Job Discussion Forums

[tuco]

I've registered to take the CELTA course with Teaching House this August, but now I'm having second thoughts.

I moved from Russia to the US with my family at a young age, but managed to retain a recognizable Russian accent. I've been told it does not impede comprehension, but after reading TESL message boards, I'm worried that it will prove to be an obstacle in finding employment.

At first, I plan to teach English in Moscow, Russia, where plenty of non-native speakers seem to be doing the job just fine. I may even have an advantage, because I'm familiar with the kind of issues native Russian speakers experience in learning English.

Later, however, I plan to return to the US... Will it be much harder to find a job there? What do you guys think? Does it help that I have spent a significant portion of my life living in an English-speaking country, and that I just received my Bachelor's degree in English and linguistics from an American university? I went to middle school and high school here as well...

[Xie Lin]

Hello, tuco,

Assuming you have a US passport (sounds as if you do,) with a CELTA and an American BA in English/linguistics, you should easily qualify for a job in Russia. You can consult the Russia forum for more info and advice--a number of helpful, knowledgeable posters to be found there.

However, you may well find the US market more difficult, which isn't to say that you won't be able to find a job, just that you'll have lots of competition. Without further qualifications, you'll pretty much be limited to language schools and community-based programs. But you are in an ideal location right now to do a little investigative research. Talk to a few of the schools there--Teaching House, Rennert, St. Giles, etc, and find out if they have NNS's with similar qualifications on staff. Rennert has two separate TESOL programs for NNS's, so you might want to contact them and ask who hires their grads.

.

[spiral78]

Teaching Russian in the US might be a more likely angle.

[tuco]

Xie Lin, thank you for your response! Yes, I do hold American citizenship.
I didn't realize there was a Russia-specific subforum. I will be sure to check it out.

spiral78, yes, I could teach my native Russian, and even Latin or Esperanto, in which case native status would not matter at all, but it's English that I wish to teach. /

[spiral78]

You'll have massively more competition trying to teach English in the States.

That's why I think you will need another angle. Teaching English to Russian-speaking immigrants might be another option.

A related BA + CELTA isn't going to get anyone, even a native speaker, particularly high on the list in the US job market. Being a non-native speaker as well really puts you in the 'unlikely to find a job' category, I think.

You'll be fine in Russia - it's just the longer-term plan of teaching English in the US that I think is probably unrealistic.

[robbie_davies]