Job Discussion Forums

[shyarra]

I like Taiwan, I really do, but I've had a run of bad luck with my landlady and I'm tired of living in a country that's baffled by my Catholicism. I've heard that the Czech Republic is a good place to go if you want to teach ESL in Europe, and so I'm starting the process of looking. I don't know much. By the time I'll be ready to move, I'll have one year of EFL experience and a Hess TEFL certificate (which isn't really worth much, except that it is a piece of paper saying I attended 150 hours of training).

I randomly applied with the Caledonian school to see what comes of it.

But honestly, I don't really know where to start. My Hess contract is up in August - luckily, I heard that September is the optimal time to be looking for a job.

I don't care if I end up in Prague or not. To be honest, I'd actually prefer if I didn't.

So, please, any advice, names of schools, or references you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

[spiral78]

It's rare to land a contract from abroad. Your best bet is to get here mid-late August and line up interviews to start in September.

In general for Europe, beware of schools willing to hire from abroad. In this region, it often means that teachers here on the ground don't want to work there.

Caledonian is an exception - but they want you to take their TEFL training course, and/or they'll post you to some city outside Prague. They are a pretty good way to start out in the CR, if you really need the security of a certain job beofe you come.

[ITTP]

Hi Shyarra.
I wanted to echo Spiral's note and agree that it is far better to hook up a teaching job upon arrival in Prague as opposed to searching from outside of the country. The same applies to accommodation searches.
Ideally you should give yourself 2 whole weeks to get yourself set up with a teaching position and this accounts for a week of arranging interviews and a week then of interviewing/participating in a class demo lesson.
If your TEFL certificate is internationally recognized, i.e. if your school is linked to a larger education body and covers 120+ hours with at least 6 hours of hands-on teaching practice, then you will have little difficulty finding a competitive teaching position in Prague (especially with your previous teaching experience).
You wrote in your post though that you would rather not come to Prague?
If you think that Taiwan is a difficult place to practice Catholicism then by coming to Prague it will be a little like jumping from the pan into the pot - the Czech Republic is one of the most atheist countries in the world and people generally have little time here for any form of worship (except for the incessant love for pivo ).
You have lots of time so I would recommend perhaps making a list of what you expect/want from your teaching experience and what you don't expect/want, and then come up with a shortlist of countries.
Its a big world out there with a lot of opportunities and its your experience so make sure you chose the right one for you.
Happy Christmas all btw and have a lovely Boxing day's celebrations!