Job Discussion Forums

[not_too_shabby]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any idea about the prospects of finding an English teaching job in Brussels as a non-native speaker of English (Romanian).
I have everything else it takes to teach, a Celta with pass A, 7 years experience in three countries in Central Europe, proficient English (no foreign accent)...
Any thoughts are appreciated!


Thanks!

[spiral78]

The market for teaching in Brussels isn't great. You might pick up some bits and pieces, but I think you'd need serious luck (and probably local contacts) to get anything resembling a full-time contract.

Keep in mind too that a CELTA is a newbie level qualification. Along with your experience, you should be eligible for most of the work going in private language schools, but some jobs (universities, probably government/EU jobs) won't likely be available to you.

Belgium is a country where someone with a Romanian passport should be relatively ok, I think (sorry to sound a bit rude, but in some cases it's important to know how you might be perceived by the locals in a social sense - these things shouldn't come up, but they do.....).

I doubt you'd find anything from abroad, but it might be worth your going there to ask around and look, if you can afford to do this. You could also expand your search to Luxembourg city - there is lots of work in the financial sector there, and the market used to be a bit looser than Brussels. There's also CERAN at Spa, Belgium - you can google them and send a CV. They sometimes hire...and might even be interested in Romanian (language).

[not_too_shabby]

Thanks for your answer. I am fully aware of how different nationalities are perceived in western Europe, I've experienced it myself in a few countries. However, from what I've heard about Brussels (according to my family who lives there) they tend to be used to foreigners and seem rather open, so that shouldn't be a big issue.

My main concern is their willingness to hire a non-native speaker, regardless of whether it is a private school or a university. That's why I was hoping to find out if there's anyone similar out there who has been successful. And if teaching Romanian is a possibility, even better!

Yes, Celta is a newby level qualification but that's the one that counts. I don't have the Delta but I do have others such as the Exam skills course, the IHCYL and the Language Awareness course if that counts. And a university degree in English and Spanish.

Anyway, thanks again. Also looking forward to hearing from teachers in Brussels.

[spiral78]

My main concern is their willingness to hire a non-native speaker, regardless of whether it is a private school or a university.

The distinction I was actually getting at is that a university is more likely to consider qualifications over native/non-native speaker status. The English dept. at the uni where I am prefers to keep a balance of native/nonnative English speakers, for example. But, a CELTA isn't enough in most cases to get a teacher into a uni position, regardless of native language.

However, private language schools are more likely to prefer native speakers. That's obviously not 100# true, though, and hopefully other posters will come along soon with more info specific to the current market in Brussels. One reason I chipped in here is that the market is small - and there aren't tonnes of teachers currently in Brussels who post here regularly.