Job Discussion Forums

bobs12 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 310 Location: Saint Petersburg

Hello folks, I'm thinking of coming back to the UK for a short spell.

For people teaching EFL or ESL here - what makes you want to do it in the UK? Why not a foreign country? Isn't it really badly paid in the UK? Would you want to/be able to work abroad on a short contract? What about if it wasn't teaching English..?

PM's very welcome... Wink

dyak · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630

I don't think i've met a teacher that actually wanted to work in the UK, it's always a stop-gap on the way to something else. I wouldn't recommend going back; as what gets me down the most is the quality of life and having no choice but to work in London - truly the worst place to learn English.

bobs12 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 310 Location: Saint Petersburg

There are schools outside London, surely? That's a place I wouldn't go for any money.

There must be good positions in universities teaching new international students?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Dyak, how long is a stop gap? a friend of mine said last night that you get more on benefit than teaching English. True?

QatarChic · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 445 Location: Qatar

bobs

I would say it depends! I have actually gone back a few times to teach on presessional courses at unis- you do need a DELTA though- although a few unis are flexible and will accept you without one. Pay can be around �30 an hour - for around 18-22 hours teaching per week. In some cases you get subsidised accomodation- usually on campus- I've usually made around �3000 (after tax) for 8-12 week periods. I think its great if you can get it, students are motivated, hardworking, and are postgrad/undergrad overseas students. Most of the teachers I worked with were those who were teaching overseas but were back in the UK for the summer.

Teaching Kids at these summer schools across the UK is a different matter- pay is usually less, but you do other activties- some mates of mine have told me it's like a "cushy baby sitting job"

Good luck! Smile

PS most unis will pay between �25-�33 pounds an hour or weekly ie �530 a week or so

dyak · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630

Will. · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 783 Location: London Uk

Hey Bobs,
If you can stick at it, there is always the chance that you will be the one selected out of the myriad applications from others like yourself who are trying to get into the EFL/ESOL market in the UK. Most run out of money just about a week after summer school finishes having spent their hard earned income on keeping up an alcohol habit fuelled somewhere cheaper and then return to whence they came. many stick it out until mid October, when the franchise schools send out their last minute pleas to HO for odd teachers to make up their complement, and missing the cheap beer and attractive opposites take the first Ryan out or catch the bus to a small town in new Europe. There are several schools mentioned here on the UK forum that pay �5/6/7 an hour and give you lotds of hours so it is possible to sacrape by and be exploited but if you are going to be exploited do it in a country you can afford to get pissed in and have a decent meal in a restaurant and a night out for the price of a private lesson, they too are hard to come by here.
Stop-gap jobs there are a-plenty but is that really what you want?
take a look at

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

for an idea of what is available in the FE sector and apply for a few that start in September then if you are lucky you only have to stop-gap until then. It is no fun stop-gapping without a guaranteed job on the horizon.

SueH · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy

There are decent jobs out there if reasonably qualified (which I'm not).
I seem to recall one in the education Guardian this week for Nottingham Uni - MA/Delta etc required - setting up a tie-in with in China and 30-35K GBP.

As Will had pointed out there are some silly offers out there - and even sillier people who accept them.