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Inga.Svensen
Joined: 08 May 2009
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 8:26 pm Post subject: Can Swedes teach English in Prague? |
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Hi, I'm new to this site and Ive read a few posts here. I hope my spelling won't get picked on.
Just a question. I used to live in Prague and would like to come back. I speak a little Czech. Teaching English seems an option. My friends want to come too.
I am Swedish and English is my second language. I lived in Austraila for awhile and worked as a model so my English is quite good. My friends also lived in Canada.
Will we find work in Prague since we are non-natives? Do we need to do a TEFL course? We don't want to make a lot of money, just enough to live in Prague for a year. We are EU citizens.
Thanks for any help,
Inga (and friends) |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 5:44 am Post subject: |
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You should be OK, though you'll definitely need that TEFL course.
As you may be aware, Prague has quite a few teacher training centres and this means that 95% (+/-) of the newbie teachers on the job market are certified. Not being a native English speaker can be a negative - being a non-native speaker without certification would put you at the bottom of the heap, hiring-wise. It's not a question of not getting the best-paying jobs - it's a question of getting any job at all!
Think of taking a course in Prague - it's the best way to get into the job market there.
If you're with friends, you've got one big problem already halfway solved - flatsharing is recommended to help maximize teaching salaries, because housing is relatively expensive.
Good luck. |
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ITTP
Joined: 23 Sep 2006
Posts: 343
Location: Prague/Worldwide
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 6:22 am Post subject: |
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Hi Inga.Svensen.
Non-Natives do find teaching work in Prague and the easiest time to find teaching work (for Natives and Non-Natives) is in September, when the new school year begins - when the main hiring season kicks in.
Hezky den!/Lovely day!
Neville
ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1 |
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Inga.Svensen
Joined: 08 May 2009
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 7:48 am Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
You should be OK, though you'll definitely need that TEFL course.
As you may be aware, Prague has quite a few teacher training centres and this means that 95% (+/-) of the newbie teachers on the job market are certified. Not being a native English speaker can be a negative - being a non-native speaker without certification would put you at the bottom of the heap, hiring-wise. It's not a question of not getting the best-paying jobs - it's a question of getting any job at all!
Think of taking a course in Prague - it's the best way to get into the job market there.
If you're with friends, you've got one big problem already halfway solved - flatsharing is recommended to help maximize teaching salaries, because housing is relatively expensive.
Good luck. |
Thank you for the advice, Spiral78. Can you recommend a TEFL center to me? For example, where did you get your TEFL certificate? I wrote to one center with some questions but they did not answer anything, just wrote back and said basically, sign up now!
thank you for the help.
Inga |
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ITTP
Joined: 23 Sep 2006
Posts: 343
Location: Prague/Worldwide
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| Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 9:24 am Post subject: |
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| Inga.Svensen wrote: |
| spiral78 wrote: |
You should be OK, though you'll definitely need that TEFL course.
As you may be aware, Prague has quite a few teacher training centres and this means that 95% (+/-) of the newbie teachers on the job market are certified. Not being a native English speaker can be a negative - being a non-native speaker without certification would put you at the bottom of the heap, hiring-wise. It's not a question of not getting the best-paying jobs - it's a question of getting any job at all!
Think of taking a course in Prague - it's the best way to get into the job market there.
If you're with friends, you've got one big problem already halfway solved - flatsharing is recommended to help maximize teaching salaries, because housing is relatively expensive.
Good luck. |
Thank you for the advice, Spiral78. Can you recommend a TEFL center to me? For example, where did you get your TEFL certificate? I wrote to one center with some questions but they did not answer anything, just wrote back and said basically, sign up now!
thank you for the help.
Inga |
Hi Inga.Svensen.
I can't imagine that a school would write back without answering any questions which you had asked and immediately ask you to sign up.
When we receive such emails from Non-Natives for example, we of course reply to questions asked and then recommend submitting the application as then it provides us with a much clearer idea of the applicant's experience and language skills level. Another factor to take into account is that you will almost likely be applying for either a August or September course and these are High Season courses and schools do fill up course places pretty quickly and course place availability can change suddenly.
There are many schools in Prague and my advice personally is to opt for one which is located in the center of the city (Prague 1 or Prague 2). That's just my opinion though.
What definitely is important is perhaps to consider that on such forums as these you will come across people who post anonymously and who spend vast amounts of their personal time both on this forum and on other forums. Schools do often post anonymously, using forums as under-the-radar advertising.
The very best option, if indeed it is an option for you, is to plan to arrive early and visit schools and speak with their current students. You can also request to be placed in touch with grads of a program but always confirm email addresses with additional contact info so as to be sure that the school isn't posing as a grad. Another good idea is to ask to be placed in contact with the school's social networking site (such as Facebook).
Personally, I post openly on the forums and having lived in Prague for the past 14 years I feel my information is helpful for newbies. It of course prob is a little on the optimistic side but that is simply because there IS the possibility to lead a relatively comfortable lifestyle in Prague on a teachers wage IF you are prepared to put in the hours.
You won't get rich but you will have the time of your life
Hope it helps!
Neville
ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1 |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for the advice, Spiral78. Can you recommend a TEFL center to me? For example, where did you get your TEFL certificate? I wrote to one center with some questions but they did not answer anything, just wrote back and said basically, sign up now!
Hi, Inga.
I got my own cert more than a decade ago, so it's not the most useful recommendation. However, I've got contacts with several language schools and a couple of training centres in the city, so I have at least a bit of current knowledge.
I think you'd be ok with any of the centres that have been around a while - Canterbury and TEFL Worldwide come to my mind, but there are definitely others. All the long-term centres have quite decent reputations in general.
I can't say why your questions weren't answered, but on being pressured to sign up now, there are two possibilities - as Neville mentions, you may be asking for a course in the 'high season,' which will likely fill up quickly - or this may be due to the fact that there are fewer potential trainees in general this year, thanks to the global economic crisis. If you're asking for a course in 'low' seasons (not July/August) this may be the case - the centre's hungry to make up a group for a course.
Overall, I don't think you should have any problems so long as you sign up for a course with any of the providers who have been around for a while. |
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