Job Discussion Forums

[Travis86]

My girlfriend and I are looking to work in Prague as ESL teachers. We both have a year(Technically 15 months myself) of experience under our belt as we just finished a stint in South Korea. I have a TESOL certificate (120 hours) and she is looking to get a certificate herself.

My question is, do they accept TESOL certification as on par with TEFL or CELTA? What are our chances (assuming she gets certified) of finding work in Prague with these qualifications?

[spiral78]

If your certs were onsite and included supervised teaching practice with real students, you'll be fine. If not, consider taking a course in Prague.

A few things to note, in case you aren't already aware:

Experience in Korea won't put you ahead of other newbies here; the students in Prague are so different that it's apples and oranges, and employers are well aware of this.

If you are not EU member citizens, you'll have visa hassles - these can be overcome, but it's not simple, and you're competing with UK teachers who have automatic legal right to work.

Jobs are not found from abroad; you need to be here on the ground, ready to interview in person.

The job market here is slanted in favour of employers - there are lots of teachers around. This means that pay is subsistence level (at least for the first year) and that you won't get the perks you did in SK.

Most contracts are Sept/June, with a small hiring bump in Jan. Because of Schengen zone laws (google if you're not familiar) you have only 90 days - again assuming that you are not from an EU member country) to land legal paperwork and a job before you would have to leave the entire Zone for 90 full days before re-entering.

It's do-able, but you'll need to plan well, and be sure to come with enough funds to pay your way for a few months at least.

[Travis86]

The certification was onsite, but not with real students.

Does having teaching experience really not give any kind of edge when looking for jobs? I understand that it would be very different, but it seems very counter-intuitive to say that it is on par with someone who has NO teaching experience.

Also, I am assuming you are basically saying that I need to go to the CR and look for a job once I'm there?I read that it is best to go on "vacation", and then if a job just happens to come your way, its nobodies fault. How accurate is this account?

[spiral78]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=95456&start=0

You need the real supervised teaching practice; anything less will put you at a significant disadvantage on a tough job market. Prague is a training centre mecca, turning out a few hundreds of newly certified teachers every few months - all with the supervised teaching practice with real (Czech) students.

I've been on hiring committees on and off for over a decade now. We actually avoid teachers with 'only' experience in Asia, as they are often too ingrained in approaches and methods that don't work well here.

Yes, you enter the CR on a 90 day basis, along with the other 10 million tourists coming in this year, with no residency or work visa. No questions will be asked. You then have 90 days to get paperwork. Again, timing is crucial, as noted above.

[emmett grogan]

You could have 20 years teaching experience in Korea but it wont mean a thing in Prague. The schools are looking to employ people as cheaply as possible so they will be quite happy to dismiss what you did outside of The Czech Republic as worthless and offer you a gig right at the bottom of the pile paying peanuts. Měj se hezky.

[eventually]

[spiral78]

The thread I linked above does just that, and presents the thoughts of a range of posters on the topic, rather than just mine.

[Mercury Morris]

Hello Travis86/anybody else reading this thread,

MOD EDIT It is also a blatant lie to say at certain times of the school year you can't find work. Rubbish: schools are hiring teachers ANY time of the year: summer, winter, spring, fall you name it they want you. If you are a native speaker of English that is what they want. Americans are often particularly in demand: I have many students currently who don't want British teachers because they don't want to deal with the British accent. Or, they simply prefer Americans for whatever reason.

I've been teaching here for years, at many ESL schools and privately. The truth is this: if you have enough money for the Visa and Zivno, have a university degree and TEFL/TESL/etc you will not have any problem finding work here. The schools are very hungry for new teachers. I know teachers teaching here in Prague with no ESL certificate and they're doing fine. Heck--many of them don't even have the visa sorted and the schools are still hiring them!

Fact of the matter is in Prague there is a shortage of native English speaking ESL teachers. Americans of all ages are here teaching English to Czechs...in their 20s, 30s, 40s...even in their 70s. Many retirees from UK and USA are here teaching English as well.

