Working in Cologne without speaking German

I've just moved to Cologne to start teaching english. Anyone else who has tried this knows how slow this can be so I'm looking for some other work while I'm waiting. Problem is I don't speak German and I'm being really lazy about learning, what kind of work can I do where my lack of German won't be a problem? I need to start making some money...

um Irish Pub?

Or maybe a few job agencies but I imagine they would like you to speak some German.

Have you tried advertising for private lessons to keep yourself going?

If you have teaching experience then contact the Volkshochschule, or if you have little experience you could talk to some language schools, such as Berlitz.

I know there is one school looking now in Cologne but being useless I forget which one.

If you haven´t already, try the following:
Carl Duisberg Centren, (221) 1626 258 http://www. cdc.de
Context Sprachendienste (221) 925 45 612 http://www. contextinc.com
Academy of European Languages (228) 24 25 840
English Training Consulting (221) 912 49550 http://etc-cologne.de
Englisches Institut Köln (221) 257 82 74 http://englsiches-institut-koeln.de
Team for Business English (221) 400 9677
(from my teaching English bible - apols if you already have tried all these)

Good luck! And in the meantime, try your luck at an Irish bar or maybe the international school in Bonn, until the teaching work comes through.

Also try:

http://www.stevens-english.de/

There is a school in Troisdorf who are looking for teachers at the moment.

www.englisch-nach-mass.de

Also, you could register with the Teachers in Germany forum. You need to put your CV on the board before you can access the noticeboard as its a freelance teachers only forum. The address is...

http://teachersingermany.com

thanks for all the responses!

Hello Everyone,

I run the Teachers in Germany website which Rebecca mentioned (thanks for the plug, Rebecca!).

Membership to the site does require that one post a CV summary but this only includes some general information about experience, educational qualifications, German speaking ability, as well as where and when you would like work.

Ideally one should have some teaching experience (preferably in Germany), be able to speak some German and have a university degree. As well, a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA qualification would be advisable.

The website project is aimed at qualified freelance English teachers who live in Germany and language schools which hire freelancers as a connecting point for jobs and peer-to-peer networking.

For those people living in Germany who wish to work as a freelance English teacher and, who don't speak German, the best route for work would be the franchise schools such as inlingua, Berlitz, Benedict and Sprachcaffe. I believe Berlitz require a degree but I'm not sure how firm they are on that point.

Most others would like or require the teacher to be able to speak some German. Beginning teachers do have to work their way up from the bottom level as regards preferable workplace and pay rates so if you're serious about wanting to teach and have just arrived I think you'd have an easier time of it if you went round to the franchise schools. They don't pay well at all but as in most professions, beginners begin at the bottom and must work their way up.

I'm not sure what it means that you are "waiting for the teaching to come through" but I'm assuming that you are having some difficulty in finding teaching work because of your lack of German or experience in teaching. (?)

I would seriously encourage you to overcome your "laziness" about learning German because being able to speak the language will greatly enhance your chances in finding work as well as improve your experience of living in Germany. From a personal perspective, I believe we have more credibility as language teachers if we've learned another language ourselves and German would be the language of choice in Germany.

If you don't have a TEFL qualification, acquiring one (especially if you are a beginner) should be the next item in your plan.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Boo,

When I started teaching in Bonn 9 years ago there were some schools who let teachers sit in on German classes which had space. I did this for a year which is how I started learning the language. I really don't know if any schools are still doing this but its always worth asking.

Diana,

Welcome to the Britboard.

Can anyone suggest a place to get Celta certification in Germany (preferably in a location that also has a good job market to transition into)? I'm thinking southern Germany??? Thanks!
William

Cambridge maintain a list of places which offer the CELTA here.

Germany's CELTA centres can be found here.

There is one for Munich here.

The one in Munich isn't offered as frequently as the ones offered in Hamburg and Berlin.

Hi Rebecca,

Thank you for the "welcome"! This is a great resource board so I'm happy to have found it.

When I started teaching in Germany I was working for a school that allowed me to sit in on the courses for free as well. The only problem was having the time to do it when the classes were given but it was an invaluable opportunity and I attended class as often as I was able. The VHS have reasonably priced courses but the downside is that the classes are often quite large which minimises the allowable speaking practice time. However, every little bit helps!

Another route is television watching. I started out watching Geld oder Lieber and got fairly addicted to the program! Other people I know report having success with reading the Bild newspaper on a regular basis. The language is simple and there are, naturally, a lot of pictures. I was a bit too shy to be seen reading it in public but it's easy enough to practice at home with it.

Thanks, diana cee. You've confirmed what I'd thought was the case.
William

As a matter of practical experience, learning a language is about hearing it used. That's how all children learn.

The best german starter lessons I heard of, was a german women in Ingolstadt, who was teaching brits beginning with infant school books, instead of jumping them straight into more advanced grammar, like VHS, Berlitz and co. do.

I learned German by going to the cinema and watching films I had already seen in english (you know the plot), watching lots of news on TV (generally good diction, short sound bytes, etc). 20 years ago adverts were also a good source to learn basics, but they've degenerated to "denglish" -- A handy is very handy, but it is still a cell phone;-)

Back this up with reading newspapers, pamphlets, illustrated magazines.

Submersion is important. If you hang out most of the time in an english speaking environment (Irish pub??) it makes learning german difficult, as you always have the easy option.

Okay, so I never got round to taking "proper" lessons, although I did have a go at working through a book recommended by a friend of my mum's, who is a german teacher in GB. Gave up when I figured out that I did grammar by "feel", and the germans are generally just as bad at german grammar as I am at english;-) Still, it gives the kids something to laugh at

The main thing is to get a feel for the language which, as said, first comes by hearing, then reading, then speaking comes along on it's own. And don't be shy about saying things wrong... When "foreigners" do it in english, we know what they meant, even though we did hear what they said. Vice versa is ditto.

My achiles tendon is articles. It is important to learn the appropriate article with the word -- something I didn't, which increases the amusement of my kids, along with declination.

The hardest part in public is that so many can speak some english, they nearly always try to be "helpful" when you get into difficulty in german, and start speaking to you in english.

Übung macht den Meister

Hi ,

I think you can find a job even if you don't speak German. You can teach English many schools are looking for native English speaker. I am at the meoment in London but Iam returning to Cologne within 2 weeks. I am a native German speaker if you need any help just let me know.

bye

hi, this probably isnt any help atall but i thought id let u know there is hope, if u were to work for toyoto in marsdorf u have to speak english so perhaps a time fillin secretarial job might b one to try

Boo,

If you have a specific skill, such as programming, some businesses will pay for you to attend german lessons. This is how I got my start.

You could also try the Hard Rock Cafe, as it's a requirement for their staff to speak English.

My company are going to pay for my german lessons so that I can get some language skills, I sort of made that a demand when negotiating my job offer. Steve did you have private lessons or did you go to group lessons? Part of me thinks it would be good to start off in group lessons to meet some people. But I'm sure private lessons are alot better and you progress quicker.

I had group lessons - mainly because at the time Aktiv Lernen were in the same building as the company I was at!

Group lessons are also important in another way : you get to socialise, otherwise your first year can be a bit lonely outside work.

Hi All

I am currently in London and likely to move to Germany in 3 months time, Suggest me is there a possibility for me to a get a media job in germany without knowing german.
I am totally confused by going through so many chat forums about the same topic.

Thnx & regards
Kavin

Is there a possibility for you to a get a media job in germany without knowing german? There - I suggested you.