The following comments are from teachers who have taught, or are currently teaching, in UK. If you are a teacher and have some advice to share, please add it here.
EFL in the UK usually pays
less than McDonalds. You are better off abroad!
London is wonderful, it is a
vibrant and exciting place to live. My words of advice are these. First, unless
you WANT to supply teach, make sure that you have a contract for a specific job
before you agree to go. Also, do research and get advice about which company to
go through. My experience living there was amazing, my experience working there
was awful.
I did not get a specific job before going because the company told me that they
liked for the teachers to supply in a school before accepting a job, that is a
crock, there are many companies who do not offer supply contracts because they
CAN find you a position for full time. I only got 2-3 days a week, the company
was small which I thought meant that it would be more catered to individual
needs, but they were disorganized and, while the initial set up (of a bank
account and they put us in one of their houses that they rent out) was great, in
the long run we had to go back to Canada 6 months earlier than planned after
they gave us (6 of us) 2 weeks to get out of the house because they were "no
longer going to be renting it to teachers." So it was either find an apartment
in London on 3 days a week salary, or go home. Do your research and go with a
company that has guarantees about work. Finding a company that offers housing is
great, but at least make sure that they will help you to find suitable housing
before you go. I recommend teaching there (although it is a challenge in some
ways, myself and several other Canadian teachers found the kids much less
respectful than in Canada for instance) but make sure you DO YOUR HOMEWORK
before you go!! Cheers!
I agree with SMRT, even now in
2010 language schools in the UK offer 10-12 pounds / hour for teaching (for
qualified e.g. CELTA and experienced teachers!). That is ridiculous as I know
people who do cleaning for this money. I mean, shouldn't our profession and
commitment be appreciated and valued a little more? Living in the UK is fun
though if/when you can earn a living. I would recommend summer schools as they
usually come with free accommodation and full board and lots of mischievous but
lovely kids, that is rewarding indeed. :-)
If your advice is about a specific school, please post it in our forum
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