Job Discussion Forums

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

Let's say I'd like to be in Istanbul for 3 months, and would like to support myself partially on savings and partially on teaching.

How realistic would it be to find a job at an institute for just a couple of months?

What about private students? If I put up ads and got in touch with enough businesspeople through contacts I have in Turkey, would it be reasonable to find some private students on pretty short notice?

coffeespoonman · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 512 Location: At my computer...

Short-notice privates won't pay very well - you get the best paying students through word of mouth. However, if you're willing to work for 25-40 TL an hour, you should be able to find some fairly quickly, through craigslist or mymerhaba.com.

3 months is a pretty bad amount of time to stay somewhere though. Most private students will expect more of a committment than that, and virtually no schools will take you on if you're upfront about only staying for a few months, with the exception of summer work perhaps.

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

Moonshadow_51 · Joined: 09 Apr 2011 Posts: 143 Location: Turkey

Some privates pay and show up.

Some do not.

I don't know your gender, but females are often targeted by the unscrupulous on craigslist, serahbinden and my merhaba.

Be careful, regardless of gender.

I have placed ads on a number of sites, and 98% of them turned our poorly.

Agree totally with previous poster: you need to commit for more than 3 months to be be offered a contract.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

OK so everyone, I am NOT doing what you're doing.

I am NOT looking for a contract. I am looking for part time, short-term work.

Thanks for the info on the Universities and private students. I understand that privates can be flakey and that you get better privates the longer you've been there and the more time you've built up.

I will not be staying there very long, so I will have to deal with flakey privates, going for quantity over quality. One thing I've been sucessful with in Bogot� is posting up flyers around touristy areas, especially offering classes to restaurants. Giving classes to waiters who regularly have to deal with tourists has been seen as a good investment by the managers of said restaurants.

Has anyone done that, given classes in restaurants specifically related to food service etc?

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I'm a career-level language teacher, and I have a pretty decent idea of what it takes to become 'conversant' in a foreign language. I'll have to question your idea of what 'conversant' means here - it's for certain that no-one reaches conversational fluency across any range of topics at all in three months. Maybe you can utter standard polite phrases and order at a restaurant/shop, or converse in very basic terminology about some common topic such as weather, but it's not what we'd call proper 'conversation' in the field, by any means.

Or are you a Rosetta Stone sales rep? Surprised

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

Well Mr. Career level language teacher, I happen to think Rosetta Stone is garbage, and I also think that uttering standard polite phrases and ordering at restaurants will be my goal for day 1, not day 90.

If I was to only take classes, I'm sure that after 3 months that's all I'd have. And I know that as a teacher, that's all that students get after 3 months of ONLY classes. Those who don't practice on their own progress painfully slowly.

But I plan to simply not speak English with Turks, except for classes. I know that with that, I can become conversant (though not perfect) in the range of subjects that one normally talks about.

I won't be able to talk about banking regulations or botany, but as far as talking to normal people and having a social life, and talking about subjects that interest me, ie travel, music, languages, politics, food, I have no doubt that I'll be able to be fluently conversant by 3 months' end. My grammar won't be perfect, but I will be understood and understand people.

Why such a limited view on conversation abilities? What're you, a spokesperson for some kinda school? :wink:

If you're in Istanbul, I'll gladly meet up with you and show off my polite phrases and restaurant ordering abilities the day after I arrive, deal?

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Better start studying tonight, Jacob Laughing

rickh · Joined: 04 Apr 2011 Posts: 7

Moonshadow_51 · Joined: 09 Apr 2011 Posts: 143 Location: Turkey

Brief comment on an earlier post:

I don't think targeting restaurant workers for hospitality English would work, mostly because they haven't much money to burn, nor much free time.

Some of the better language centers already service the high star hotels.

Jacob, Istanbul is pretty much saturated with English teaching and this is why several of the people here have suggested you'll run into competition with others who are willing to stay longer and work a real contract.

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

I see what you're saying, obviously committing to a place long term is going to yield the best result for salary etc. and hopping in for a few months will be risky.

But it seems that everyone is just being very negative about the very notion of coming for only 3 months. Did I offend you all?

I haven't really had a constructive answer about ''this might help'' from anyone but coffee yet...

Moonshadow_51 · Joined: 09 Apr 2011 Posts: 143 Location: Turkey

I sure did not intend to put you off, Jacob. People here often play the 'seniority' bit, and I can't tell you why. Some have self importance issues; others just might be going through a rough period. I have taught in 9 countries for close to 20 years. Still, when I joined this site, people talked down to me as if I were some newbie to education.

The thing is that professional teachers want their work to be valued. We know that what we do is a skilled craft. On the surface, it would seem that anyone stopping by for a short stint without a commitment is neither interested nor trained. This presumption may not be at all true, but it gives an initial impression.

And that is only my observation, not knowing what others see.

The only viable source of employment I can suggest is what someone else has already mentioned - that you check into summer camp programs for kids and teens.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 6:26 am Post subject:

Dear Jacob TM

Good luck with your endeavours in Turkey. At the risk of sounding negative also, I don't think you are leaving yourself enough time to find any sort of decent work in Istanbul. It can be a hard enough city to find your feet in at the best of times...

As for learning the language, again 2 to 3 months will not see much progress, no matter how hard you try. I don't know what other languages you have studied previously, but I'd guess that Turkish would be quite different. For one thing, it most certainly does not lend itself to pidginisation. Expect blank, uncomprehending stares from the waiters, taximen, shop assistants etc. And for a lot longer than 3 months at that.

Iyi sanslar!