Job Discussion Forums

neulfiren · Joined: 28 May 2008 Posts: 3

I'm applying for jobs in Istanbul and was told by a DOS that my TESOL degree from a university in the US and my TESOL teaching license would not be accepted by the Ministry of Education, and that they only accept "TEFL Certifications". According to him, without this I wouldn't be able to get a work permit.
If this is the case, should I just forget about applying for jobs in Turkey? Is this even true?

Help!

flutterbayou · Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 244

The person you talked to does not seem to realize that your teaching certificate supersedes the TEFL certificate.

The government would accept your docs, you can count on it. The fact that you have legitimate specialty licensure fills the prescription.

windstar · Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 235

To qualify as a teacher, you should have bachelor's degree from a recognized institution, assuming you are a native speaker. If not, you should prove your english proficiency.

tekben · Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Istanbul

Several years back, the Ministry of Ed made some fuss about accepting my MATESOL because it didn't have the word 'TEFL' or 'certificate' on it anywhere. It's more due to their limited English than anything else (ironically). Eventually they accepted it, though it took them about a month to decide it was okay.

A few years later when I was applying again (the first permit had expired), they took it, no problem.

nomad22 · Joined: 14 May 2007 Posts: 71 Location: Auckland, NZ

you dont need a work permit to teach in turkey anyway. ok, some of the primary/high schools require it, as do univerisities; but all the language institutes will accept your quals and dont give a damn whether you are eligible for a work permit or not. look at places like english first, english time, berlitz, etc etc