Job Discussion Forums

[Archie Rice]

Anyone have any experience of this area? I'm thinking primarily of Armenia, as I have some heritage from there, tho cannot speak language. Also would consider Georgia and maybe Azerbaijan.

What's the living costs and job market like ? The general atmosphere and level of fun always a good point to consider too. I am native Britush with CELTA and 2 years experience.

[cloud_pleaser]

Georgia has the TLG program, probably the most cohesive form of employment in the region:
www.tlg.gov.ge

Living costs are low (especially if you live in a village like I did), but it's not a program you can make money on. I did a year in it in 2010-11 and had the time of my life.

[BenE]

IH also run a school in Tiblisi. I remember my CELTA tutor moving there from Vietnam. I'm going to check it out when I go there next month for a holiday.

[ecocks]

NOTE: IF you do Azerbaijan, NEVER mention the Armenian heritage. The army Lt. who murdered an Armenian officer during a multi-country training program in Hungary is a national hero. That should zip you up a bit.

I enjoyed my time in Azerbaijan. Saved some money and had some great students but I needed a bit more social freedom. That said, I loved my apartment, the food was great, made some wonderful friends (locals) and saw a different side of the world.

[From friends working there]Language Solutions is currently hiring for for a 5-6 month position working 9-6, M-F in the Old City section (nice building and environment). Pay is good, hours are fantastic, there are reimbursements and allowances for travel and apartment rental. Students are not always the best but nothing like some countries where it's like a zoo.

They are on TEFL.COM with the job ad.

[From a co-worker] Georgia is reportedly a good environment but not much on pay rate

[22Yossarian]

TLG is a bit of a role of the dice. But I have to admit spending a couple of months in Georgia was one of the most important experiences of my life and it helped put me on my current career path.

The good thing is TLG actually pays to fly you to Tbilisi and puts you up in a hotel for the first 10 days or so for training. The training itself is mostly worthless and boring, other than getting a cell phone and a bank account. I did not have a CELTA at the time (I now do), but their teaching methods are worthless. Mostly you just need to make it through your methodology courses. Also, the Georgian language courses are pretty worthless. But all the folks who work for TLG are really pleasant and friendly to work for.

But that week of training was one of the best weeks of my life. So many great people were in my intake, we had a great deal of fun. Unfortunately, you have no idea where you are going in Georgia until 2 or 3 days before you head out to were you will live. So, you get to know all these wonderful people, but there is a very real chance that it will be geographically difficult for you to see them once you are placed.

That ties in with the issue of money, you are paid 500 Georgian Lari a month (equal to about $300USD), 100 of which goes to your host family. Which is very reasonable, I would be very hard pressed to rent a room and get 3 meals a day from any place in the United States for $60 USD a month. But after that, you are not left with a great deal of cash, which makes traveling a bit difficult. If you are placed in a fare flung village like I was you will want to travel. You will want to see the people from your orientation. Hostels in Tbilisi and Batumi are not terribly expensive, often 10-30 Lari a night depending on what you want, but paying for your meals, paying for a train ticket or bus (as they are called in Georgia martshutkas), and a hostel and bar tab begin to add up. It is probably better to go to Georgia if you have a few thousand dollars in the bank, Georgia is not expensive, but if you do not speak Georgian and you are the only English speaker in your village you are going to get pretty bored pretty fast. Also, traveling around Georgia is tough but quite doable. The martshutka system is quite brilliant. It connects every city, town, and village in Georgia. The martshutka isn't the most comfortable way to travel, but it is fairly practice. But with Georgia, always be prepared for surprises. Like I was once dropped off on the side of the freeway in the vague vicinity of wear I thought the martshutka was going, and ended up having to pay more for a taxi to take me a few miles into the town's center than I paid for the 70 mile martshutka ride. There is a high speed train that runs from Tbilisi to Batumi that is modern and comfortable, but other than that I would avoid the trains.

