Job Discussion Forums

[Jozef]

Hello,

After having searched for employment as a teacher in those countries where I feel at home (Russia and Eastern Europe), while having earned the merit of a CELTA certificate and being able to teach other languages besides English, as wellas having the merit of knowing Russian fluently and some Polish and Lithuanian, I still haven�t succeeded in finding any job yet.

Could it be my (high?) age (45), or could it be due to the fact that I am not a native speaker.
I am as fluent in English as almost any native speaker, to the extent that my "non-Anglo-Saxon" background usually remains unnoticed for those who don't know me.
Beside that, I can proof it with a Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency,
in which I managed to receive the highest possible grade.

Or is it just the fact that I don't know any one in charge?
Or could it be my (not very attractive) looks and lack of (superficial) charm, through which many employers fear, that I will not be able to attract such a large (mainly young and female) circle of customers, as for instance a young guy from the UK or the USA could?

What is it what employers actually are looking for?

Does one really have to be young, handsome, extremely outgoing and (obviously) selfconfident and a native speaker on topof that?

With my experience and with my linguistic and cultural knowledge, I would be able to anticipate many of the problems that students may encounter before it even happens, and therefore I'd be able to help and support them in a way, that few young native speakers could.
My knowledge and familiarity with eastern Europe prevents me from being undermined in my daily functioning by a "cultural shock", which many younger native speakers are bound to encounter.

Still, these valid points don't seem to be taken into consideration by many employers.

I just hope that I didn't waste my time, money and effort by taking the CELTA.
I anyone could give me a tip about what to do,or about schools which might be interested in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia or Serbia, I would be very grateful.

With best regards

Jozef.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

Sadly, there is a huge bias against non-native speakers of English no matter what their proficiency. I taught with some amazing teachers in Ukraine who were "stuck" there because of this issue.
I think a large portion of the problem comes from the students, who expect (or demand) to be taught by native speakers. Since these students are paying oftentimes large amounts of cash for their learning, the school is compelled to listen. In the end (and in my opinion erroneously), many students would prefer to have a lower-qualified instructor who's native than a non-native speaker who's qualified and proficient to the gills. If these teachers happen to be young and good-looking that doesn't hurt either.
Such is the nature of this industry.

[Will.]

Hi Jozef,
I am older than you and it hasn't bothered any of my employers, mind you, I am a gorgeous SOaB.
Like JP I have seen this situation of NNS and NS bias before. You could apply for the summer positions in the UK . I take it as said that you are one of the new European Community members. With this in mind the best way in is to apply for a summer position in the UK and prove your worth this way, with your experience it should hold no problemn other than dealing with hordes of screaming kids in a residential setting. It could take a few years of to-ing and fro-ing to get the recognition you deserve ...Or there are the summer camps in European countries that offer a similar route.
I hope this helps

[Michael Gaylord]

Jozef,

I read with some interest your apparent frustration at finding a good teaching position in Eastern Europe.
I am 35 years old, and even at that "relatively" young age, encountered, some bias in my job search last winter/spring. More than one school actually came right out and said that they only hired teachers under 30 (as they put it: "we tend to employ teachers in their 20s who do not mind our method [mostly Callan, I think] of teaching and who are fresh out of school). I have a B.A. + TESOL certificate; My search was confined to Poland and the Czech Republic. By May/June, I was starting to get a little frustrated, but I persisted in my search and before long found both a teaching job for the summer and a position for the fall in Poland. Only "catch" was, I guess, that I ended up coming to a smallish city in Poland; I guess there's more demand in the smaller communities; still-it's not too bad- 100,000 people and a chance to truly experience the culture.
Anyway, I think that if you are willing to search in the smaller cities, are persistant, and stress that you are energetic, creative, experienced, etc. you will find rewarding work (at least in Poland). If I can be of any help, please let me know.

Mike

[Nauczyciel]

Jozef,

forget about Eastern Europe. It's highly unlikely that you will find a job in Poland or somewhere in the region. Why? Precisely for the same reasons that you perceive as your strengths. Polish citizens, for example, can accept a Polish teacher of English, but they won't accept a Russian, Ukrainian or Czech one! There is no "exotic factor" that attracts them to foreign teachers so much and yet there is no "familiar factor" that they appreciate in their local teachers. You can try those summer positions Will recommends above, but it's going to take a lot of time. And I have a better idea.

Why do you want to stick to the region? Because you won't suffer the infamous cultural shock? Believe, there's nothing like immersing yourself in a totally foreign environment. That's what I did last year - with my girlfriend, both fresh graduates from a university in Poland, we went to China and we want to come back there next year. In China you have the advantage that you will never have in Eastern Europe - you will be a Westerner. Yeah, you'll have to answer some tough questions (Does everybody in your country speak English? etc.), but you'll be OK if you are as skilled and professional as you wrote.

The best of luck to you

[BloodyIrish]

i can tell you one thing, given some of the ugly mugs teaching in hungary, looks hasnt much to do with it. i doubt it does any harm, but it wouldnt be much of a decider. no, its the native speaker issue. you arent, by any chance, a citizen of an english speaking country? its perfectly possible that you could bluff your way into a job, that is, if yoiur english is as good as you say it is. and while this may seem dishonest, it is no disservice to the sstudents, as you say, if you dont get the job some slacker 22year old who just happens to speak english as a first language (ahem!) will get it, probably to the detrment of the students (ahem ahem!). but it is a problem, since in most of central and eastern europe, in state schools at least (since thats what i know about) they need the native speaker for conversation, more than grammar etc. the native speaker has an almost reverential exoticism to him/her, as though we possess some magic ingredient that will boost to absolute fluency the students. and we do help, especially since the local teachers speak with strong accents, cannot usually speak fast (cannot understand me when i speak at all fast), and are prone to mistakes (i know one of my colleagues, nice as she is, has truly shocking english). so we do have value, but while im sure you would be of the same value or more to any school, these places think that all the value is stored up in the magic phrase 'native speaker'. you may have to lie...or does anybody have some experience regarding this. im told that once you secure an interview, and theyve emt and listened to you, they may still give you the job after knowing youre not native, but obviously might as well be, and that your teaching abilities and qualifications speak for themselves.

[naturegirl321]

Look at the RO forum, and the job info journal. There are some recent posts about how to get in.