Job Discussion Forums

DesertDawn · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 6 Location: Three places at once

Hello all,

I'm just wondering if anyone could give me some basic info on ESL teaching possibilities in Istanbul.
I'm a 29-year-old female native speaker (US origin) with a CELTA certificate and 4 years' teaching experience, but almost no knowldege of Turkish (Do speak Russian, though, if that helps. Smile

).

I'm interested in:

-- Pay range for teaching adults at language schools (one thread here
suggested you need at least 2200 ytl/mo to live on, but is that average or hard to find?);

-- The chances of finding private students;

-- Average rate per hour for private students.

Any tips much appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.

harry the hobbit · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject:

Harry the hobbit will oblige.With your experience and extremely limited qualifications if you can call the CELTA that all you are likely to get is hourly paid language mill work.

Harry the hobbit feels that a very basic,sharing a house,no holidays,doing visa runs at your own expense in your own time type of very cheap life is doable just barely on a language mill salary� You would average over 6 months assuming you hustle and are not ill about 17-2000 YTL a month.

Harry the hobbet says forget private students as you have no contacts and have no time-you will be working split shifts and evenings-the only time when lucrative private work is available.Your timetable will be all over the place making planning a day to day hustle.

Harry the hobbit reckons Russian is only good here in a particular line of work that you do not want and only when dealing with said coworkers.

Hobbit survivlTips-come and doorknock,you will get work but only the scraps and just survive.

No mention of degree,without one double or triple your trouble and it will make getting out of newbie hell near impossible.

Hobbit's best to you.

sandyhoney2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 189

Check your PM's.

DesertDawn · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 6 Location: Three places at once

Thanks for the replies. Sandyhoney, I got your PM and replied.

By the way, I do have a four-year degree--a BA in Slavic Studies that I forgot to mention.

Thanks again.

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:10 am Post subject:

What Harry said is nonsense. Listen to Sandyhoney, whatever she said.

Mr. Kalgukshi · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:48 am Post subject:

Ad hominem postings are frowned upon here and two have just been deleted. It would be a good idea were there no more.

CECTPA · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:40 am Post subject:

I wouldn't call your qualifications "limited." If you look around you can probably do all right for yourself. I'd second avoiding the hourly places to the maximum extent possible. As for "expensive" Istanbul can get kind of pricy but it depends on what kind of lifestyle you want.

I speak pretty good Russian myself, and I occasionally find it helpful. The only way it might help you in learning Turkish, however, is in knowing that you've already mastered one very difficult language, so you can do another.

In Yenikapi and Aksaray (a major red-light district, which is what someone above was referring to) there are a lot of Russian speakers. I have also met many people from Turkmenistan here, so you might be able to find someone who speaks Russian if you're having problems communicating. Outside the wholesale and ho sale areas, people generally use English (or try) to communicate with foreigners.

harry the hobbit · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:04 am Post subject:

CECTPA · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:41 pm Post subject:

The piece of paper is one thing, but hello, she said she has four years of experience -- that was what I was paying attention to.

harry the hobbit · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:54 am Post subject:

Harry the hobbit says hello Harry's last post was about her 4 week cert and not about her experience. Harry has never remarked upon her 4 years teaching hobbits.

not-a-backpacker · Joined: 22 Sep 2007 Posts: 3

I'm in a similiar situation to the o.p. I'm a native speaker of English, have a degree in English, four years experience, a CELTA, no knowledge of Turkish, but I'm looking for work teaching children in language schools in Istanbul. Any leads?

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

I checked the Master List Sticky, and there's nothing about kids' schools there. I know very few school names, but Işık and Ted College are 2 private schools maybe a start to search, both through here and google. Bear in mind I'm not actually recommending any of these places, because I don't know much about them.

tarte tatin · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 247 Location: Istanbul

I interviewed with Ted College. They are supposed to be a very elite school. The contract varies a bit according to location. The contract I was given was all in Turkish so if you are offered a position with them be careful to get the contract translated by someone reliable. There were one or two dodgy clauses so I turned it down. As I said, this organisation varies from city to city.

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

I had a weird interview with them shortly after they opened. I thought it went very badly and that I had no chance, but 2 weeks later they called wondering why I hadn't signed a contract. That just seemed dodgy to me so I turned them down.

But that was several years ago, so I can't speak for them now...

yaramaz · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:38 pm Post subject:

TED Kolej Kayseri was good...but that was 3 years ago when I left (after 2 years working with them). Don't know if the Istanbul school is run in a similar fashion.