The employment condition can be rather unsure for newcomers to Greece and for that reason quite a few folks pick out to consider training English as a overseas language, on a full or portion-time foundation. It can carry in a great money whether it is your most popular profession preference, or you wish to do it short-term until an additional profession option pans out.
Skills and Expertise
There are quite a few language educational institutions or frontistiria in Athens and all over Greece, to which you could use for get the job done. In get to get a job in a person of these educational facilities, it is nevertheless not strictly important to have a official training qualification this sort of as TEFL (Training English as a Foreign Language). Typically all that is expected is a college degree (in any topic) from a British isles or US college. That mentioned, if you are unsure about your potential to train English and want to ensure that you begin off in this line of work with the essential expertise, a course would be helpful. It would provide you with some training theory, expertise of English grammar (let us facial area it, several of us have never ever formally studied English grammar in any terrific depth, even even though we converse and produce English everyday) and give you some important working experience of educating in a classroom, considering that this is included in most programs. When implementing for jobs, you will come across vacancies that specify that previous instructing practical experience is expected and others for which no expertise is required.
It does not issue if you do not discuss a good deal of Greek. Indigenous English speakers are generally valued for other reasons these as having what is witnessed as a “good” accent. Numerous persons also swear by the tactic of not talking your students’ language, so that they listen to only English staying spoken for the length of the lesson. You will find approaches to make on your own comprehended. In my experience of language teaching, it can even be counter-productive if your college students know that you speak their language nicely, due to the fact they could be far too conveniently tempted to communicate to you in Greek when they locate it tricky likely.
Getting get the job done
Teaching English as a international language jobs are broadly marketed in newspapers and on the World-wide-web all year spherical and most typically from August to October. As nicely as implementing ahead of in Greece, you can also go to doorway-to-door about the frontistiria with your CV, once more in the August to October time period. If you are traveling to them in individual, it is not advisable that you shell out time doing this any earlier than August due to the fact the educational facilities typically do not contemplate their recruitment demands significantly ahead of the starting of the educational yr.
Spend and functioning disorders
Spend and circumstances available by language colleges will differ enormously, so it is critical to check out these out in element to start with prior to accepting a agreement. If time is on your aspect, it might be worth speaking to various faculties alternatively than having the initially position you are presented. Also, if you work in a frontistirio it is pretty likely that you will be functioning primarily in the afternoons and evenings, because this is when young children and older people are absolutely free to consider their classes.
Creating some added revenue
Lots of people today who educate English as a overseas language in a college, also do non-public English on the aspect and this can turn out to be a profitable exercise in alone. Doing work in a language college for a handful of months is a superior way to fulfill learners and publicize the simple fact that you do non-public English lessons, on a 1-to-a single foundation. It can be tricky to get the first couple, but then via phrase of mouth, you will get extra if you do a superior work – that wonderful social community of mums and dads on the school operate can operate wonders! The University of Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) examination method appears to be to be the most greatly known and respected in Greece, several folks who want to be taught privately are making ready to sit a Cambridge test or some other style of exam. It is really worth familiarising your self with the technique – there is an monumental sum of absolutely free data on the Internet, such as lesson plans, tips, exam exercise and so forth. The examinations which are most typically sat by learners are the “1st Certification in English” (which numerous people nevertheless refer to by its aged title: “Reduce”), “Certification of Proficiency in English” (recognised as “Proficiency”), and “Certificate in State-of-the-art English” (typically referred to as “Superior”). Extra information and facts is readily available from the Cambridge ESOL world wide web site (www.cambridgeesol.org).
What non-public pupils will want from you differs a excellent deal. Some could just want a discussion course, many others may perhaps just be starting on the Cambridge examinations route and there will be some who are previously at a quite large level and may require in-depth coaching on specific grammar points or on vocabulary for a distinct purpose e.g. organization English. And offered these variations, the amount of planning essential on your aspect and the payment per hour you are ready to demand will probably vary too. I will end with a term on promoting. My practical experience has been that I have compensated out revenue for two newspaper ads, which bought again zero replies! What has labored properly for me is area promotion – you have to have to use your imagination. I put a card in nearby retailers and a compact see in the back again window of my car and you can see folks reading through it at each and every targeted visitors mild! Just beware of obtaining phone calls on your cellular mobile phone even though you happen to be driving – not excellent! As I reported ahead of, word of mouth need to kick in far too as soon as you have your initial pair of classes.