I am planning on moving to Germany in June or July in order to teach English and learn German. I have my ESL certificate and a BA in English, and I want to gain some valuable experience as a teacher. Does anyone have any advice as to where I should apply? I've noticed that there are a lot of Language schools, such as Wall Street, Accelingua etc., but I'm wondering if that is a good option or if it would be better to work at a public school? Any advice at all would be welcome!
Thanks!
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Options for finding work teaching English
Jobs at language institutes and public schools
Finding a teaching job at a public school won't be easy - unless you've already taught at schools in North America - but even then. Germany is difficult that way. My suggestion would be to try to find a job teaching at a language school / institute of the type you mentioned. I know inlingua is always looking and appears to have a centralised application process. Other than that, working at a university may be an option. Unis usually have "Fremdsprachenzentren" or "Sprachlabore" who may turn out to be more willing to take you on than public schools. Good luck!
To work in a school as a school teacher teaching children you actually need to have a recognised school teaching qualification from your home country that is suitable for teaching the age range you wish to teach.
A teaching assistant at a German school?
One big problem that you have is that July is a very bad time of the year to look for a job teaching English, especially at the language schools. They usually close for the summer. I know that in other countries, summer camps need English teachers as part of the programme of activities that they run. Not sure about Germany though.
Try this link for a position available now. It's a site that covers TEFL positions throughout the world.
Business English teaching in Germany
They also have advertisements for teachers in summer camps. You can get a daily email sent to you with new positions.
Good luck!
Try this link for a position available now. It's a site that covers TEFL positions throughout the world.
Business English teaching in Germany
They also have advertisements for teachers in summer camps. You can get a daily email sent to you with new positions.
Good luck!
Thank you so much for all the feedback! This is all very new for me, so this is great!
Hello All,
Someone sent me an email asking for info, I thought I'd shar it with the group:
I hope it helps a little...
Someone sent me an email asking for info, I thought I'd shar it with the group:
I hope it helps a little...
QUOTE
Hi Shiek Tejan Kamara,
A week is a very short time to arrange interviews - good luck with that! That said, I managed to get 2 interviews over a weekend and look for a house all at once. I could have done better, but considering the time, the results were good. Don't expect a miracle!
If your story checks out, it should be fine, I had no experience, no qualification other than an online certificate and was hired mainly for two reasons: they needed staff and I had the right personality and professional attitude. With your experience, you should be fine, but don't expect the best paycheck right our of the gate!
"situated"? Neuschwanstein Castle is "situated" in Germany, so is the black forest. If you mean to get set up, then you'll need all the stuff like Health Insurance, a Social Security number a Tax number, all of which you can only get when you live here. You need to start by registering as soon as you move, not as soon as you get here - they need an address.
I wouldn't answer the phone at 8am either! Most schools don't open until 9am. If they answer the phone the whole time, they'll never open the shop! Don't worry about things like that.
Sure you'll probably have work, and you'll probably be very busy, but ask yourself why they need staff? Are they really expanding, or is the staff turnover really high for some other reason? They are probably a great company, you'll have to check them out yourself. I chose the company I'm with because I couldn't find any dirt on them online, that doesn't mean they're the best, it just means no one has complained yet!
My company also gave the impression they would help me get my permit, but they didn't. It was an individual problem and nothing to do with the companies best intentions, but don't rely on them to get it all done for you. You can either pay a company to do all the legwork (my last quotes were for 400EUR and up - no thanks!) or do it yourself. Some things you might need:
A letter from the company/ies stating that they specifically want you and that they have not been successful finding someone with your specific skill set within the EU
Any qualifications you may have.
Naturally you want to apply to schools who sell the fact that all their teachers are native speakers (this means growing up in a country whose national language is English)
Go for bigger companies and go for a "Feststelle" or something like that. Try Berlitz or Wall Street Institute. You want a fixed part-time position of about 20 hours, but no more. If the company says it's busy, then they'll have no problem assigning you more hours, but this way you can budget on an OK salary, while doing your own thing. Learning German for example.
Some people knock it, but I learned German at the Volkshochschule in Leipzig - and think it was great. People are surprised I was able to pick it up so quickly, so the school must have something to do with it. I paid around 250EUR for a 20 week course.
I hope this helps you out. I've decided to post this on the forum for others who might be interested.
All the best and Viel Glück!
Logan
QUOTE
I plan on arriving in November for about a week, then come back permanently in December.
A week is a very short time to arrange interviews - good luck with that! That said, I managed to get 2 interviews over a weekend and look for a house all at once. I could have done better, but considering the time, the results were good. Don't expect a miracle!
QUOTE
I need your help!! I do not have any teaching certificates, yet I have an Associates of Social Science Degree from a college here in the US. Also I have 2 years of teaching ESL students at a local college here in the US. I have taught them in all subjects, to include English, Math, History and Economics.
If your story checks out, it should be fine, I had no experience, no qualification other than an online certificate and was hired mainly for two reasons: they needed staff and I had the right personality and professional attitude. With your experience, you should be fine, but don't expect the best paycheck right our of the gate!
QUOTE
I am currently 26. I am energetic and ready to work hard and get myself situated in germany, learn the language and try to advance my career options via private business interests which I plan on persuing. I just need to have a stable source of income also.
"situated"? Neuschwanstein Castle is "situated" in Germany, so is the black forest. If you mean to get set up, then you'll need all the stuff like Health Insurance, a Social Security number a Tax number, all of which you can only get when you live here. You need to start by registering as soon as you move, not as soon as you get here - they need an address.
QUOTE
I call them from the US on a monday morning. it was about 2am my time so that would mean 8am in Germany. I called 3 times yet each time the phone went to an answering machine.
I wouldn't answer the phone at 8am either! Most schools don't open until 9am. If they answer the phone the whole time, they'll never open the shop! Don't worry about things like that.
QUOTE
Sebastian said that they have work and that I will be very busy with them and that they would also help me in getting my work permit.
Sure you'll probably have work, and you'll probably be very busy, but ask yourself why they need staff? Are they really expanding, or is the staff turnover really high for some other reason? They are probably a great company, you'll have to check them out yourself. I chose the company I'm with because I couldn't find any dirt on them online, that doesn't mean they're the best, it just means no one has complained yet!
My company also gave the impression they would help me get my permit, but they didn't. It was an individual problem and nothing to do with the companies best intentions, but don't rely on them to get it all done for you. You can either pay a company to do all the legwork (my last quotes were for 400EUR and up - no thanks!) or do it yourself. Some things you might need:
A letter from the company/ies stating that they specifically want you and that they have not been successful finding someone with your specific skill set within the EU
Any qualifications you may have.
Naturally you want to apply to schools who sell the fact that all their teachers are native speakers (this means growing up in a country whose national language is English)
QUOTE
Also during my week in Germany in November I would like to conduct several other interviews, can you point me in the right directions with companies I could interview with. I want to have several options open.
Go for bigger companies and go for a "Feststelle" or something like that. Try Berlitz or Wall Street Institute. You want a fixed part-time position of about 20 hours, but no more. If the company says it's busy, then they'll have no problem assigning you more hours, but this way you can budget on an OK salary, while doing your own thing. Learning German for example.
Some people knock it, but I learned German at the Volkshochschule in Leipzig - and think it was great. People are surprised I was able to pick it up so quickly, so the school must have something to do with it. I paid around 250EUR for a 20 week course.
I hope this helps you out. I've decided to post this on the forum for others who might be interested.
All the best and Viel Glück!
Logan
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