Job Discussion Forums

[jigben]

Hi I'm new here and really hoping I can pick your brains for some advice!

I am hoping to move to St Petersburg to join my (not married) partner for a few years and, as my Russian is pretty much non existent, I am looking into working in TEFL to earn a living whilst we are there. Whilst I am not sure yet if its something I may wish to pursue as a full time career in the future I am fully committed to giving it my best shot and being as professional as possible!

I have been researching for a bit and whilst I know CELTA and Trinity are the best courses I honestly cannot afford the time or the money for a long classroom course whilst saving to move as well (although I may "upgrade" to it later if possible). I work full time at present and a distance learning course, with a classroom experience add on, seems the best compromise. I have found a course through INTESOL that, if I take the one week classroom course too, is claiming I will be fully "Cert TESOL" qualified to the level of a CELTA course.
http://www.intesolinternational.com/cert-ES-TESOL.shtml

I would be very grateful for any advice anyone can give me on this sort of course and the work situation in SPB - specifically if not having a full CELTA will be an instant bar to me finding work of if it will simply reduce my options.

I am also more interested in giving speaking practice lessons, particularly corporate/business English, than school teaching to begin with - will this make a difference to the qualification level needed? And are there any agencies or employers that anyone can recommend or warn me away from?

Many thanks!

Jen

[Red and white]

Can't advise on SPb because it's not my patch.

But in general, what type of visa do you expect to have? And what current qualifications do you have?

The rules on getting work permits / visas are changing, and teachers are no longer exempt from work permits. In Moscow this has seen a number of big employers (including the International House franchise) reportedly having trouble appointing teachers from outside Russia - they find it tough to get the paperwork to employ foreigners legally.

With an employer which can set up a work permit (which are issued on a quota basis - employers have to apply in advance to the Federal Migration Service for the number of foreigners they think they will need, so if they haven't anticipating hiring a non-Russian they can't until the following calendar year - something I fell foul of late last year) you can still work in Russia. But you will need to show a degree-level qualification, apostilled and translated into Russian (a notarised translation is easy enough to get in Russia). Whether that qualification has to be relevant to your employment is unclear. Also, it's not yet clear whether a non-education based degree + CELTA or equivalent would be enough to get you a work permit as a language teacher.

Of course, not everyone in Russia worries too much about playing by the rules. If you and your partner can find a way of getting you into the country long-term, a lot of schools will be happy to employ you as a native speaker who is actually on the ground and able to stand in front of a class. It's not like people enjoy filling in forms, paying taxes, etc. But in that situation you're not going to have much comeback in the event of a dispute with your employer - it's a gamble.

It's not impossible, but things are far from clear at the moment. Proceed with caution, get your partner researching this on the ground in SPb, and good luck!

[jigben]

I am a history graduate so have a BA (hons) degree and am looking at an accredited distance learning course so will hopefully be qualified enough to get in with the rule changes.

I don't have any teaching experience so would be starting from the bottom really but I have worked in both private and public sector, including customer service so have good business English and my accent is fairly neutral so I'm hoping that will help. I have also taught groups of new starters in my previous roles which I hope may help a little but realistically speaking I know I've got a lot of convincing to do and will spend most of my first year just getting any experience I can.

I've got a few months to go until I can really get moving so I'm hoping the Visa situation will be a bit clearer by then! I'm hoping to get a long term working visa and would prefer to do things completely above board, mostly for my own paranoia. We're keeping an eye on the Visa situation and really hoping it will work out for the best - we were just one month away from getting my partners application for a UK visa in almost this time last year when they changed the rules at this end so we are really hoping history won't repeat itself and take this option away again!

Thank you so much for your advice, its very much appreciated.