Job Discussion Forums

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

I tried asking in the Caribbean thread, but it's completely dead. Wondering if anyone can give me some info. I'm thinking about moving to Puerto Rico and was wondering if there are any schools that might be hiring. I've searched Dave's ESL and the web. Does anyone know how to go about getting an ESL job in the San Juan area? I have 2 1/2 years experience at a trade school in the USA. I'm sure it's not tremendously popular, but there must be some jobs, right?

I'm headed there for 8 days on vacation next month, and thought I'd look around while I was there - but I just can't find any leads.

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

Maybe try the LA board? I know there are schools there, you might want to try to get into a primary or secondary one.

Isla Guapa · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:53 pm Post subject:

You could also try the Caribbean Forum.

MotherF · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:40 pm Post subject:

I don't know if there is much in the way of language schools in Puerto Rico. Children take English at school and there is a big MA program in the teaching of English at the Inter American University in Puerto Rico as well as similar degrees in other schools. So I'm under the impression that they pretty much train locals to cover English in the schools. That's not to say that there isn't a market. Most mainland Americans took Spanish or another foriegn language in school and didn't learn it.

Your 8 days should help you assess the situation.

cassava · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 175

Perilla · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 792 Location: Hong Kong

cassava · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 175

Perilla:

My advice was based on the fact that Puerto Rico, where Madhatter109 plans to live, is situated on the Caribbean Tectonic Plate. This Plate adjoins the North American Plate, the South American Plate, the Cocos Plate, and the Nazca Plate. Most of the Plates that surround the Caribbean Plate are much larger than it is. This location means that the Caribbean Plate is not geologically stable.

The borders of these Plates are usually subjected to profound seismic activity. Indeed, the level of destruction caused by earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis can be verified by a study of the geological history of the entire area. The problem is compounded by the existence of various subduction zones that are also geologically very unstable.

Finally, parts of Central and South America lie on the "Ring of Fire". The Ring extends from Western Canada, down through the Western United States, through the western parts of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. It goes down through the spine of South America, traversing the western parts of Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. The Ring also extends to the Pacific and has major effects on geological activities in Japan and New Zealand.

The potential for cataclysmic disasters in the Ring of Fire is well known to geophysicists and geologists. Many of them expect that California will be ripped apart sooner or later and that a similar fate will befall many countries that fall within the embrace of the Ring. In fact, the expectations for Japan are among the most pessimistic for any country that I have mentioned so far. The fact that Japan sits atop three tectonic plates and lies in a subduction zone means that a major movement of tectonic plates will result in the annihilation of that country. The recent geological calamities in Sendai are just a minor warning of what is to come.