Job Discussion Forums

JzeroT1937 · Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 9

I was poking around the International jobs listing and found this:

http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/index.cgi?read=19611

Does anybody have experience with this program? I would love to teach in Madrid, but don't want to fork over the several hundred Euros if the program is anything less than legit.

Thanks!

christine13 · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject: Canterbury TFL Program - Madrid

I also was interested in this advertisment. I'm a US citizen and I was especially concerned about visa stuff and medical insurance. I'm still not sure if it's legit, especially after reading this email. This is what they wrote me:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your interest in our program. Regarding your questions:

1. For information about visas, please send us your contact number along with the time zone you are in and the best times to contact you.

2. You can work for us for as long as you wish.

3. We do not provide medical insurance, but anyone staying is Spain is entitled to free medical care or at a very nominal cost, thanks to the public health care system. You can get insurance however, please see the attachment for more information.

In addition, if you have not already done so, we invite you to please visit our website address at:

www.canterburytefl.com

This website contains all the latest information about our program. However, if you still have any specific questions concerning the program, please email me a contact number and the best time to call you. I will telephone you here from Madrid as soon as I can so that I can answer any/all of your questions immediately. For the fastest and speediest responses, please send all emails to the following address:

[email protected]

Kind regards,

Roopa Radh
Coordinator, Canterbury TEFL Program
-------------------------------------------------------------
CANTERBURY ENGLISH S.L
C / Gran Via 54, 6th floor, Office 1
28004 Madrid
Phone: +34 91 758 56 22
Fax: +34 91 758 56 25
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.canterburytefl.com

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Sigh. It used to be pretty safe to teach illegally in Spain.

But the new Schengen zone laws went into effect January 2009. Chances of getting caught at an airport passport check have increased exponentially. Border runs no longer suffice - you have to be out of the entire Schengen zone (google this for a complete list of member countries) for 90 days before you can come back in for 90.

Any school trying to entice someone to work illegally is putting that teacher at risk of being deported and banned from the Schengen zone for 10 years. It's not worth the risk.

Sure - you might not get caught. But it's nowhere near a sure thing Mad

Or a safe bet.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I've just read their current advert on Dave's and noticed that all the letters from non-EU citizens (teacher from India and teachers from various U.S. States) are dated 2007 - back when it was relatively safe to teach illegally. From January 2009, chances of getting caught are much higher, and the border run option has been eliminated.

I very much wish that schools and other posters would acknowledge the risks of teaching illegally. Newbie teachers are obviously entirely able to make their own educated choices, and may obviously choose to take the risks - but those who say that the risk is negligible are just being misleading.

You might not get caught - and it might be totally worth it to you to try to do it illegally - but you should know that there are actual risks.

Some years ago, when I was a newbie on my initial training course, we ran across a newbie teacher standing on a street corner, all her luggage piled around her feet, begging people for enough money to phone home to ask her family to wire her money for a plane ticket. I'm eternally aware that a little bad luck can go a long way.

Yeah, I've taken risks and I think most people do (and probably should). But to be aware that it's a risk is vital!!!

If you say, yeah, I understand, but I'll try it anyway - go for it! You might somehow get lucky and find a legal loophole, or get lucky on a daily basis and never get caught. I'll respect that. But I don't respect either individuals or schools that try to imply that the risks don't exist. That's how impressionable, hopeful newbies can be betrayed into actual probems.

christine13

I'm not ever planning on teaching/staying in a country illegally without a visa (past 90 days). I'm trying to find a school that will sponsors it's students'/future teachers' visas. If a school says it will "help with the visa paperwork" can you expect to be granted a work visa? I am probably the person most afraid of working illegally and have no intention of doing it. I've been having trouble researching to find a European school that will sponsor its teachers coming from a non-E.U. country (as it seems to be done in Korea/China, etc). I want to do everything very legitimately and I'd prefer to have a spot in a teacher training program lined up before I depart, I'd especially prefer a program that guarantees employment after finishing teacher training. How can I tell if an advertisement or a school/job will help me to work legitimately? What are some ways to tell if it is a desirable situation or not? Thanks for the input!
Shocked

If you're reading this any have any tips or know any of the forum threads I should check out, please give me some advice.

(Fyi, I'm a US-citizen, English native speaker, college grad with a science teaching background, with no experience in ESL, but looking to get some sort of TEFL/TESL license, but I don't know which one)

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Well, there is some info on another thread here about working legally in Spain on a student visa. You might read through that to see if it might work for you.

However, your best bet is to target a country where non-EU citizens can legally file for normal work permits as English teachers. This would include most of the 'new' EU member countries such as the Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, etc. Prague's got tons of training centres, for example, and US citizens are eligible for work permits (though it's a bit of hassle to get one).

What you'll get as a newbie level teacher trainee is not a license, but a certification.

Consider timing when you consider a course. You are allowed to stay inside the Schengen zone (google it for a list of countries included) for 90 days before you have to leave for 90. This is a new law as of this year. You will need to time things so you can take a course and get a job well within the 90 days. So long as you have an employement contract with a school that will help you with the paperwork, and you file within the 90 days, you are unlikely to have any legal troubles.

Glenlivet · Joined: 21 Mar 2009 Posts: 179 Location: Poland

christine13

I didn't realize that most E.U. countries don't allow you to obtain a work visa - I just thought that some countries (ie, Italy) were especially difficult/impossible because of the high popularity.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Canterbury's been around a long time, and has a decent reputation. They have quite a few branches, so have usually been able to place successful trainees within their own schools. If you decide to talk with them, you might want to clarify for certain if the job market is strong enough for them to still be fairly sure they'll be able to place you in their own organization - the economic downturn has impacted all schools to some extent, and it will likely start to show a bit in September this year. Not to say that there won't be jobs around - there certainly will - but it may be a bit more difficult to get together enough work to support yourself easily.

christine13 · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 1:09 pm Post subject:

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Caledonian Embarassed

I'm in the midst of a confusing day!

christine13 · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 4:45 pm Post subject:

DMcK · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 111 Location: Madrid

from what i know, most schools are not in the least bit interested in sponsoring non-eu teachers.

you can, however, work in madrid: i have friends from the states who have been workin here for a while no problem.

dont be scared about giving something a go. where there's a will there's a way.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

you can, however, work in madrid: i have friends from the states who have been workin here for a while no problem.

dont be scared about giving something a go. where there's a will there's a way.

This is just misleading. Where there's a will, there's a way - no, not if the laws don't allow you to get legal papers.

Yeah, choose to work illegally if you wish. But don't mislead people that the risks are negligible. If you're going to take risks, you should do it with the knowledge that it is risky.

DMcK · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 111 Location: Madrid

Spiral I understand your point of view and agree to an extent. I mean of course it's pretty clear that getting caught workin illegally will leave you shafted but all I am saying is that people do it and have done it for a long time without any problem.

You have one story to tell, I have another.