Messages by Kevan

Don't let the fact that the job ads say that a degree is a must stop you from applying for the jobs. Most schools are simply trying to get degree holders if they can, but will settle for non degree holders if they must.

The exception to this is that some countries actually require it in their labour code that foreign workers have some form of university degree.

You may want to check the embassy websites of countries you're interested in going to for more info. I think most embassies will have a page of basic information about working in their countries and what is required of foreign workers there.

If you find that the embassy's does not clearly stipulate that a degree is required under labour code, then go ahead and apply for the jobs. You might be lucky.

If you're looking for countries that don't actually require degrees to teach there, you might want to consider central Europe. I've been in the Czech Republic for four years and have never needed a degree to work here; I understand that Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are the same in that regard. There's enough of a demand for English teachers that they can't pick and choose so easily.

Good luck.

If you're considering teaching in a European country and don't speak much if any of its local language and can't find a place to learn some of it before you go, I suggest taking some German lessons ahead of time.

I spoke very little Czech before I came to the Czech Republic as there was no place to learn it around my hometown in Canada before I left.

Any time that I've had to tell someone that I couldn't speak Czech or didn't understand enough of it to understand what they were saying to me, invariably their next line has been to ask if I could speak German. This has also held true for trips that I've taken to Slovakia and Hungary. If I couldn't speak the local language and the person speaking to me couldn't speak English I got asked if I could speak German.

Like English, German is one of those languages that is in high demand for business, so you'll find a lot of people who can speak it because they work for German based companies who require them to speak it.

French, Italian or Spanish will also be very helpful in European countries, but from what I've seen, I'd say a command of German would be more reliable.

My advice comes from 20/20 hindsight. Had I known axactly how widespread German was in Europe and how many could speak it, I'd have taken a few courses in it (as opposed to Russian courses that I took) before coming here.

German is considered a key language in Europe, basically spoken widely enough that your chances of finding someone who can speak it wherever you go in the continent are very good.

Great story Cijay.

I had a colleague at one of my previous schools here in Brno who had spent 8 years in Turkey working for IH and loved every minute of it.

My understanding of Turkey, is that the further east in the country you travel, the more dangerous and unpredictable it gets. If you stay in Istanbul and other points in the more European influenced western part of the country, its perfectly safe.

You can get bad schools anywhere, I've worked for a couple of not so good ones in Brno.

Thanks for posting your experiences.

You really need to contact the closest Greek embassy or consulate near you, they will likely have a web site with the information you require. Try finding them via this web site:

www.embassyworld.com

As for you not being an EU citizen, I'm non-EU myself and working in an EU country. SOme of the EU countries are pickier than others about non EU citizens working in their borders.

Basically, you probably have a chance at getting work, but expect to see EU citizens given preference over you.

Definitely get in touch with your nearest Greek embassy or consulate before trying to do anything though.

Good luck.

Hello Diana:

Exactly when did you send your application to them?

As Ross mentioned, it may be that they only reply to those applicants they are interested in. They may receive so many applications that they have no time to do it in another way.

I'm not sure about Asian schools, but there are quite a few European schools that halt, or significantly slow down operations in the summer months. There may be nobody of authority at the school you sent your application to at the moment. If that is the case, you may not hear from them until mid to late August if they do plan to get back to you.

Dave's Cafe is an OK place to start looking for work, but you can do better.

Have you tried this site:

http://www.tefl.com/

I found it quite useful when I was looking for my first job as it has has a wider focus than just Asia. Like you, Asia didn't really grab me as a potential location to teach.

You do not need to go to Asia for your first teaching gig.

The difficulty with Spain would be connected to their membership in the EU. That is why many employers there would want you to have an EU passoprt, it just makes it easier to get you legal.

I've been in the Czech Republic for four years and I can tell you that being legal for EU citizens here is a breeze compared to a lot of non-EU citizens. Its all about the bureaucracy.

I've had many colleagues, both EU and non-EU citizens who have worked in other EU countries and beyond a doubt the bureaucracies of the EU countries are set up to favour citizens of other EU countries.

It may also be a matter of what the country legally expects from employers within it. It could well be the Spanish law stipulates that English teachers must come from within the EU. I'm told that is the case with Belgium.

Am I assuming correctly that you have checked the websites of the embassies of the countries you wish to go to? They should all have some information about requirements to work within their borders and a general overview of their labour codes regarding foreigners working there.

One of the big shortcomings with greylists/blacklists is that they only seem to go in one direction. That is against schools.

There should also be graylists or blacklists against teachers as well. There are a lot of teachers out there sticking it to reputable schools, not just schools to teachers.

I've seen teachers come in totally drunk to teach classes, I've seen them not show up at all to teach, I've seen teachers conduct poorly improvised classes rather than prepare properly and those things are just the tip of the iceberg.

There are a lot of people who come into the ESL teaching world and think it will be one big holiday, full of laughs and great times and memories for them, but can't see far enough past the tips of their own noses to realise that they are working for real schools with real students who have real expectations. The money that students pay to the schools is very real, the money that the schools pay to the teachers is very real. I've met a lot of teachers who, once they realise its not a walk in the park and that there are some expectations of them, start getting really snotty and childish and can drag the name of a reputable school through the mud to "get even".

