Serious Teachers Forum

Due diligence

For those looking for employment in Thailand, please be forever mindful and exercise due diligence when applying for a position. Do your homework on the school you intend to apply for - a google search will reveal a great deal. If money is important, be wary of any school offering less than 30k bhat a month.
The min. for a degree holding teacher is 15k under thai law, and that’s difficult for a westerner to survive on.
Leave your western mindset at home, but don’t be taken for a ride - you are a precious resource to this country, but if they can get you for peanuts, you will regret.

good luck

Wondering,,, what would you say?? to a "headbteacher" manager, from the USA, when clarifying a grammar point in the student book, "I laid around the house all day" when I suggested "I lay around the house all day" was also correct,, he snapped,,, "ONLY IN BRITISH ENGLISH"

Hello Everyone,
I’m not a native English speaker but qualified to teach English. My entire education has been in English. English is the medium of communication I use at work and in my social environment.

I have CELTA and yet almost all English teacher positions I have applied for are rejected on the grounds that I am not a native speaker. I understand some rationale behind this “Native only” request but to imply that only native speakers are good at speaking or teaching the language is groundless.

Teaching is an art and when you communicate in English and your students are able to understand you, importantly follow your lessons and are gaining knowledge that is essential.

I would like to hear your views on this matter.

Working in Turkey how to get a work permit.

I was wondering if there is anyone on this forum who has been in the same situation I am in?

I moved to turkey last year, I got my residence permit, but at the time was not looking for work.

I have recently managed to get a job in a local language school, I currently hold a valid tefl certificate, however the language school
are telling me I don’t need a work permit, which I know is not true. I have been in touch with the Turkish consulate in London, who
have advised that I can apply in turkey or my employer can apply in turkey, I was just wondering if anyone has done this, and how
long it took?

I’m thinking about getting a small netbook for use in the classroom.

My last teaching job spoiled me a bit with computers in every classroom. I want to use it for showing video and audio clips, as well as a way to record student’s progress. I also want students to be able to use it in the classroom. Obviously, the students’ access will be very limited to prevent them from viewing anything inappropriate.

I’m wondering what resources I could put on it for students to use? I’m thinking Google Translate and YouTube, but what else?

Does anyone know any English computer games, real ones, not the cheesy flash games I always find online.

Any other things to include in my "classroom computer"?

If you are looking for work teaching and not getting any response or offers consider the following information.

I was recently involved in attempting to hire a teacher for our school and so all applicants should read this.

1 Some things are outside of the control of the school such as visas.
This means that there may be age restrictions or qualification requirements that the school can do nothing about. Also in most countries you have to be a native English speaker to get the visa so that means that you have to have a passport from a country that is recognized as being an English native speaking country.
2 present yourself properly with a well laid out CV that has no spelling mistakes (miftakes) ot typos!!! Also if sending a picture make it a good one employers want smart and presentable not a pic from a hand phone of you drunk in a bar!!
3 read the advert if you want a job in an international school dont apply to a language school and then in the interview ask what international school are you?
4 research what ae the standard salaries in the country and area that you are applying for.
5 research the school and the area so that if you do get a job you will be happy there and not end up in the middle of nowhere wanting to go to a bar or see another foreigner

Request for Passport Photo Page

Is it normal for employers to ask for your passport photo page without you even having an offer on the table. I have recently received lots of emails from prospective employers who are asking for so many details even before I have been offered a job. Asking for copies of my qualifications etc I understand, but what owuld they need a passport for, except for visa/immigration papers?

Can anyone give me some advice on this matter please.

Thanks in advance

What qualifications do I need to teach English at Kindergarten schools in the UAE. I am considering applying for Abu Dhabi schools next year but need to get some more qualifications. For kindergarten, do I only need the Early Year qualification or do I need the PGCE on top of that. I know in primary schools upwards I do need a PGCE. I only have a degree in Media Writing and TEFL.

Hi I am Michelle and I am from India (Kolkata). I have been teaching for the past 22 years. I have completed a TEFL course through Thailand I have a passion for teaching the little ones age groups 3 – 9. However every time I have searched a job site I find out that all jobs are for Native speakers. I am near native English speakers and it is really sad not to be able to find a job. If anyone is able to help me with some suggestions, It will greatly be appreciated.

Recently, I was contacted to work in South Korea because I had a degree. It was for conversational English. I went to school for EC ED but did not make it in my last fieldwork. I love to teach, but I was extremely nervous and I was placed from a Pre-K situation into a 3rd grade class. I really want to teach, but I need to know if I need to be certified in the USA and have a certain amount of teaching experience before I spend money on an ESL certification. Can someone help me out in providing me with some good information? How much teaching experience is needed? I still sub and do a very good job.

