/high schools/middle schools that start in September. Those are generally better jobs and provide more benefits than language schools. Different hours, and a more formal setting.

If you're looking to work in the private language schools, I think the summer is actually a bad time. I haven't spent a summer here yet, but from what I've heard the amount of available classes goes down. My girlfriend got a contract at English First in Taksim that goes from January through the end of June, because after that they don't have enough classes for her. Some of the larger schools will still have classes, but it's definitely the low season since lots of potential language school students leave Istanbul for the summer.

[coffeespoonman]

Summer's hard going for the language schools. However, in some ways, it's kind of good for new teachers. Schools are more willing to hire part-time, and you can "cut your teeth" on a more relaxed schedule while you wait for the school year to come around.

But if you've got some cash in the bank, it'll be a lot easier. If you don't, you'll be eating menemen for a few months like I did.

(don't worry - it's delicious)

[himynameise]

I love menemen!!!

I'm guessing that you can't get a work permit for the summer if they hire you part-time though?

E

[coffeespoonman]

Work permit. Lol.

[himynameise]

[fishmb]

Someone might promise you a work permit ...

[himynameise]

Yeah. I'm also hoping for a billion dollars. And a pony. Just in case anyone wants to check out my gift registry...