There are a lot of bad schools out there that don't deserve to stay in business, I've worked for a couple. On the other hand, there are a lot of incompetent and irresponsible teachers out there who don't deserve the opportunities that the decent schools can provide.

Its a two edged sword.

Just remember, the ESL teaching business is still largely unregulated. As such, anyone can get into it fairly easily and that's not always for the best. there are a lot of people out there who make a joke out of what we do because of the incompetence that some teachers operate with.

Wherever you teach, operate responsibly, you have an industry to think about. If you feel you're getting a raw deal from your school, think about these things before you get on the war path:

1: Were you working legally? If you weren't working legally in the first place, don't complain about the school being on the corrupt side.

2: How well versed are you in the labour code of the country you are in? Make sure you have a leg to stand on before you complain. Remember its your rights under the labour code of the country you are in that matter, the labour code of the country you come from is irrelevant.

3: Are you sure YOU truly weren't the problem? Take some time to be reflective before you point your finger. Did you truly fulfil your contractual obligations? Did you plan all your lessons carefully, logically and conduct your classes based on them competently? Did you master your subject matter before you tried to teach it? Did the school tell you if students were complaining about you? If so, did you do anything to try to remedy the problems?

Basically, do you REALLY have a valid complaint or do you just have sour grapes?

Complain if its valid. If its just sour grapes, take your lumps and find another line of work.

I'm sorry if that comes off harsh, its a hard pill to swallow but I've met more teachers than I care to recall who really need to be given that pill.

For the most part, I find the Czechs a fairly liberal group. Prague is quite cosmopolitan and Brno seems to be heading in a similar direction.

The only problems you might run into is if you have a somewhat Middle Eastern or East Indian look about you, in some places you might get mistaken for a gypsy. You likely won't be brutalized for it, but you may receive some nasty looks and comments. The gypsies (or sometimes they are called Roma) are fairly easy to spot, so as long as you don't dress like them, act like them or hang around where they do, you should be OK.

Another note, as I'm originally from Edmonton and know there are a lot of Ukrainian descended people there. If you have Ukrainian heritage and are thinking about coming to the Czech Republic, you won't want to advertise that heritage too overtly. Ukrainians aren't exactly popular here. A lot of them come here and have mafia connections back home and so give Ukrainians a rather undeserved reputation for corruption in this country.

There is a high demand for business English in the Czech Republic, particularly in Prague and Brno. A few other towns that are large enough to support language schools are: Ceske Budejovice, Liberec, Olomouc, Ostrava, Zlin, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Pardubice and Hradec Kralove.

The demand for English teachers is high enough that you stand almost no chance of getting a teaching job in the country if you don't come here in person. Even if you apply for a job from home, the school will want you to come in and give an on site demo lesson before deciding to hire you. I tried finding work in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland while I was still in Canada. After about six months of such searching and realising that I would not be able to get a job without going over there to give demo lessons and that there was no way I could compete with the foreigners that were already over there pounding the pavement, I decided that I had to take the chance and go over there myself.

Also, you can't apply for a working visa if you don't have an employer. Your employer must apply to the local labour office for your work permit, which is a vital document to your visa application.

The visa process itself can be tricky the first time as the visa application form is about six pages long and you can't apply for a visa inside the Czech Republic itself. You have to do it through a Czech embassy or consulate outside the Schengen Region. If you're already in Europe, the closest non- Schengen countries are Switzerland, Great Britain or Ireland.

The visa process takes three to four months and, technically, it is illegal for you to work while the visa is in processing. However, most employers will not be willing to hire you and then not use you for that period of time so there are ways that they can get you working right away and still have it look legal.

Unfortunately, there is little incentive for people in official offices to speak any other language than Czech. It's been explained to me that it is explicitly against government regulations for them to do so. Any good language school will help you navigate the various offices.

For anyone thinking about the Czech Republic, I recommend the following website:

www.expats.cz

Its a wealth of information and articles about all aspects of living here and it has a forum where you can ask more exact questions to some very experienced expats.

I know I've said some negative stuff here, the Czechs could give master classes on bureaucracy, but I'm not trying to put anyone off coming here. It's been a very rewarding experience for me and next year I will be able to apply for permanent residency here.

It has been very frustrating at times, even brought me to tears a couple of times, but I still have no regrets.

I've been teaching English in Brno, Czech republic since late 2004 and quite enjoy the city.

Brno is the Czech Republic's second largest city after Prague and is a breath of fresh air from the beautiful, but loaded with tourists, capital.

Brno is a nice, manageable city that I find very comfortable for day to day living. It has a very well developed public transport system so you'll hardly miss having a car.

Also there are plenty of easily accessible and very nice places to spend a weekend if you want to get out of town for a bit.

The downside is that, for non EU citizens, the bureaucracy to get legally working in the Czech Republic is a real bear to deal with and if you don't speak Czech, you'll need to find someone who does to help you navigate it all because no one in official offices will speak any other language than Czech.

Prague is oversaturated with ESL teachers as it is and there is a lot more to the Czech republic than just Prague. Any larger city will have some market for English teaching.