Job Discussion Forums

sealux · Joined: 09 Jan 2011 Posts: 2 Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Hello! This is my first post. I have spent hours looking at these forums and others about teaching EFL in Guatemala. What I have read so far is discouraging. I just came back from visiting Guatemala and would love to teach EFL there. Most of the posts about Guatemala are old, so I am posting again to see if anything has changed with the market there.

My background: I am a new teacher and currently teach ESL in the United States. I have my TEFL certification. My previous career was a contract specialist and I have seven years of experience, including training other employees. I do not have a university degree, but am currently taking classes. I will not finish my degree any time soon. I am a thirty-year-old woman. I recently started learning Spanish, and have studied French, German and Japanese. I am thinking of going back to Guatemala (probably Antigua or Xela) to learn Spanish for up to three months, although I was able to communicate my basic needs while I was there. I am going to save at least $5K and have all my debts paid off before I go. I do not have any student loans. I am not planning on leaving before August at the earliest, so I do have some time to plan. I am planning to have one year of teaching experience before I go.

My questions:
1. Is it realistic for me to expect to find a teaching job there that would cover my expenses? I am not looking to save money, but would want to break even. I am willing to live a minimal lifestyle while I am there.
2. To further complicate things, I would prefer not to teach in Guatemala City. How likely is it to find a position outside of Guate?
3. What is the best way to go about finding a job in Guatemala? Is it like most of L.A., that one should just show up with some savings and look for a job?

Thank you in advance for any replies. Very Happy

HLJHLJ · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 1218 Location: Ecuador

I would also love to work in Guatemala, but it's very rare to see paid work advertised outside of Guat City. There's lots of volunteer stuff available, and sometimes semi-paid/semi-volunteer so the ad makes it look like a proper job, but when you look at the figures you would struggle to actually live on it.

AIUI you would be best turning up and asking around, same as in most LA countries. Good luck!

sealux · Joined: 09 Jan 2011 Posts: 2 Location: Madison, Wisconsin

HLJHLJ - Thanks for the reply and confirming what I sensed. I got the sense that paid teaching work out of Guate was fairly mythical to begin with. Smile

I really like the school I am teaching at now, but wanted to research if it was even a possibility to teach there.

markcmc · Joined: 18 Jan 2010 Posts: 262 Location: Taiwan

It's very hard to find any information about teaching English in Guatemala . There are people teaching in Guatemala City, Xela and Antigua. As HLJHLJ has said, it's probably best to just turn up. I think it would be very difficult to arrange any work from outside the country.

xelapages.com has a forum where you may be able to find out more - although the site is mainly aimed at those who want to study Spanish in the city.

TeresaLopez · Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Posts: 601 Location: Mexico City

If you speak at least some Spanish you can likely get a job teaching in a private school, but you really have to be there. I taught in a small girls�school in Guatemala City, and just stumbled into the job. I later taught at a bigger school, a job I got through contacts in the first school. I would imagine it would be the same in other decent sized cities, but I wouldn�t expect the pay to be very high.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Sanjay · Joined: 14 Feb 2005 Posts: 12

There are definately jobs in Xela and Antigua, you just have to go there to get them but they don't pay well.

If volunteering is an option, Ninos de Guatemala is an excellent organisation in Antigua

profev · Joined: 16 Feb 2011 Posts: 1

You can always apply from the US to be an English Teaching Assistant. I looks like there are two positions available in Guatemala as well as other Latin American countries.

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/thinking_teaching.html

Or you can do the English Teaching Fellowship through Georgetown University to teach in Latin America and other countries. This program is geared to experienced TESOL teachers with master's degrees.

http://elf.georgetown.edu/
http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/el-fellow.html