Job Discussion Forums

[steven_gerrard]

In what way is that a correction? You have agreed with me!

[alekto]

[quote="steven_gerrard"]In what way is that a correction? You have agreed with me![/quote]

I know I've agreed with your main point - I just didn't want you to forget the hourly paids, who aren't quite as fortunate as the contract teachers at the Council and won't be so well off if it goes down the pan

[Confederate]

Business English are the terms and language used in business, maybe a more correct term would be business slang. Some schools I have taught at did not even know the difference between British English and American English, let alone the differences in business slang that is used in the two countries. Most of the in company classes I taught were general English, but sometimes a client would request a course in business English because they were attending a conference either in Britian or the US and needed to know how businessmen/women communicated, the different terms used in business today. There are many Russian businessmen/women here today looking to start doing business either in the US or in Britian and wish to learn the terms used by American and British business people. Most English teachers do not know these terms, mush less how they are used and when they are used. It reminds me of a high school that is short of math teachers, so they assign a PE teacher to teaching science. It really can not be done unless that PE teacher has a degree in science. I was teaching at LL (or so I thought) when I had that client and still have contact with him, he was the sales rep for a software development company here.

Business English is more of an English for Specific Purposes, just like legal English, medical English, travel industry English. There is no way that I would even attempt to teach medical English and most likely would not try legal English because I am unqualified to in my opinion. Some schools really do not care about if a teacher is qualified or not, they feel that every English teacher can teach it all and in my opinion, and only my opinion, they really can not. Maybe it would be better to say, maybe some native English teachers can teach it all, but I am one that can not and I know that I can not and will not even try to. Many times I have turned down jobs because I felt that I was not qualified to teach what they wanted. It made my supervisor mad a few times when I was at LL. If I had accepted those classes I would have most likely only made a fool out of myself and the school also, but these schools act as if they could care less sometimes.

Georgia Confederate

[steven_gerrard]

Perhaps the first rule of freelancing, particularly in the volatile market of Moscow, is not to put all your eggs in one basket. How many of the freelance teachers at the British Council (or anywhere for that matter) do all their hours in the same place? I'll guarantee you it's one or two at the most and they will be people who have been around a long time, got themselves established in that particular school and are earning enough in the busy months to cover the very slow summer.

Good for you that you have freelance work. October is a very busy time in any school and I am sure you'll do well for the next few months. But make sure you're putting your pennies away for after the May holiday, when class numbers go down and when the teahcers who are on a contract are given all (or most) of the available hours. That is, after all, why any school has freelancers, so they can drop them when the workload goes down. If there were enough classes to be covered all year round, there would be more contract teachers, so the schools were sure of covering all their hours.

Don't get complacent, spread yourself about a bit and save a bit for a rainy day. That way you'll be fine.

[Confederate]

I have been teaching here in Russia for over a year now. I have had jobs offers all throughout the year, during summer, Christmas, May through August. Becuase the simple fact is that there are plenty of jobs here for native English speakers, in plenty of different ways. Of course sitting on your butt expecting the jobs to come to you just will not happen. You have to seek these jobs out, many of the jobs I have, I have by accident. If you mean volatile in that in freelance teaching, students come and goo pretty fast, that students tire after awhile and stop having classes, yes that can be aproblem, but only if you have nothing else to cover for it. Just like last week, I had a student cancel having classes because of changes in her work schedule. That is part of freelance teaching, students come and go more so than teaching as a contract teacher at some school. So I called the translation company I work for on the side that I had a little extra time and could do some more editing for them, they sent me some extra work.

All I'm saying is that there is a lot more than only working with these big franchized schools. Just last night I saw where one of the schools I have worked at is hiring BIBS Polygot., they pay a little more than LL, BKC, and the rest, but when you get down to it, they are just like the rest of these schools, and people here in Russia, at least here in Moscow are starting to realize that they can hire just as good teachers if not better teachers than signing a contract with any school. It is because these schools do not really give a damn, money comes first, quality education comes second, if at all. It is as if they are putting their own selves out of business. As far as I'm concerned, the smart teacher who works at one of these schools has their own freelance students to back up the way these schools conuct business.

Plenty of teachers here do all their hours in one place, I myself have taught at two schools where all the classes are at the school and no where else. If your talking about in-company classes, then yes, every class is in a different place. Some teachers only teach in-company, because that is where the greated demand for teaching is for these schools. But I know plenty of teachers who only teach in one place, either their apartment or else where. I myself have students that come to me for lessons either after school, before work or after work, because I generally charge less for classes if they come to me than I do if I have to go to them.