Will everybody easily make it here? In all honesty NO: while it certainly can be done and thousands of Americans are here teaching English and making it, there are many Americans, Canadians, and Brits who just don't have their shit together: disorganized, drinking problems, don't know how to show up on time for a lesson, don't know how to plan a decent lesson, or simply put don't have what it takes to teach English in Prague.

My point is this: if you are a 3rd country national (read that American, Canadian, Aussie etc) you can come and teach here and make it work. Don't believe the posters who make it out to be too difficult, few opportunities, picky schools, etc. If you are presentable, have good business acumen, are organized, basically have your MOD EDIT together you will have no problem making it here teaching English.

Hope this helps.

[spiral78]

MOD EDIT

Oh, sorry, of course it's nonsense to worry whether you'll need an onsite TEFL cert in a job market where most candidates have one. And as for employers preferring to hire teachers who don't need visas (UK/Ireland/other EU) over those who will require lots of legal paperwork - clearly rubbish! And even though most contracts are Sept - June, of course great employers have their hiring doors wide open anytime of the year for all those exceptional Americans everyone loves so much.

All I'm saying is maximize your chances of success. Get a cert that's competitive on this job market (google how many TEFL training centres there are in Prague!), come at the peak hiring period, and be prepared to look and act professionally.

[Mercury Morris]

MOD EDIT

The schools don't care if you're from the UK/Eu or outside. If you've got potential they will run with you, hire you–even without a proper visa. The facts are the facts I've seen this loads of times at different schools.

It's not necessarily subsistence wages here, many ESL teachers pull down gross 30,000Kc monthly once they get the hang of it. Even 40,000Kc is easily achieved.

You just need to get the visa and zivno sorted at first, which is not difficult. There are companies like www.easyvisa.cz who can take care of the visa and zivno for you. No problemo! You need I think about $7,000 in the bank for the visa as proof of funds.

Doesn't matter where you get your TEFL/TESOL/CELTA etc. from, as long as its reputable and you have teaching experience. Doesn't matter at all if you do it in Asia–the proof is in the pudding–they will observe you teaching and if you are decent you're in.

And who cares about the ESL schools anyways? The Zivno (trade license) means you are a self employed ESL teacher in CZ. And the schools hire you in that capacity, NOT as an employee so as to avoid paying taxes. You are an independent contractor providing a service to the school. This is how they do it in Prague. If you market yourself well you can build up loads of privates and make much more money than through the schools.

Basically it's fast and loose in Prague: get your visa, get your zivno, and get going. Have decent lessons that students like. If your lessons suck, you show up late/unprepared a lot, and the students complain then the schools will dump you straight away. But if the students like you and you get good feedback, the schools will love you and even beg you to take on more lessons. You don't even have to be good at grammar, or have stellar credentials: the bottom line is that students like you and like your lessons. Take the time to prepare a decent, interesting lesson. It's not rocket science!

Ignore the debbie downers on this forum. If you want to come and teach in Prague and you're American, New Zealander, Aussie, etc get your butt over here and do it. The Czechs just want native speakers and they MOD EDIT

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

Staying on topic, watching your language, not insulting other members and ceasing the contentious bickering are required here to avoid having this thread (and possibly you) disappear.

No more warnings.

Y'all have a nice day now.

[emmett grogan]

'Fast and Loose' Mercury Morris paints a totally unrealistic picture of Prague for a newbie whos just got a tefl/tesol. The only people making money out of tefl in Prague are the owners of the language schools.

[Czexpat]

[emmett grogan]

Now what Czexpat above wrote is bang on correct. A perfect sketch of the tefl scene in Prague. Anyone wanting to really teach in the Czech Republic for a year or two would in fact be better served trying a city outside of Prague.

The reality of Prague is hours trundling across the city on the metro to classes which the students often cancel cos they have a meeting or something.

A lot of the newbie young Americans dont realise that they are being ripped off cos they are too busy enjoying the beer.

All the students I taught there said that they preferred British teachers. And they especially didn't want to waste their time with a drunk Yank kid on a gap-year.

[spiral78]

Wow, my outlook on the situation looks positively sunny now!