Job Discussion Forums

[bradwelljackson]

I'll be going there most likely in January of '08 (also to Ghana and Liberia). If anyone knows of any English schools out there, please let me know! Thanks : )

[Zajko]

Checked out a few of these locations for teaching opportunities when travelling in the area extensively with friends - Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Mauritania. Whilst there didn't appear to be any western-run EFL schools in these places, an American friend of mine was offered and took a job in Banjul (Gambia) just by visiting a regular local school, introducing himself and offering his services to the headmaster. They almost bit his hand off, they were so keen to add him to their staff. Same in Bamako, Mali - although in this case the individual in question didn't actually finish up accepting the position. I'd imagine you'd find similar reactions across the poorer parts of the region.

On the plus side - great experience, real opportunity to be part of the local community, make friends, assist in training local staff, learn the language and feel you're actually assisting on a humanitarian level rather than just being a paid part of yet another dubious profit-making enterprise. On the minus side - institutions in these kind of places would only expect / be able to offer you a similar salary to what they pay a locally trained teacher, which isn't a lot. In Gambia it was around USD 200 a month and in Mali about half that. If you're willing and able to work for this kind of money, just go visit a local school or two, or the local eduation authority, and make this clear. They'll likely be (a) surprised and (b) delighted. But if you're looking for a regular commercial post, this area is probably out. Nouakchott is an up-and-coming location with definite opportunities for a qualified individual to make a living out of EFL in the upper end of the business market, but this would take a fair bit of effort, local knowledge, nous and capital.