Job Discussion Forums

[Sarita1234]

Hello Everyone,

I could use some experienced ESL teachers advice on my situation! I'm renewing my teaching assistantship in Spain for my second year and am looking to get TEFL qualified to continue teaching abroad for the following year.

However, I'm fairly nervous about paying for a TEFL course and not finding any work. I've seen several schools that advertise employment after you take the course, but some of them seem like a scam. I'd prefer to continue teaching in Western Europe, but am not against Eastern Europe or Russia. I've also heard that it's easier to get employment in the city that you get TEFL certified.

Here are my qualifications:
23 yrs. old
2 years of teaching english experience in Spain
BA in Political Science/International Studies

I really appreciate the advice and help! I love this forum!!!

-Sara

[naturegirl321]

It-s hard to guarantee you a job, unless it's with their school. You could go with a name brand course, like Celta, Sit, or Trinity. If you do the generic route, make sure that it has 120 hours and 6 hours of teaching practice.

Congrats on renewing. Are you an American teaching in Spain?

[spiral78]

[quote]I could use some experienced ESL teachers advice on my situation! I'm renewing my teaching assistantship in Spain for my second year and am looking to get TEFL qualified to continue teaching abroad for the following year.[/quote]

As you are already aware, once your teaching assistantship expires, you'll no longer be eligible to work legally in Spain (or most of Western Europe) regardless of certification. You're correct: it would be easier to find legal work in Central Europe or Russia, where non-EU citizens are eligible for visas.

You might consider taking a course in a country where you can get a legal visa, such as the Czech Rep, Poland, or Russia once your assistantship in Spain expires. It can be easier to then find work somewhere, as your training centre should have local contacts and etc to pass along.

It's true that 'job placement' is a misnomer - unless the training centre also runs a large school and hires its own grads (these are very rare these days). Training centres can give you leads, but you'll still be responsible for doing interviews, negotiating contracts, and applying for work visas as usual.

No TEFL training centre in Western Europe can get one a visa to teach in the country if you are not an EU citizen.

One useful approach might be to finish your assistantship (I guess this would be June 2012, right?). Then arrange to take a TEFL training course in a country where you can get a legal work visa (Central/Eastern Europe) in August, to be on the ground ready to interview end August/mid September, when most hiring is done. This would maximise your chances of finding an empoyer willing to jump through the legal hoops to get you a work visa.

Realistically, your best bet to stay in Western Europe after the assistantship expires is to get married to a European citizen. Seriously

[Sarita1234]

naturegirl321, yes. I'm an American citizen teaching in Spain. This will be my second year doing so.

Thanks for the advice, all! I had a feeling it would be difficult to try to find employment in Western Europe, so perhaps so I should just skip the difficult search and head over to Eastern/Central Europe.

Thanks again!

[spiral78]

The problem with most of the countries in Western Europe is that to hire you (legally) as a teacher, the school must make a case to their national government that you have skills/quals they cannot find in any EU national applicant. This means that without some specialist qualifications, you are unlikely to have something that a UK teacher can't offer.

The 'new' EU member countries still offer visas for non-EU member teachers, BUT it is more hassle for a school to hire a US citizen than one from the UK, because the UK ones don't need a visa at all.

Your two years in Spain could be a bit of a plus in your favour, so if you get a reputable on-site certification like CELTA, you should have a decent chance of finding some school to work with you on the paperwork.

Good luck!

[Sarita1234]

Yes, I'm hoping my experience in Spain will help me find employment.

I am attracted to the idea of Russia, but am a little nervous to work there because I have heard some bad stories of employers there. Does anyone have recommendations on reputable schools there, or is there another forum for Russia?

Thanks!!

[smithrn1983]

There is a forum for Russia. This thread is a good place to start. http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=88482

There are some good schools to work for in Russia, as well as the bad ones. Getting recommendations on good schools is hard to do, though, even on these job boards. With two years of experience, you might be able to skip the 'McSchool' stage of teaching in Russia, and start out with one of the better schools. Especially if you have a CELTA.

The thing about smaller schools is that you really have to do your research to know what you're getting into. Simply searching the forums here, or even posting with questions, is unlikely to get you very far. You have to ask the employers lots of questions, and pay attention to their responses to each one. You should also contact several teachers who work for the school currently, or in the recent past. Don't settle for contacting just one teacher, try to get information from several.

[Sarita1234]

Thanks a lot everyone! You have answered a lot of questions I have. I'll need to do some research, but now I feel like I've got some good resources to start with. Thanks again!

[yourenvironment]

building post count for PM

[yourenvironment]

2 another one

[yourenvironment]

aaand one more

[Dilton]

[spiral78]

I've actually taught in Europe for over a decade.
I have also been involved in training programmes and on hiring committees there.


Trinity and CELTA are better recognised and this is a competitive job market. If you have a generic TEFL that meets the standard of 100+ hours on site and includes supervised teaching practice with real students, be sure to highlight that your cert is a CELTA equivalent on your CV and in your cover letter.
There are quite a few generic cert providers on the continent and most employers will give you a hearing so long as yours meets the standard.

Do keep in mind the restrictions for non-EU member citizens, though. Where are you from and what countries did you have in mind?

[AGoodStory]

[naturegirl321]