Job Discussion Forums

[-chris]

[Sashadroogie]

Hi -chris

Sorry if you got the willies - I didn't mean to scare anyone off. Just to dissuade people from clinging on to their romantic notions of Russia. However, in answer to your question, there are indeed a number of difficulties to be faced in Russia, that can make it quite daunting. Here are but some, in no particular order.

Climate. For lots of TEFLers this can be quite grim. Long stretches of the year are freezing and dark, and so depressing. Personally it doesn't bother me, but lots of my colleagues seem to need regular breaks to warmer climes. For locals too, this is a pain, obviously.

Language. Not the easiest to get to grips with, but probably more necessary to learn than in other European countries.

Paper-work. There is lots of this. It is endless and seemingly pointless. Everything you want to do seems to require your original passport: go to the bank - passport!; get on a train - passport!; enter a corporate client's office - passport!; get stopped by the militsia on the metro - passport! Then you need to 'register' whenever you enter Russia and when you move about in Russia too, though I think these days that has been relaxed so that for trips under a week there is no need to register in the town of whatever small Siberian hotel you are in.

Corruption. Rampant. May not affect TEFLers directly, but it does your school. The rule of law is very weak in many areas and where it is strong it seems very often it is applied only to hurt people, not protect them.

Militsia. Contact to be avoided at all times if possible.

Cost of living. Nothing is cheap here, 'cept booze. Even some basic foodstuffs, which may be imported from as far away as Brazil, will set you back far more than at home, wherever home is.

Booze. The cliche is true. More alcoholics per square mile in Moscow than anywhere else I know. If this offends, this can be a problem too.

Accommodation. Over-priced. Massively so in Moscow. Low quality too. But depends - you can be lucky. But again, sometimes landlords have a very different idea as to what a letting agreement is. Some seem to think that they can still drop over and make use of the property.

Health. Some parts of Russia are heavily polluted. Health can suffer. Which leads to....

Healthcare. Ranges from really good to atrocious. Prices range from free to arm-and-a-leg. But there does not seem to be a one-to-one correspondence to cost and quality...

Social attitudes. And lastly, many foreigners comment on the rudeness of the locals. How much truth there is in their complaint is always a matter of opinion. But one thing is certain - social norms here are quite, quite different from whatever goes at home. Got to be develop a thick skin on issues like racism, immigration, anti-Semitism, gender-roles, smoking, drinking, prostitution, queue-jumping, spitting etc. A lot of this is true elsewhere of course, but Russia seems to really go overtime in forcing you to be tolerant, hee hee.

Regarding students, I love 'em generally. Really satisfying to work with. Smart and can be hard-working too. However, they can be very direct and if not happy with some communicative activity that they see as pointless, they'll complain. Probably not to the teacher, but to admin. They'll ask you for IPA transcriptions for new vocab. They'll ask about the most obscure grammatical structures ("Isn't this a disused subjunctive form?") Some will demand masses of homework, which they'll do and expect you to correct promptly. Legal and Business English learners can be a world of pain unto themselves... argumentative about language and general information too. Indeed lots of General English learners can be also, and can snarl, at other students as well as teachers. Seems to relate to the social skills, or lack thereof, mention earlier...

Personally, I think that most of the above is fair enough. Teachers should be able to handle such situations. But naturally a lesson that is really just fluff will be taken apart by students who want to see some concrete value for their time and money, so newbies fare better in the McSchools, which are set up to support raw TEFLers.

[maruss]

I think the gist of it is therefore that if any of the negative things will really upset you,don't go!It really can get you down at times and you need to be thick skinned,especially when the weather is bad too.....then the temptation comes to follow the Russian habit of drinking to forget what seems bad to you but DON'T DO IT!When you reach that stage it is far better to plan your exit strategy and go somewhere else,unless your mood lifts in a day or two!Even though I had been there many times,have close friends and a working knowledge of the language so I thought I knew what living there would be like there were still times when the place really got to me.Russia really is no place for romantic sentimentals who expect to find a country like the one Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy lived in,but I will not deny that it is a unique experience which you will always remember...

[maruss]

Most Russians nowadays cite this as the number one problem in their country(as if the others are not serious!) and it is eating away at the very fabric of their society,strangling small businesses and discouraging foreign investors!Although Medvedyev keeps making promises that he will deal with it,his actual political powers are limited and the other guy and his cronies are still firmly in control.....who will agree to bite off the hand that feeds them?

[spiral78]

Back to one point on Chris' post, if I may. Teaching children and teenagers in Korea won't give you very much at all in terms of teaching experience that's applicable to a Russia teaching job. It's all quite different: you're far less likely to be teaching children, and the Russian attitude to lessons is very different than the Asian one. They're far more demanding and goal-oriented, as Sasha has pointed out. Rather than being based in a school, most teachers are travelling around a city to the offices of their (businesspeople) students.

It's helpful for new teachers to have some awareness of the kinds of differences they are facing.

[Sashadroogie]

Oops. Didn't see the bit about the kiddies.

Actually, there are loads of kids schools around. Big demand for this. McSchools and private schools. But I know very little about such schools as I like to steer clear of the little darlings...

Other posters will have valuable info on this I'm sure.

[Shelby]

Not sure how helpful this will be but I have been working in the Urals for 7 months and the experience is totally different to those described by people working in Moscow.

No travelling - all lessons taught in school. A mix of adults and children. I would endorse the fact that students are serious and expect to see results. Lessons need to be well planned and purposeful.

Speaking Russian is essential - I haven't met an English speaker outside the school and there is no expat community but I love it

[Mikalina]

Tell BKC-IH that you only want to teach kids and they'll bite your hand off in their rush..... They'll train you too. Tell 'em you love VYL and want to devote your life to 5 years olds. A kiddie academic hour used to be time and a half and the tots, double time. Plenty of work. Whether they will take you without much experience will depend on who else has applied this year. If their recruitment is low, they'll take anyone.

[coledavis]