Job Discussion Forums

[OliveOil]

Hello,
I am a 31 y.o English teacher. I am not a native speaker and don't have a degree in the language. But I have a degree in Economics, the ECCPE and some experience in teaching English. I went to a Uni in London, and spent some time there on and off over the years after my degree.
I have been teaching recently to an English school in a foreign country (not my country nor an English speaking country) but with student of my nationality. They are all very demanding, especially the older ones and I have done some mistakes in the beginning which I gues will haunt me for ever or at least for as long as I will teach these students.
I came here on a contract for a year, brought my family along since I thought and was told that this job would be permanent. The pressures were to teach effectively, find accomodation, fit in, make a living and the list goes on and on..
I have lost my confidence and I always seem to be in a bad mood. I try a lot and some days or maybe most days are o.k but then there comes a bad one and I spend a whole lot of time getting over it. Maybe I take things too seriously and I shouldn't but I am worried, I want to teach and I want to be good at it. My point is, is there a chance for me to find another job with a year or two experience in my belt and no CELTA?
I always wanted to take CELTA but my finances haven't yet allowed me to invest that much money. My boss is contradicting himself. At first he told me that he would support me in everything, he lost interest in the way. I found a house alone, which was not easy at all, at the same time strived to make good lesson plans with no help at all. The books the school used were too many and new for me. I have asked to have the books previous to my coming here but he delivered only a couple of them and from the elementary classes only. He is a good person but when it comes to having problems, he never takes my side as he said he would. When I first got a complaint he acted like I have done something really really really bad and left me wondering about it until the next day when he explained. My mistake was that I was not strict enough for their standards. Since then, it seems that everything that goes on in the school is my fault. A girl wanted to change class for her own reasons (as I later found out she wanted to have the English class at more convenient time) and my boss thought it was because of me. Well, that is just one case and it got clear afterwards but I am living in fear of what may go wrong and I am under close surveillance every day that I feel very stressed and worn out. I just wish I had something good said about me. I have heard a few good things from my students, in fact some of them want me as their teacher and will follow me but I don't think that's enough. One last thing, recently occured, the community here is very small and they all gossip. Well, the other day my boss came, not very angry but angry enough and warned me that people gossip about me in a bad way!! I mean is this right? I said what is it they've told about me? He said he can't reveal who said that.. I tried again and said that I'm not at all interested in who told it rather than what that person was saying about me. He said he didn't know and we left it at that. Isn't that nice? So now I am just thinking whether it is worth feeling stressed about this job.
As I said the only thing I ever wanted to do is teach and i know I can be good at it provided the conditions are bearable. Besides even if I suck at it I can improve over time and I will find a way to get CELTA or what else is needed to improve and have better chances to find work in th long run.
To sum up, I need general advice, please don't be mean to me I can hardly bear any more mean criticism. Suggestions are welcome, and if someone else is finding himself/herself in a similar situation I would be more than glad to hear from you.

[denise]

I'm sorry you're having such a rough time!

I'd say you just need to get out. Regardless of why they're gossiping, what promises the boss made to you, etc., etc., the bottom line is that you're miserable and need to move on. But in order to get advice about where to look, we need to know your nationality, where you are now, what your financial needs are, whether you need to support a family, etc. You said you moved your family with you... Are you supporting all of them on your teaching salary? Somehow, you have to find a way to get the funds for a TEFL certificate.

d

[OliveOil]

[artemisia]

There�s quite a lot of information so just to try and sum up here:
Good
You have a well-paid job and private students/ You�re an EU National/ You�re now based in Germany/ You have an economics degree/ Experience teaching English/ A degree from Britain and lived there/ & a supportive husband
Not so good or tricky
Your boss sounds like he�s on a power trip/ You live & work in a small gossipy community/ You are supporting the family/ You don�t have a TEFL cert or the money to do one

Germany has both good and bad aspects here. First of all, you�re qualified in economics and you did this degree in an English speaking country. You have some experience teaching English. The thing that�s most likely to go against you is not being a native speaker but I think you can get past that. In Germany, if you get into teaching Business Eng at companies there, your financial qualifications will be considered far more important than whether or not you have a CELTA. It would be good to get one eventually though espec as a NN speaker. What�s not so easy is trying to get secure, well-paid work with benefits. I�d start sending out your CV to other schools asap and consider approaching universities and Fachhochschulen (polytechnics) as well to see if you can pick up some business English teaching classes and possibly teaching business itself. I think you�ll get work; it just may not be one job and permanent. You haven�t mentioned anything about German language skills � it�s helpful if you have them. Going direct with companies is a possibility but not work in high schools unless you also have secondary school quals.

If you think you can hang out for another 4 months, okay (!), but I�d promise myself I was getting out after that and not be tempted to renew (if you�re offered that). A power tripping boss won�t change and bailing you up like that over �bad gossip� but refusing to say what it is outrageous, bullying behaviour. RE: student. Your instinct is not to take him on but if you need the money and think there�s a ghost of a chance then you could think about setting a date to give him a test (long before August). If he fails that then you won�t be able to continue teaching him for the FCE. If you think that's a good idea, then I�d make those terms crystal clear to him if I were you.
One more thing: Your employer will be bound by German law which means he can't overtly write anything negative about you in a reference. As far as I know that hasn't changed (of course it doesn't cover phone calls). Let us know how it goes!