It helps if you are the type of person who is a bit outdoorsy and enjoys "roughing it", as Georgia is not the first world. There is a high probability that your host family will have a squat toilet. Further, there is a high probability that your your family will not have central heat of any kind. Rather they will stay warm by sitting in the same room around a fire. At night, if you are lucky, you will get a space heater for your room, if you are not so lucky you will get an extra blanket. As it started to get cold, my host grandfather came and explained to me (as well as he could considering we had about 8 common words), that what I thought was a thin mattress was actually a very heavy quilt.

But with that, Georgia is an incredibly beautiful country. I never got tired of the view of the mountains from the second story of my family's house. If you are into hiking and camping, Georgia is great. You will have a fantastic time. If you like cities and technology you probably will be miserable.

If you are a really serious teacher you might struggle in Georgia. Teaching there is a joke. My experience was I spent most my time sitting or standing in a corner watching my co-teacher (who spoke rudimentary English herself) teach, and I was used mostly to model words. You are suppose to meet your co-teachers for an hour every week to plan your lessons, we had one meeting my first week, we planned lessons, and those lessons never happened. It seemed that everyday my co-teachers did the same thing they did the day before, it was pretty absurd.

But my co-teachers were really friendly and wonderful people. Outside of school they did a great deal to help me, as they were often the only people I could talk to in the village. Georgians in general are really warm excellent people. I dropped my tablet on the martshutka without noticing, and as the van pulled away, it stopped, and they started calling for me to come back, and somebody handed me my tablet. Almost any place else and that bad boy would have been gone. As I was walking to class, my principal told me I looked tired and asked me into her office (she spoke limited English). I did, and she pulled out some cake, and poured me something out of a juice bottle and started to make coffee. i took a big drink of the "juice" and it was wine, she told me I needed to rest and that I should drink some coffee and go to 4th grade late. Quite frequently when I walked through my village people would call me over, give me a glass of wine or cha-cha, offer me bread, grapes, apples, whatever they had. Really really kind and genuine people.

[far.out.at.sea]

I also taught with TLG. I rarely actually taught anything. I mostly sat beside my co-teacher and watched her teach. But that changed after I told her I was going crazy with boredom and I'd have to teach at least a few classes.

I loved Georgia though, the food, the culture....My time there was great. But don't go if you want to save money because you'll most likely spend your entire stipend each month traveling and such.

[newOmani]

Armenia is a wonderful place to teach, where people are friendly, hospitable, and polite. Besides Armenian heroes are not murderers-you will be secure during your stay there; no one will murder you cowardly while you're sleeping! What is more important students are smart and gifted, and they are respectful and keen on learning, especially with a nice and knowledgeable teacher. There are several educational institutions that will welcome you, especially that you have some Armenian heritage and you are a native speaker! There is American University of Armenia, with Extension Program in Yerevan www.aua.am, who expands its programs throughout the regions, and as far as I know they are looking for more teachers. Also British Council in Armenia www.britishcouncil.org/armenia organizes language courses and advertises teaching positions constantly. In one of Armenian major cities, Dilijan, Armenian diaspora is opening very reputable international school, which will have Oxford curriculum. There are vast opportunities in Yerevan. Just research an Armenian educational market, Google up Armenian language training centers and you'll find what you need. If further assistance is needed PM me. Good luck!

[teacher X]

newOmani, do you happen to work for the Armenian Tourist Board?
Also, I think you misunderstood some of the previous posts.

[newOmani]

teacher X, I've taught at the American University of Armenia.
Please, feel free to PM me the posts you think I misunderstood; will be glad to socialize with you

[gloomyGumi]

i am an armenian-american. is it advisable to just show up in yerevan and start handing out resumes? it would be great........

[newOmani]

Yeah, you can get in touch with some institutions even before getting into Yerevan, and see what they offer. Right now AUA (American University of Armenia) Extension is recruiting English teachers for Gyumri. The requirements are MA in teaching English and minimum 3 years of teaching experience. Maybe they hire you if you are a native speaker with Bachelor's degree in English, and if you tell them you're planning to obtain your MA in TEFL at AUA or somewhere else (if you want this of course!). I'll PM you the e-mail to send your CV.

[gloomyGumi]

thanks mate. What do they pay and how much can you save on average there per month? I mean roughly

[Harbin]

[Archie Rice]

[expatella_girl]

You have an Armenian coat?