| Teaching
English in Prague |
| a Great
Place to Start |
| By Mali Charlaff |
| June 2006
Hi I'm Mali
Charlaff, Careers Officer here at Oxford Tefl Prague. I joined the
company over two years ago, which was when the operation moved to its current
Konviktská location. I love living in Prague and the fact
that I get to work in the heart of the Old Town, in the beautiful surrounds
of a former convent is a real bonus.
Much of my
work as Careers Officer involves answering emails from prospective cert
trainees concerned about life in Prague after the course is over; understandably
a great part of the reason for doing a TEFL course for the vast majority
of people, as well as the inherent sense of academic and career advancement,
is to get a job and be able to support themselves. |
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| Not only do
people want to feel reassured that they'll be able to find teaching work,
they also want to know that they can do so within a short space of time
following course-end, as the average TEFLer isn't exactly Donald Trump!
Non-EU citizens have this added worry:
Will I be able
to get legal quickly and cheaply?
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Will I get
a job?
In short, yes!
The TEFL market in Prague an the wider Czech Republic (CR) is very healthy. |
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| Be prepared
to run around, both when looking for jobs and after you get one: Much of
the work is in-company, so it will be your responsibility to trek out to
whichever business park your employer dispatches you. Warning: This
may often be at an ungodly hour too! It's not unusual for lessons to start
at 7am! Remember, bosses may not want employees having their workday
eaten into. Other factors to bear in mind: You may get a chunk of hours
from a single employer but you may not (This can depend on time of year
and other factors). It's common for teachers to build up a full schedule
either through one or more than one school. "A full schedule" is
usually 20-25 contact (teaching) hours.
Will I get
one quickly?
No guarantees
and alot depends on how serious/ flexible you are. There are bigger
hiring times, but Prague tends to be fairly year-round in terms of hiring
new teachers. |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| Serious =
have a demo lesson ready to go (Many employers inculde this in the interview
process); flexible = accept work at short notice (A school may have just
taken on a new contract with a business and need teachers to step into
the breach). Remember too that by being willing to outside of the capital,
you're immediately upping your chances of finding work as most people stay
in Prague. Be adventurous!
I'm American/
Non-EU - Is this a hassle?
No. Prague
has loads of Americans, many teaching TEFL. Getting a visa that alows you
to work legally is relatively simple. After entering the country as a tourist
(For which US nationals get 90 days), the next steps are a) Finding
an employer and b) Starting the application process.
The process
takes a few weeks and does inevitably involve a little red tape but rest
assured that it's an extremely well-trodden path. One of the larger schools
here even has a company van that ferries teachers across the border to
Dresden, Germany and back within the day as part of the visa process! |
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| So I hope
all that puts your mind at rest; TEFL's a great way to see the world and
Prague couldn't be a better place to start - OK, OK, I'm biased! But come
and check out what makes me so...
See you in
Praha!
Further queries?
Email me directly: careers@oxfordtefl.cz |
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