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isthisreally
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:23 am Post subject: What do I need to know? |
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Can I teach in Saudi Arabia? Browsing through the ads, it seems like a decent trade off. Better money + benefits in exchange for a calmer woman less life?
I'm 26 years old American. Bachelors degree in Philosophy. 2 years of teaching experience in Korea. No teaching certificate.
Am I qualified enough? What should I expect my salary to be?
Are there any other things I should be aware of before I start applying? |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| Teach what? Philosophy? That doesn't exist here. English? With no TEFL certificate, no. But if you are going to teach English, why did you study philosophy? |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| Most employers look for a minimum of a 4-week TEFL course like CELTA |
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rigel
Joined: 17 Apr 2009
Posts: 308
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| Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| isthisreally wrote: |
Can I teach in Saudi Arabia? Browsing through the ads, it seems like a decent trade off. Better money + benefits in exchange for a calmer woman less life?
I'm 26 years old American. Bachelors dold American. Bachelors degd American. Bachelors degd American. Bachelors degree in Philosophy. 2 years of teaching experience in Korea. No teaching certificate.
Am I qualified enough? What should I expect my salary to be?
Are there any other things I should be aware of before I start applying? |
All the jobs I've looked at in the KSA want you to have a BA AND a teaching cert, bare minimum. Some want MAs. Some want MAs plus TESOL diplomas (certs aren't good enough). Most want two years' experience to boot.
You'd be smart to forego attempting to land a job this fall and take a CELTA instead. Bangkok, Thailand is a good place to snag a CELTA. It's cheap to live there, the cost for programs is reasonable, the weather is good, and it's within a few hours' flight of the best-paying jobs in TESOL (west towards the ME, NE towards HK, Taiwan, SK, and Japan).
Yeah, a CELTA would be a good start for you, Is. |
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Grendal
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 861
Location: Lurking in the depths of the Faisaliah Tower underground parking.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:15 am Post subject: |
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yeah. what he said.
Grendal |
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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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| Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Better money + benefits in exchange for a calmer woman less life? |
You'd better put some punctuation in here. KSA does NOT make a woman calmer!  |
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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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| Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Are there any other things I should be aware of before I start applying? |
Yes. In addition to the fact that you would need to improve your qualifications to land a job you could live with, you need to be aware that life in KSA is not for the young. IMHO, it is a place where you should go closer to the end of your career, when you have learned to calmly go with the flow. Most young teachers are not adequately prepared for the STARK cultural differences, let alone the subtle cultural obstacles that trip up even the aging EFL teacher.
It is also harder to go when you're young because, no matter how much you think you can do it for the money, you are still not ready to give up having a normal, fulfilling life for the strictures of KSA. |
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desultude
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 614
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| Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:52 am Post subject: |
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| Mia Xanthi wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Are there any other things I should be aware of before I start applying? |
Yes. In addition to the fact that you would need to improve your qualifications to land a job you could live with, you need to be aware that life in KSA is not for the young. IMHO, it is a place where you should go closer to the end of your career, when you have learned to calmly go with the flow. Most young teachers are not adequately prepared for the STARK cultural differences, let alone the subtle cultural obstacles that trip up even the aging EFL teacher.
It is also harder to go when you're young because, no matter how much you think you can do it for the money, you are still not ready to give up having a normal, fulfilling life for the strictures of KSA. |
It is not just the young who are not prepared to go with "the flow" in Saudi Arabia.  |
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rigel
Joined: 17 Apr 2009
Posts: 308
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| Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:59 am Post subject: |
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Perhaps the TESOL and CELTA programs should offer endorsements for these places. They could extend their classes another week for different endorsements.
Endorsement 1: The bratty kid endorsement.
For this one, you'd go to an actual classroom everyday and work 8 hours teaching brats. You are constantly being evaluated, and even showing a bead of sweat will bring demerits. Yelling at the kids, not smiling every bloommed second, and actually trying to teach something will bring demerits. Hey, the real world is a hard place. To add to realism, you could be thrown out for no reason on the eve of your graduation, and thus be denied something, just as being thrown out of your Hogwan in Korea on the 5th month and 28th day for no reason could deny you your airfare.
Endorsement 2: The Gulag endorsement.
To get this endorsement, you have to go to special walled-off neighborhoods that mimic some of the environments you may see in TESOL, especially those in places like Saudi Arabia. Think Fantasy Island, those old enough to remember that show. Inside you will find the conditions you will find in the various gulag countries. Again, you will be constantly evaluated, and being stubborn and honery will bring demerits, just as being that way in real life will cost you a job. And, of course, if you leave the compound early, you have to pay an outrageous fee. Participants may even see toilet paper decorated like a contract and be forced to wear special gonad-squeezing apparati.
Think these may help the young naive types? |
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