Job Discussion Forums

schern19 · Joined: 06 May 2009 Posts: 7

Hello!

I will be graduating with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education in December of this year. I have been really considering teaching abroad for many reasons. Mostly because I think it will be a good experience for me and in my life.

I have not decided on a specific location and I'm trying my best to figure this out by researching my options. A country that I was wondering about is Argentina but I have not read of or heard of anyone teaching there. Does anyone have any information about this?

Also, it has been my impression from what I have read in the forums that teaching abroad in Europe is difficult. Is this necessarily true?

Where can I go or what can I do to help me in my "researching" process? At this point any bit of information or advice would really help me out.

Thanks!

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

If you are from North America, Australia, or New Zealand, it can be difficult to get legal work permits for most Western European countries - they have EU-only hiring laws that limit teachers to UK citizens for the most part. There are some small loopholes - working holiday visas for Canadians under 30/35, teaching on a student visa in Spain- you can read more about these on the country-specific forums. But the general answer to the general question is that the legalities are difficult to near-impossible.

Central and Eastern Europe is still a viable option, legally. Getting permits is a hassle, but legally do-able. Czech out the Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, etc.

I'd suggest that you spend some time reading on the country-specific forums on this board - targeting the countries that interest you, of course. YOu'll find most basic questions have been answered many times, and you can formulate more specific ones as you read through the current threads.

hollysuel · Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 225 Location: Connecticut, USA

Teaching in Europe as a non-EU citizen is very difficult, but not impossible.

If you are an American and interested in Scandinavia. Check out The American-Scandinavian Foundation. http://www.amscan.org/index.html Sometimes there are possibilities to teach English in Finland. Can't make much money, but I've heard it can be a positive experience.

Good luck!

schern19 · Joined: 06 May 2009 Posts: 7

Thanks!

I forgot to mention that I am a US citizen.

I could also become a citizen of Argentina because my father is Argentinan. Although, I do not know if this beneficial for me at all. I do speak Spanish fluently.

I would really love to teach in Argentina because I also have family who lives there but from what I have read in the forum the pay is not great. One of my goals as I teach abroad is to travel and I feel that with their pay I would not be able to do that.

Should I teach somewhere else like in Asia (where they pay more)first to save money and then come to Argentina?

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

with an Argentinian passport you could teach there. There also might be possibilities to teach in Europe, like Spain or Italy due to having that passport, but I'm not sure. ASia might be the way to go

hollysuel · Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 225 Location: Connecticut, USA

If your motivation is to have the money to travel--I would suggest Asia...

Sehnsucht · Joined: 09 Jul 2009 Posts: 5

Hello schern19:

While I do not yet have enough posts to PM you, I am curious to know if you have found any more substantive information about teaching English in Argentina?

The traffic in the Argentina forums is much lighter than many others, so I'm sure you are having the same difficulties I am.

Have you come up with any good resources for information?

Thanks!
Mike