Job Discussion Forums

[ekatelnikoff]

Hello,

I was wondering if any knew of any good places to try to acquire a job in Prague. I only have an Oxford Seminars TEFL certification and hence I do not know where to start applying.

People on the Russian board say that BKC is a bad place to work is this the same for the Prague BKC?

If so could some of you make some suggestions as to where I could look for a place which would be has reasonable pay for beginner teachers.

Thank you.

Erik

[spiral78]

Prague is something of a mecca for teacher training centres. They all include 10+ hours on site and supervised teaching practice with real students. While not every new teacher decides to stay in the city, literally hundreds of new teachers with certifications from these centres do hit the pavements every couple of months.

Your Oxford cert isn't going to be the most desirable qualification on the block in this competitive atmosphere. Assuming that you are still in your home country, I suggest that you could try to get some real experience both observing and teaching at your local university or immigrant centre before heading off to Prague. Try to get this experience documented, as with a letter of recommendation from students and supervisors.

It's pretty rare to line up a job in advance in Prague. And the schools that would hire you sight-unseen are suspicious - why would they need to hire someone who may or may not actually show up, with a certification they won't recognize, who may or may not have a professional appearance and attitude, when they can hire newbies from training centres recognized in Prague, any day of the week?

There ARE schools that may do this, but beware the possibility that they are hiring from abroad because they are operating in some dodgy fashion and the teachers who are here know better than to work for them.

In particular, beware of any school that requires you to get a zivnotensky list: I very much recommend that you read through earlier posts on this thread.

The route into Prague teaching I would recommend for someone in your situation is to come here, making sure you have enough money to support yourself for several months, and go around for interviews in person (as most people do). The very best month for this is late August - early September, because most contracts are Sept - June. However, there are always a few openings, pretty much at any time of the year.

Financially speaking, bear a few things in mind: there is little to no work in July and August. Private students are not 100% reliable. Rents are high in relation to a teaching salary and landlords will want a month's rent as a deposit, and a month up front. If you have to use an agent to find a place, you will pay a month's rent for the service. Language schools pay at the end of each month taught. So, you can see why you'll need a financial cushion to fall back on while you get yourself established.

As a newbie in Prague, you can't count on making enough to pay off any debts back home or to travel outside the country very much.

All that said, if you can get some experience before you come, and if you take reasonable financial precautions, Prague is an incredible city and a very rewarding place to start out.

[ekatelnikoff]

Hmm, perhaps you are right. But looking through the things that Oxford Seminars taught and the things say the CELTA teaches they are the exact same.

Also, perhaps this poor certification can be somewhat diminished with a University degree which I have. Is this possible?

[spiral78]

95% of newbie teachers have a four year university degree of some sort - it's nothing really special. What's your degree in? If it's some branch of teaching, that might help.

Theory is all well and good, but whether you can apply it in a classroom setting is another kettle of fish. Do try to get some actual teaching practice somewhere, to help increase your chances of landing a job at a decent school, whether it's Prague or Russia!

[spiral78]

Also, I noticed a typo in my first post. Most entry level courses are a minimum of 100-120 hours, not 10. With at least 6 hours of supervised teaching practice.