Job Discussion Forums

[americancolleen]

Hello,

I am certified public school teacher with almost ten years of experience teaching secondary English and social studies in the U.S. My teacher certification program included one course in teaching English language learners, but other than that I have no TEFL credentials. (I have also taught ESL to adults on a volunteer basis and I have master's degrees in history and educational administration).

I had been looking into public school teaching in Taiwan, but I have recently become interested in the possibility of working in the Middle East as well. I have a few questions and would appreciate any information you could provide.

1) What sorts of opportunities might exist for me in the Middle East? From what I have learned so far, I am under the impression I might qualify for a public school position.

2) Would it be required or advisable to get a CELTA or TEFL certificate, in addition to my public school certification?

3) What is the recruitment process for these positions? I have looked at the websites of recruiters like Teach Away and it sounds like applicants are required to attend in-person interviews in Canada or the U.S. Would it be possible to apply for these types of positions while working abroad, perhaps in East Asia, or should I focus on the Middle East first?

Thank for your help!

AC

[veiledsentiments]

With your qualifications, you should look into the International Schools. In the Gulf, the ones to consider would be those where the embassy sends their kids. Organizations like ISS (International Schools Systems) hold Job Fairs around the US each year to hire for these places. These schools would fit your training best and most of them have very good pay and benefits.

In most of the countries, you probably wouldn't be eligible, nor would you want to teach in the average public schools... which are taught in Arabic and likely wouldn't need a SS teacher.

I would look at the Teachaway program which is working with the Emirates public schools to start a more bi-lingual English/Arabic program. It is not required, but a CELTA would be useful. You might try to find their Facebook group to see how the teachers are faring in this program... few of them come here as they are not really ESL/EFL teachers as such.

VS

[15yearsinQ8]

the iss recruiting fairs and others are zoos.....prepare to pimp yourself....
develop a list of international schools by country and start emailing them directly, saying you would be available to meet them at a fair....
you'd get kuwaiti dinar790-850+? monthly in kuwait w/ free housing, etc
however, many gulf schools want recruits to have had overseas experience so you apply to the better japanese, singapore, even thai international schools as well
be ready for a professional interview that a person of your background can withstand - have portfolios and be ready to talk about the gamit of professional related issues to have your application stand out
what you are lacking frankly is an understanding of the arab international school student. if your teaching time is in lily white college prep suburbia, your interviewer will pick up on your 'limited background' as opposed to a peer who has taught in korea, thailand, egypt, etc

[americancolleen]

Thank you both for your helpful replies.

I read about the Teachaway program and that was my inspiration for my post, actually. Thanks, VS, for putting that program in context.

I currently teach in Washington DC at an independent school where a number of the students have attended international schools. I gather that such schools tend to be very, shall we say "customer-service oriented," but I think what 15yearsinQ8 is saying is that there are international schools and there are international schools. I don't love the coddling that goes on in secondary schools these days, but having also taught in a more diverse urban environment, I'm afraid this is simply the way of the world.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.