A lot of teachers here who teach freelance do not realize or maybe not care, but freelance teaching is like a business. Your selling a service, English lessons and how well you do or whether or not you succeed or fail depends on how you conduct your business. Some teachers here tend to only target the upper class, yet a lot more money can be made by teaching small classes of four or five students twice a week of working class parents, Last summer, during the dacha season when most of the well to do are all visiting their dachas or traveling out of country, I made at least $300.00 per week teaching the children of the working class who can afford to go on summer vacations, much less own a country house.

That is why I say that most of these schools make mistakes in thinking any native English teacher can teach business English or business classes, they really can not because they know zip about business. I think you can see that the more successful freelance teachers operate just like a small business, very few of these teachers fail or have to worry about having students. I myself as the norm teach at one school and work at a translation company besides having my private students. So as you can see, I am not putting all my eggs in one basket and did not realize that I ever had hinted at doing that for anybody. I only meant to say that a teacher can make more teaching on their own as freelance teachers than they ever can at any school. Fact is fact, these schools do not care about education, money is their concern and a lot of businesses and people are starting to realize that. Many times I have had business clients teeling me that they tried these schools, but the teachers they sent knew nothing about business. They took classes to learn how to communicate with American and British businessmen and the teachers sent knew nothing at all about business. But as far as putting all your eggs in one basket goes, what do you call the teacher who only teaches at the school and nowhere else, isn't that the same?

Forgive the ramblings, I'm not fussing or angry with you, just making myself a little more clearer about what I was trying tosay. I mean lets face facts, Mr. Gerrard, has a lot more experience and has taught in more countries than I have. He is right in his views, just I feel that I am also.

Georgia Confederate

[Confederate]

Please forgive the typos in my last post, I was shocked to see all that I made. Today started at 5:00 am and has ended at 4:00, pretty much the nirm for a Friday. Usually I have to leave at 6:00 which means getting up at 5:00 and the last class will be at 9:00 pm during the week. So teaching freelance is not for the fainthearted. Some days at the end of the day, I'm lucky to be able to spell my name. But at least this weekend is free.

Georgia Confederate

[steven_gerrard]

You are right to a certain extent but the British Council is a whole different kettle of fish. No contract teachers ever leave without notice so there are less opportunites for hourly-paid teachers to step in and fill the breach. They know how many groups they are going to have even a year from now so plan accordingly. As I said before, there are few HPs there who make enough money out of it to be their sole source of income and those are the ones who will keep going in the summer months. I know you seem to be a fan of the smaller Russian-run schools but it would not be easy to go from a BC level of income to one you can earn in a Russian school.

I think it is wise to to spread your hours if you're freelance, that's all.

[Confederate]

Yes, Mr. Gerrard, you are correct in your facts. From what I have heard and seen most of the franchised schools have a base rate of pay, the more experience and education a teacher has, the higher the pay, in some cases, some of the larger run Russian owned schools pay better, but offer fewer benefits, so I guess it all evens out. The highest I have made at any school so far has been $17.00 per sixty minutes at one of the British franchise schools and at a Russian owned school I was paid $15.00 per 45 minutes. I generally now only use the schools I teach at as backup to times when private students attending private lessons is soft, something like having unemployment insurance. Of course things can and do change. This is only how I have operated here and it has worked OK for me, as far others the way I do things may not work for them.

I think you are right in that freelancers may should spread out their teaching hours some, as a matter of fact, I think most freelancers will have no other choice but spread their hours out, that is the nature of this business. I think you'll agree that this business is completely different from public schools where students have no choices, they have to accept things and that is it, where as the ESL business students and clients have the final say in everything, hours, time of class, teacher, subject areas to be taught and sometimes even textbooks used. I think that can be a problem with some teachers who come here, they think these schools are like public schools where the teacher controls everything and that takes some getting use to, at least it did for me when I first started here. One of the best schools I taught at here was a Russian owned private school that operated at night. The students attended public school in the day and then came to this school at night. This school taught everything and more than the public schools did and all of my classes where in English. I taught history, world history, US history, British history, US and British Lit., and business classes. The pay was $10.00 per 45 minutes, not a high pay I know, but I generally taught there from 5:00 pm till 10:00 pm when the school closed, five nights per week. I had my mornings and most of the afternoons free. This school, LingVArex was one of the best schools I have ever taught at here. But I have found that in this business, each person has their own opinions, likes and dislikes and I think that is pretty good for this business.

Georgia Confederate

[alekto]

I certainly agree that it's best to spread your work when freelancing.

I started out doing that, taking up work in two schools in the end: however, I found that I was working more than enough hours and that the running around after classes (combined with morning Russian lessons) was not worth the hasstle. I was quite nervous about taking that step, but nonetheless, I told one of the schools that, for the time being, I couldn't take work from them.