I am considering teaching English in Russia and wondered if anyone could tell me what it is like? What are the differences between working in a town outside of a city and working in Moscow or St. Petersburg for example? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Teaching in the UAE: If you have experiences you would like to share with new comers UAE, please add a thread here. I am interested in the interview process and wait time, schooling positive and negatives, and any advice you may believe is useful. Thank you

Hi! My name is Nina Jack and I am an EFL teacher. I recently finished teaching a semester in Thailand and have my sights set upon a 2nd year in South Korea. For those of you who have been to South Korea, you know they’ve tightened their policies on bringing in foreign teachers and ones from the United States now have to provide a nationwide background check. Aside from the arduous process of obtaining the results, where do you applicants go to get fingerprinted now? The sheriff’s office in my county has switched to electronic scanning but they still require me to bring in MY OWN official fingerprint cards & I don’t have any. I’ve missed the deadline for March 2012 but the main problem is finding fingerprinting cards. Any suggestions?

Hi, and Assalamu Alaikum!
(Peace be Upon You)
My name is Aisha. I hold three U.S.A. degrees, a 100 hours TESOL certificate, and a credential in ECE. I am living in Kuwait and have experience teaching EFL and social science in PYP year programs. In addition I have taught first grade and EFL in middle school. I am 68 years old and still wish to remain in the EFL workforce. I have recently read that one can be hired in Saudi Arabia on a Business Visa. Has anyone out there been hired on this status? Also, I am thinking of China and would like to know if the cost of living is high. How does inflation influence the RMB in comparison to the U.S. Dollar. Also, are EFL native English speaker teachers who wear a scarf, hired?
Salam

repeated question : I do NOT have a degree but I want to be a TEACHER! How would they feel if they or their children were taught by someone who had not become a specialist in their subject -
I do not want to be a spoil sport, but degree students spend years and years learning ’facts’ and ’ways’. Mine, a language degree, was 4 years- no pension for those year. Why do people think we go to Uni (I was over 40 yrs old) if just ANYONE can teach? I would not want my teenage children to be taught by someone who was not qualified! You do not want your doctor to be without a degree, teaching is also a PROFESSION. I have seen degree-less teachers classes and was not impressed! Find a skill and train, be useful at something you can achieve!

Hi everyone,
My partner and I left corporate life after 20 years, (He was an inorganic chemist and I was in project administration) a couple of years ago. We have both completed the CELTA and have for the last 6 months been substitute teaching at private language schools and we love it and are told that we are great teachers, which has made us believe that we were right to follow our dreams. We want to move to Brazil and teach, we currently reside in Cape Town. Is there anyone out there who is currently working in Sao Paulo or anywhere in Brazil that could advise us of things to be aware of or just give us
some suggestions as to where to start job hunting when we land there in December 2011.
Thanks in advance, Tania and Shawn.

If you have a MA in TESOL with several years of community college experience, certification, 2nd language is French.. and one year of experience (primary) in GUlf. How much should you expect to earn and where is the best place overseas?

Hello Everybody!
I was not born in the US but have lived in California for 27 years. I am 51 now, have an active California Teaching Credential, Multiple Subject (1990) and a BA in Foreign Languages and Literatures (+Linguistics)from University of Bucuresti, Romania. (1983). I would love to teach in Italy, Spain or Costa Rica. I still have an Eastern European accent even after 27 years though. What chances do I have to get a job abroad. Have you met a hired teacher who is not US Native, with or without the ESL Certification? Are any other certificates equivalent to the ESL (that I can just pass an exam, not long courses)? Any information will be deeply appreciated. Thank you, Iolanda

I have recently received an offer to teach English in Kuwait. Right now we are in the redtape phase of processing work permits and authenticating our US documents for overseas travel. My family is coming with me (husband and twin daughters). Does anyone have any advice for us? Local customs?
Do’s and Don’ts? I am a certified teacher here in the U.S. I also hold a TEFL certification from Oxford Seminars. So I feel confident in my ability to teach. I just don’t know about the Middle East. I need to know about international schools for my twins...a nanny, housekeeper and local customs. We will be living in Hawally. We are excited and nervous. I just want to minimize culture shock as much as possible on this adventure we are taking.

Does anyone know of a country that hires ’older’ female teachers? I have run against this over and over. I am 62, and even though I look 15-20 years younger, it doesn’t make a difference. So many countries will not issue a work visa to someone my age. As I have no other income, I do need to make enough to survive and pay my bills back home. I am a native English speaker from the U.S. with a BA in secondary ed social studies and bilingual ed/ESL and an MA in counseling and guidance. I had worked abroad for many years but have been out of the international circuit for a few years. I am now finding it extremely difficult to find employment at my age.