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A few questions about teaching in Argentina.

 
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Guitar



Joined: 16 Nov 2011
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:57 pm    Post subject: A few questions about teaching in Argentina. Reply with quote

Hi there. So I'm planning on going to Argentina in February of next year to teach English. I have a few questions which I am putting in point form in order to make them easier to answer- ie you can pick and choose rather than answering all.

1. Where I am in Canada, there are not many opportunities to practice my Spanish. My Spanish is not great. I can say much of what I want to say, or at least find synonyms for it; but understanding what people are saying is much more difficult. Am I crazy for wanting to do this?

2. I will presumably be flying into Buenos Aires. How do I find a place to stay. I'm thinking a pension or a hostel.

3. People say that it is hard to find work in Buenos Aires so I think I'd like to go to a smaller city- 100,000 people and less. Any recommendations? That movie "The City of God" has got me paranoid about city life in South America.

4. From what I have seen on this board, the best way to get a job is just to go down there and hand out resumes at English language schools. Correct?

5. I am assuming that I will need a worker's visa when I am down there. Anything else?
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littlelauren86



Joined: 20 Sep 2011
Posts: 94
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
1. Where I am in Canada, there are not many opportunities to practice my Spanish. My Spanish is not great. I can say much of what I want to say, or at least find synonyms for it; but understanding what people are saying is much more difficult. Am I crazy for wanting to do this?


No, learning a foreign language in a country where it's spoken is always a good idea. I spent a year in Buenos Aires back in 2007-2008, and I was able to learn a ton of Spanish. Although I had studied it for years in the states, when I got there I was overwhelmed and couldn't understand anybody! However, as long as you go and keep yourself interacting in Spanish then in time you'll be able to reach your goals. Keep in mind though that if you live and only hang out with English speakers then you won't learn anything. As I say, you can't learn Spanish by speaking English.

Quote:
2. I will presumably be flying into Buenos Aires. How do I find a place to stay. I'm thinking a pension or a hostel.


How long do you plan on staying? You can easily use craigslist and share an apartment with locals. Or, you can search for "residencias" and live with younger locals. They will be students or young professionals. A hostel hosting partying European/American travelers probably won't help you reach your language goals.

Quote:
3. People say that it is hard to find work in Buenos Aires so I think I'd like to go to a smaller city- 100,000 people and less. Any recommendations? That movie "The City of God" has got me paranoid about city life in South America.


Whoa @ this one! City of God is a movie set in the 70s about drug traffickers in a favela in Brazil! I don't think you should take movies all that seriously. Laughing Do you plan on using a time machine and living in the slums of Rio?? If not, then how is this relevant to you or what you're doing? And then to apply that to the whole region of South America? That suggests that you have more research to do! Cities, countries and even parts of cities are different.

And, it's not necessarily that any work is hard to find, but it's hard to make enough to live on in Buenos Aires. I don't have much experience teaching English there, but I've seen other people trying to get by and personally I wouldn't recommend Argentina if you're looking to support yourself solely by teaching EFL. There's also the visa issue because employers aren't going to sponsor you to get one. That means you have to exit the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa -- which will also set you back financially. If you go to Argentina to teach English, I suggest you take substantial savings and be prepared to lose money overall.

I would venture to say that the overwhelming majority of the positions at institutes are actually located in Buenos Aires. Argentina's a big country and there are different cities to try, but I really don't see anyone making much money teaching EFL in other cities. If someone has more experience, please correct me. There won't be as money schools, and they would probably pay less. Plus, it'll be even more daunting financially to exit every three months from the interior of the country.

Quote:
4. From what I have seen on this board, the best way to get a job is just to go down there and hand out resumes at English language schools. Correct?

5. I am assuming that I will need a worker's visa when I am down there. Anything else?


Yes, that's how you apply. Just drop by in person. And language institutes do not give work visas. So basically, you get paid peanuts and you're stuck with a tourist visa you have to keep renewing. If you don't have another source of income, I would strongly suggest teaching elsewhere.
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Guitar



Joined: 16 Nov 2011
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your response Lauren.

You know how they always talk about how the tone doesn't get carried over the text? That's what happened with my comment on the City of God.

Quote:
That means you have to exit the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa -- which will also set you back financially.


What about a work visa? Do you still have to exit for those? Or is it not possible to get a work visa?
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littlelauren86



Joined: 20 Sep 2011
Posts: 94
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
You know how they always talk about how the tone doesn't get carried over the text? That's what happened with my comment on the City of God.


Well, I'm glad that's the case since you had me worried for a second there.

Quote:
What about a work visa? Do you still have to exit for those? Or is it not possible to get a work visa?


Language institutes don't give work visas to foreigners. You would be trabajando en negro as the locals call it. It's completely normal; a significant portion of the population also works under the table as far as the government's eyes are concerned. But that means something different for the foreign worker. It means that those pesky institutes don't want to sponsor visas. And they don't have to, since most people that teach there are just passing through and are simply using EFL to supplement their travels.

As far as teaching is concerned, I only know of international schools sponsoring work visas for their workers.

It can be possible to get sponsored doing another non-teaching job, but that takes serious connections and a high level of Spanish.
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Guitar



Joined: 16 Nov 2011
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 10:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmm, my plans may have had a setback today. I'm not sure if I can get down there for March.

Do schools hire in the middle of semesters, or only at the beginning?

Also, in regard to international schools, I assume you are talking about the American schools (so I've heard them called). Those start up in September, no? You probably need really good Spanish for those.

But then again, I do want to be able to speak spanish really well, maybe that should be an incentive...
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littlelauren86



Joined: 20 Sep 2011
Posts: 94
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Do schools hire in the middle of semesters, or only at the beginning?


If you're talking about institutes, they hire year round. If by schools, you're talking at teaching children in public schools or something, I don't actually know if those opportunities exist in Argentina. I think I remember seeing a thread on this board about that, so maybe you should check that out.

Quote:
Also, in regard to international schools, I assume you are talking about the American schools (so I've heard them called). Those start up in September, no? You probably need really good Spanish for those.


Well, not exactly. International school jobs are like teaching jobs in your own country. You would typically attend a job fair abroad to secure a position, and you would receive full benefits, including visa, flights, housing, etc. The language of the schools is typically English and teachers teach regular subject matter in English, just like they would at home. So there's no reason for a teacher to have to know Spanish, and thus they don't really "care" all that much whether you do or not since it's not that relevant to the job description. To qualify for these schools, teachers need to have a valid teaching license from their home country.
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Guitar



Joined: 16 Nov 2011
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all your help lauren. I hope that this amusing comic will qualify as an internet reward.

http://www.viruscomix.com/page531.html
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