This now means I am totally reliant on one school, which I know is a precarious position...but, at least for the next few months, I should get a steady income and can save for when things wind down.

I have a private which I could easily expand upon (I've had enquiries regarding teaching the rest of the family, but simply can't right now...it'll be a good fallback) and I'm still technically part of the "off contract" list in another school. Plus there are always privates (I've been turning down work as it is)

I think, on a practical level, freelancers usually have to spread their work, particularly if they want to make a lot of money.

I'm not looking for savings and wanted to work a little less this year, so having had the chance to get all my work in one school and keep things simple, I've taken it.

Just trying to point out that freelancing can work in different ways. That's one of the good things about it: flexibility Although the teacher needs to be flexible too - situations change and then you need to adapt.

[mitchellmadisonp]

Hey Confederate,

Its been awhile, but I have decided to come to Moscow in January. I am going to take the CELTA class and use that time to also get my feet wet. I have some questions now regarding the arrival etc.

1)The school wants to get me a multiple entry business visa which costs $350.00. Is this necessary? (Remember, I am interested in a smooth as possible entry--I am not accustomed to face-to-face bribing yet)

2)Will I need to leave the country to obtain a work visa after the class, or does the business multiple entry visa cover that?

3)How much cash (literally American Dollars) should I bring to get settled? Does this cash need to be hidden? Are Amex travellers cheques useless?

That's all that's in my head for now. I now there will be more questions over the next few months. Thanks for your help.


Mac

[expatella_girl]

Yes, the visa is absolutely necessary.

But that's only the tip of the iceberg. You also have to have a Moscow residency permit. No matter how long your visa is in effect, the residency permit expires every 6 months and you have to leave the country and then return to renew it. And when the residency expires, so does everything else in Moscow go along with it. If you have a car (don't do it!) your auto registration and insurance and drivers license expire too. It's a nightmare. I know an American woman who just married a Russian and there are no exceptions. She still has to leave the country every 6 months. Beware: they change the rules constantly. Next week it may be all new and different.

Legally you may bring in up to $3,000 in foreign currency. Nobody is going to search your pockets. Just come into the airport through the line that says "Nothing to Declare." Look straight ahead and keep moving. (This will be some of the last English you will see here.)

Travelers Cheques are nearly (but not quite) useless here. This is a cash economy. The banking/financial system in Russia is untrustworthy and largely broke-down. They just don't do the check thing here, not of any kind.

Bring at least one American credit card. Something with a decent limit that will allow you to charge unforseen expenses and travel tickets. Guard it carefully. Have an overseas bank account and an ATM card. This will allow you to access cash. Most people here who have the wherewithal, and work for foreign companies, have their pay direct deposited to their home country account. Then you use the ATM card to get cash. Russian banks are to be avoided at all times. They are totally unstable and have only a small depositors guarantee. A number of banks folded in the last 6 months and their depositors were left with---nothing.

$3,000 cash might do ya, but it would be nice to have more. I just can't emphasize enough how different and non-functional the Russian financial system is. Yeah buddy, it ain't nothin' like America.

[bobs12]

[Communist Smurf]

expatella_girl,

I would suggest you be *a lot* more cautions about the (mis)information you provide. I suspect the "residency permit" you speak about is actually the registration (the only thing I can think of that expires every six months), and it is not necessary to leave the country to renew it.

I'm not sure why you say your driver's license expires... all that is necessary for Americans is a *translation* of your American driver's license.

There are a number of other details regarding your post that worry me. But since I'm not certain I have the correct response to these other details, I won't comment.

CS

[expatella_girl]

You want to dicker over semantics?

Residency registration/permit/OVIR/whatever in Moscow expires every 6 months--regardless of visa. Smurf, not trying to start an argument, do you live in Moscow? I know enough people here who are endlessly dealing with the expiration of one thing or another and having to leave the country so that they can come back and renew everything...it's a perpetual round and round process. It's possible that I have used an inaccurate bureaucratic term but the song remains the same.

And yes, according to what I've heard (don't have a car myself) when the residency expires, so does everything else. Russian drivers license, insurance and registration etc.

P.S. Can't get rid of that weird *beep* in the first sentence. The word is supposed to be dicker.

Now this whole residency problem is limited to a few cities. I know it applies in Moscow, I've heard that it's also required in St. Petersburg but not as strictly enforced, and a couple of other towns--can't remember which. No, the resident registration does not apply to Russia as a whole but if you're picked up on the streets of Moscow and your residency registration is expired, you may be in for a very unpleasant experience, including an expedited boot out of the country.[/i]

[expatella_girl]

Why in the world has the word *dicker* turned into beeps in my post? Is there some secret list of words that can't be used?