TEFL forum

Hi All,

Im new to teaching and to Tefl and would really aperciate some sound advice.

I am currently work in Admin and have had several sales/customer service jobs since Graduating from University in 2000.

I want to teach English in Saudi Arabia. I am going to do an online TEFL course but do not know which one to pick. could someone please guide me.

Once I have picked and completed an online course I wont be able to get any experience, how much of a difference does tha make in trying to secure employment with a decent company/institute.

I am intially going to move myself and would be looking to bring my wife and 2 children asap. How long a process is that.

How do I apply to for jobs and what is the interview process. As I will not be able to go to and fro for interviews.

Your help, advice and experience would be really apperciated.

pls email me on usman.siknder2@googlemail.com

or via this forum

There is a lot of information out there, usually companies in Saudi Arabia require a min BA degree with 1-2 years of experience, depending on the position certifications are required. A place you could start on finding more info on Saudi req and jobs you can go to http://www.teachsaudi.com

Most jobs in the Middle East require a degree, a TEFL certificate and several years experience. This last criterion is often the most important.

If you don't have the experience, then perhaps it might be useful to look at alternative countries where you can build up experience before taking that over to the Middle East.

Meanwhile we have several graduates working there so please feel free to take a look at our course (link below).

Useful link: TEFL in Saudi Arabia

Here's some important information for new teachers in Saudi Arabia:

Background of Typical Saudi English Language Learners
viewtopic/t-2311

Be very careful about teaching in Saudi Arabia.
There are a lot of bad companies out there
Who will say one thing and do another.
You can end up being at work 16 hours a day.
Check out any company before you go and work for them.
Also Saudi Arabia is a huge cultural shock - males cannot eat
in many restaurants - even some Starbucks. Make sure
you know what "culture shock" is and how to deal with it.
Feel free to e-mail me. calumn1

Hi,
Taught in Saudi for many years - and enjoyed it! The plus side is obvious. The down or, anyway difficult, side is almost impossible to explain. Suffice it to say one of the worst punishments meted out to Saudi ladies who have been caught shoplifting even a tiny bit in the West is that they can NEVER, ever leave Saudi again! But, anyway, you won't get in until you've got a couple of years' experience under your belt (and, of course, a degree). Once there you want to make sure you don't want to leave again asap. (I've recruited loads of EFL teachers for Saudi and do what you will there are always one or two who having gone through the lengthy recruitment process just can't wait to abandon ship!) So if you REALLY want to work in Saudi why not spend your inevitable two 'qualifying experience' years working in more accessible, less strict Arab/Muslim countries to see if it's really for you. North African Arab countries spring to mind. Lebanon and Syria used to but... Happy to reply to any email toabupegilie@hotmail.com. Good luck - Saudi/The Gulf WILL! transform your finances if you let it. Know one guy who became a MILLIONAIRE just by making sure he was a fantastic teacher and saving his Saudi earnings and investing carefully. Took him a while but he also travelled the world in his vacations...

Getting to Saudi is just one part. Surviving the hot weather and disagreements with teachers is another part.

Making sure you get the No Objection Certificate is impossible. Once you leave KSA, you can't come back for 2 years. In many cases, that's a good thing.