Serious Teachers Forum

Greetings to all fellow educators
My name is Wayne Rice and I am a South African teacher. I have a M.Ed. in TESOL and I am very interested in teaching within the tertiary education level in Saudi Arabia, UAE, or Oman. I would appreciate any advice from teachers who have worked in the above mentioned places. Has anyone worked at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals? Would really like to hear from you re your experience there. I have been in contact with many recruitment agencies in the above countries, but I am not sure how to go about it.

I look forward to hearing anything and everything about your experiences.

Many Thanks
Wayne Rice

Hello everyone!!

My name is Richard and I am Native of Pakistan. I am teaching to Chinese and Foreigners as an English Language Teacher. I have applied to many differnet Schools in China, HK, Thailand, But they all says that they need Native Speaker. Can someone let me know how I can get a Contract as a non-native speaker.
Best Regards
Richard

Hello. I have some questions about work permits and residence permits here. If I have a work permit and a residence permit do I still need a work visa? And if I have a work permit and a residence permit do I have to leave the country if my tourist visa expires? And do I need a TEFL For a work visa or will a bachelors degree suffice (not in education)?

Is a school legitimate when it asks you for the photo section of your passport? This seems strange to me, they already know so much about us with our name, address, degrees etc.

PICK UP THE PHONE, USE THE NET, CALL AN EMBASSY!

Do not send money to any school in order to get hired. Do some research by using the Internet, call the embassy for the country in question and ask about the business. Run it through Google, Yahoo, and ask other people BEFORE sending anyone any money. Look up the local tax office, police, fire, or licensing bureau in ANY area when you are wondering about a school, etc. This is not rocket science or decoding DNA. Most real teachers are kind people and they want to work and help people.

Does anyone know anything about The Ministry of Education in the U.A.E? I was offered a job and sent an Employment Letter, but was then asked to pay just under $400 for the visa. I went to the U.A.E. Embassy in London to see if they could check the company out and was informed that it is more than likely a scam company. The salary is extremely good ($4800) and therefore I expect more than a few teachers have parted with their cash. I have done some research on the Internet and the Al Ghadd system is real and therefore if the company is scamming money, they sure have done their homework! My Dad always taught me that if something appears to be too good to be true, then it usually is and therefore I will continue searching for that perfect job

ESL "Recruiters" & What You Send Them.
DO NOT send your face page of your passport to ANYONE. Be smart about what you send online to people. Many teachers get their ID´s ripped off, or have other problems shortly after applying for a job.

In many cases, people from Nigeria and other areas like China post fake ESL jobs using GMail, Yahoo, or other free mail accounts. Instead, send a general brief and a photo asking them for their details and credentials BEFORE you send them your life story.

If they claim they need your passport to process a visa, that is BS. what is needed is your name, PP#, and other data from the face page, but NOT the actual document in MOST cases. CHECK OUT the school and the "recruiter" first. DUE DILIGENCE!!!

Hello all,
Does anyone know anything about EPIK placement in South Korea? I´d like to know something about them and about Geongnam as well. If anyone has been there or have dealt with the agency, I´d really appreciate feedback.

Middle East & Africa

What do you need to get an ESL work permit in Turkey? Do you have to have a TEFL? I only have a bachelors degree in literatureno teaching degree or TEFL. thanks

Has anyone heard of S.E.I language Institute in South Korea? And if so, what would you have to say about it? I´m deciding whether or not I should take the offer but it sounds too good to be true. Thanks

Hey guys! Is there anyone out there who has had experience working in Saudi Arabia, I am black british will I face discrimination etc? What are the people like and the working environments? thanx in advance!

Hello...I would like to correspond with black American teachers from the United States, preferably females 45 or older, who are working in Taiwan.

Hi everybody!
I have been teaching english as a foreign language at high schools in Algeria for more than 14 years and I taught French for 3 years. I´m looking for a post in South Korea or in the Middle East. Please, help me since I am not a native English speaker!
Thanks in advance!

Has anyone worked for NurOrda International school in Kazakhstan? I have been told that they would like me to work for them, but i am not sure that the school really exists. They want me to buy the airticket and they would reimburse me. Is that standard practice? I would feel a lot safer if my ticket was bought by them. They are offering to pay my salary cash at the end of the month. Is that usual for Kazakhstan?

NON NATIVE TEACHERS? Hi all! I am a non native ESL EFL teacher. I had both my BA and MS on TESOL. I had my MS degree in New York as a Fulbright Scholar. I have 8 years of experience both with kids and adults. I have some experience with adult immigrants in the US, too. Also, I can speak Italian and Japanese. So, I passionately would like to get a job either in Japan or Italy. However, it is not so easy to get a job as a non native teacher. Is there a way to do it or should I quit looking for one? I need suggestions. Thank you.

Can anyone here please tell me more about teaching in South Korea. I have been offered a couple of positions there in or around Seoul, but not sure about it. Ideally, I would like to be close to the beach but I am sure those are hard to come by. Anyone out there please advise me before I decide myself. Maybe there are some things that I haven´t heard before I depart. Just keeping all my options open and hope to hear from someone who has been over in that part of the world.

Hi all, I have a TEFL TEYLT certificate, teaching experience and a dual-citizenship with Europe (Portugal) though I come from South Africa...but no degree!

I´m busy hunting around online for a teaching job somewhere in Europe, but I´m noticing that most employers require a degree of some kind AND European citizenship!

Many people have informed me that EU citizens don´t need a degree to work and live in a European country, so I´m getting a bit worried at these contridictions!

Can anyone explain?

Hello, I´m working in South Korea for the first time and am loving it. I got lucky, I think. I have a good school (yes, I work hard, but they´re good to me), a nice apartment, and I love my kids. But, I´m wondering, how can I know for sure that they are paying into the National Pension on my behalf?

Anyone in Russia? I am thinking of going to Russia. Any advice about teaching and living in Russia? I have heard that one must leave the country every 6 months in order to get a new visa. Any comments? Obviously it would be quite expensive to return to one´s home country every 6 months!