Teaching at an international school

Hey. I am currently an au pair in Germany, and am going back to Australia in June to complete my secondary teaching degree (I will graduate June 2009). I have majored in English (not English as a second language, but English as in reading, writing etc) and social science, esp history. I am really enjoying Germany and so I have wondered about the possibility of coming back here to teach in an international school. So I was wondering if anyone knows if my qualification will be enough, if they will hire a graduate teacher, how much German I will need, how easy it is to get a job, what the conditions are like, and if anyone is doing it, if they enjoy it or not!
Thanks!

A degree plus teacher certificate from any country is enough for teaching in an international school. However, some schools with Ersatzschule status require qualifications to be verified by the state and this is sometimes a sticky situation depending on the qualification. In most cases though any teaching certificate is ok if it is relevant to the job you are applying for.

Your biggest obstacle might be that you don't have an EU passport and automatic right to work in the EU. Some international schools specifically ask for this. That and usually a minimum of two years experience teaching the age range you apply for. If you pass all this, jobs in Germany are usually not competed for as much as in some places so the possibility of getting a post is quite good. Again, depends on where you want to go to and what the school is looking for. Berlin, for instance, appears to have more competition than other places here.

You may need a little German in order to understand any kids who come into your class without English so that you can communicate and understand them but in most cases you don't need it at all (depends on the school). ESL experience is almost always a good thing to have, even if you are not teaching this. In a lot of cases, you may not encounter German students but you will almost certainly meet students from all over the world who may not have English. Many families come in and out of the country because of work and this means that some kids you have in your class may never have experienced education in the English language.

Conditions - a hard one. Again, depends on the school. Don't expect it to be anything like your home system and be prepared for more training if you go to an IB World School. Actually, going to one of these is a good idea as ongoing professional development is almost always guaranteed (when you are a teacher, you will understand the significance of this) but it's very different from a lot of school systems, especially the one I come from (UK). Pay is not brilliant but you can live on it and maybe even save a little if you are not too extravagant.

I teach in an international school. Been doing it 4 years now and love it but it's by no means an easy ride.

Thanks! That is really helpful.

If you're particularly interested in Germany, visit this site for an overview of where schools are and links to their websites;
http://www.agis-schools.org
This is the Association of German International Schools.

At the moment you may find that there are no jobs vacant; this is because there is a big round of recruiting in January-February each year, in which many posts get filled. However after this time posts continue to become available as staff make last minute decisions to move on, also many of these schools are continually expanding and the need for staff can arise at any time of the year. Some schools look at on spec applications; it's always worthwhile sending your CV to schools to register your interest in as you never know what might come up and you might just be the person to fill a need.

Because of the particular demands of working in an international school you will find that most schools are looking for well-qualified and experienced teachers. You need to be confident and adaptable to cope with children from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds, many of whom arrive in your classroom, often in the middle of a term, with little or no English which is the usual language of instruction. Likewise parents are often concerned and demanding for their offspring; they are often paying dearly for the privilege of a private education and don't always understand the educational approach of the school which may be very different from their own experience. You too have to adapt to different curricula; some schools for example teach the British curriculum, others the curriculum of the International Baccalaureat Organisation. Most reputable schools will therefore be looking for people with a degree and professional teaching qualification, many look for a masters degree, and at least two years teaching experience which ideally would include experience of teaching second language learners.

I too teach in an international school and it's great. Good luck!

My girlfriend teaches at an international school and I don't think there is a more accurate description than the one just posted by Feierabend. It's exactly what you can expect (including the part about it being great).

Good luck.

There is no such thing as the British Curriculum. Each country in the UK has its own adapted version of the National Curriculum. Also the IBO has no curriculum as such but is rather a framework that can be adapted to any state or national curriclum requirements.

(Just wanted to clarify).

Agreed . I was trying to underline in princple that an inexperienced person like the OP who has presumably been trained in the Aussie system should be aware of what might be required. The Primary and Middle Years progranmmes of the IBO for example are quite different kettles of fish to the more traditional style curricula that many countries operate, (Very liberating too compared to what I was used to in the UK and which former colleagues still bemoan ...!) but that's another subject!

With you on that! It's a little difficult to break away from the prescription of the NC but, once you get your head around it, the IBO way is great.