Teaching English in Latvia

•   I've been working in Latvia as a teacher of English for several months. I quite like it because the children are very nice and hard-working. There are two main disadvantages. First of all, the salary is too low, and most teachers have two workloads to survive, Secondly, there is a lot of unnecessary paper work to do. Some colleagues I know admit that it is exhausting and do not advise working at school. I am working in a language centre and it is a much more flexible job. Moreover, I have a certain freedom when I teach and have time for creativity. So, for those who would like to try, I advise checking language centres or private institutions for extra-curricular activities."
  Angelina, 20/02/07

•   The private language schools vary enormously in terms of working conditions, pay, and benefits. I know, I've worked here for over 3 years now. You could be earning anything from about 400 lats a month (accomm not incl) to over 700 lats with accomm incl. That represents a huge difference to your standard of living. Really do your homework and make sure your school is reputable. There's not much going on outside the capital, Riga, which has found itself firmly on the stag and hen party / budget airline trail and prices have gone up a lot as a result. Official inflation is about 9%, but in actuality the cost of food is going up much more than this and clothes are as expensive (if not more so) than major European capitals. A nice place to teach for a year or two, but the winters can be gloomy and as you'd expect usually freezing cold. The infrastructure is still a hangover from Soviet central planning."
  Anonymous, 27/05/07

Other links for Latvia

TEFL jobs in Europe
English language schools in Latvia
Teaching in Europe Forum
Travel information for Latvia
Learn Latvian

The Rough Guide to the Baltic States

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