Job Discussion Forums

[basiltherat]

Hi
No. No longer there but ..... hopefully will be next year.

Best
Basil

[[email protected]]

[helenl]

Would suggest you change your user name - if indeed that is your name and email address showing - otherwise, expect unwanted email messages.

[troglodyte]

I've been reading through previous posts that mentioned Syria (via the forum's search function). There are still a some questions that I'm wondering about. I someone has some of the answers, I'd appreciate hearing from them.

1. What is average hourly pay for teaching English at a school (language school, public school, etc.)?
2. Do most schools care about graduate degrees that weren't obtained in my home country or a non-English speaking country? e.g. If I have an MA in Education from a university in a non-English country, will it be of any value in getting an ELT job in Syria?
3. What is average hourly rate for private English lessons - tutoring?
4. How much is rent in Damascus or Aleppo usually? For a one room apartment. Nothing extraordinary, but furnished and not in a dodgy area of town.
5. How much are utilities? How about other expenses like food, transportation, clothes, etc.?
6. If you're in Syria on a tourist visa, how long can you stay? Is it 90 days? Does it matter where your from, or is it 90 days for everyone?
7. Regarding visa runs, how much does it usually cost to do this?
8. If you plan on staying in Syria for a year, you'd probably make 3 or 4 visa runs. Are the guys at the border more reluctant to let you keep doing that after a few visa runs? Or they don't care?
9. Can most Arabic language schools get you a visa for the period of the course?

My plan is to go to Syria for 6 to 12 months. I'd like to Learn Arabic and check out the country. I don't care if I make much money in Syria. At the moment, I'm mainly just checking out the situation there before going. It would be good to know things like costs and availability of jobs before going so that I can figure out how much money I might need to take with me.

In cast it's relevant, I have 15 years experience in ELT, a CELTA, a Bachelor's degree, etc. Most of the common credentials. I also attend training courses and workshops, and I read about different teaching methodology and ideas. Basically, I consider myself qualified to teach English.

[veiledsentiments]

Sorry I can't answer your specific questions, (perhaps Basiltherat will appear and answer some of them) but I'm wondering if your first step might be to check with some of the schools in Syria teaching Arabic and see if they provide some sort of student visa. If not, they probably know the answer to the visa questions. They likely will also help you to find housing.

Then, with your experience, you could probably pick up private lessons to support yourself... assuming that you share housing. Or not... depending on how much money you have budgeted.

Just a thought...

BTW... I think it is one of the best places to go and study Arabic. In your situation, I would try to spend a year and be serious about it.

VS

[basiltherat]

hi
i'd like to help you more but since i have been away for several years, the only info i can give you is:

1. i did part time work for alc in the evenings 3 or 4 years ago. then it was $15 an hour

2. yes

3. around $25 to $30 per hour should be easy now. i had one couple who paid $55 an hour for ielts prep back then so i guess that or more is possible now.

ielts is a huge market

best
basil

[MADAMELEACH]

I hear the public 'Hamams' or Saunas are popular there.

I heard it on the world radio service yesterday.