Best way to become an English teacher in Kiev?

[Amerikranian]

I've been looking into teaching English in Ukraine but I can't seem to find solid answers to my questions. I'm going to be moving there next summer and will be studying architecture so I want to get my certifications ahead of time.
Are most of the schools looking for TEFl & TESOL certified teachers or are they just looking for native English speakers who can take up their cirriculum?

Is there a website I can view all of the ESL schools(I've Google'd it to death) or can we perhaps collaborate to create one for this website?

As for anyone who would know, is there any good advice you would give to a prospective English teacher?

Thanks for your help in advance,



-Andy

[JonathanCampion]

Andy,

When I was planning my move to Ukraine, teaching English was one of my options. I wrote to a dozen or so language schools, and all the ones in Kyiv insisted on their teachers having a TEFL qualification. The provincial towns (Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk etc.) were grateful just to find a native speaker, so that might be your best bet.

Jon

[ORDUCK]

Hi Andy,
Do you mean summer 2008 or 2009?  Definitely get a TEFL before you come. Also get a visa.  When we know more about when you're coming, we can help out more.

[ned_lad]

Hi n welcome! 

Here's the list of some Language Schools in Kiev

http://www.greenforest.com.ua/ru/91 (it's in Urainian, but most schools have English names and it's not that hard to find their web addresses

You can also download the electronic map of Kiev - YarMap. It's not free though, it costs something like 3 or 5 dollars, but it's got 1 hour trial and once it's over you can reinstall that program and have another 1 hour trial. (You can reinstall that software as many times as you need and still it will work ok)

They also have an add-on "Kiev Language Schools". On the map it looks like this



Of course you can zoom that map, and by clicking those little flags you'll get the information on schools like their name, telephone numbers, address etc, etc...

You can download that map here

http://yarmap.com.ua/get.php?action=eng  (14,5 Mb)

And you'll also have to use "Language Schools" Add-on

http://yarmap.com.ua/get.php?action=addonflc (748 kb)
___________________________

How's your Russian btw? Not that you can't survive in Kiev without speaking Russian, but things will be much easier for you if you learn at least how to read it.

This looks like a decent website for learnign Russian

http://masterrussian.com/

Good luck

[Amerikranian]

Thanks for all the helpful replies, I'll most definitley be getting a TEFL qualification.

Hi Andy,
Do you mean summer 2008 or 2009?  Definitely get a TEFL before you come. Also get a visa.  When we know more about when you're coming, we can help out more.

I'll be there in the summer of 2009.

[SteveH]

Anybody Disagree with this Statement, ED?.


Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) – Teaching English to non-native speakers of English, in a country where English is not the main language.

Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) – Teaching English to non-native speakers of English in a country where English is the main language.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – No real different than TESL, only it is usually adult students.

Overall, there is no difference. It’s just a bunch of acronyms. Most of the programs are not bad, but listening to the “My certificate can beat-up your certificate,” stuff between the various camps can be annoying. Also, the certificates are NOT required in many places.

Everybody sing!
Old McDonald had a farm, T-E-S-O-L. And on his farm he had a kid, T-E-S-L. With a Qué, Qué here, and a Che cosa, Che cosa there, here a Ce qui, thee a Ce qui, every where a Was, Was. Old McDonald had a farm T-E-F-L!

[ecocks]

No, I don't have a problem with any of it.  TEFL or TESL makes no real difference.  The company I work for requires a prior TEFL training program.  It can be CELTA, DELTA or a simple TEFL course, makes no difference.  Other schools and even countries have more stringent requirements such as an MA in Linguistics or CELTA but not many places in Ukraine care.

[ned_lad]

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – No real different than TESL, only it is usually adult students.

Hey, you forgot to mention Teaching English to Native English Speakers 

Can you guys understand Northern English dialects? 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/sM45TACI4H4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/sM45TACI4H4&rel=1</a>

[SteveH]

"Hey, you forgot to mention Teaching English to Native English Speakers "

"Can you guys understand Northern English dialects? "

Yes,i can,i lived in the County of Durham for over 18 Years 

[SteveH]

Bangkok Post 17th Jan 2008
EDUCATION / ARREST OF FOREIGN TEACHERS: Two held with fake qualifications



Briton Allan Parson and Greg Morgan Mercer, a Canadian national, at a press conference after the Police Immigration Bureau arrested them on charges of falsifying their education qualifications. They were taken into custody yesterday at a private school in the Bang Khun Thian area where they had been employed to teach English. — TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD



Two foreign nationals have been arrested for using fake qualification certificates to teach at a Bangkok school. Officers from the Immigration Police Bureau (IPB) apprehended Briton Allan Parson and Canadian Greg Morgan Mercer yesterday at a school in the Bang Khun Thian area where they were employed as English teachers.
They did not possess the required teaching qualifications, Lt-Gen Suwat Tumrongsiskul, the IPB commissioner, said.
Although the suspects said they didn't intend to deceive anybody and just wanted to teach Thais language skills, the fact remains that they have violated the law, said Pol Lt-Gen Suwat.
Last year alone, 6,807 foreign nationals applied for a visa to teach in Thailand, he said.
Random background checks on 1,000 of them found that 65 produced false certificates to obtain their jobs . They were now being prosecuted.

[ORDUCK]

Are there regular TESL teachers out there who can start a thread on their experiences teaching at particular schools in Kyiv?  I can start with the following:

American English Center:  A great place to start if you don't have a TESL.  They help a lot with new arrivals here.  They gave me some bad advice about healthcare, visas, and opportunities with them.  Their curriculum is uninspired but they have many loyal, serious students.

Ed Cocks, weigh in on Speak Up.

I'm at CapSE now.  They're helping me get my visa status clear.  I work as many hours as I want.  They pay well by the hour. There is often confusion about scheduling and what unit to teach.  They have three locations, and they move people around them.

There seem to be different types of TESL teachers here.  Early-twenty-somethings who want to spend a limited amount of of time in Ukraine, mostly partying with other English speakers.  Middle-aged professional ESL teachers who want the Ukrainian experience, but not for long.  People of all ages who are looking for TESL work until they can land a real job here.  Others who came here for jobs in schools and have moved on to entirely freelance work.  Then the mature folks like me who came here to spend early retirement years living abroad.

Anyone with experience teaching in other schools?

[ecocks]

I started a new thread for teachers to post their reactions and experiences - please ask questions on another thread and keep that one ONLY for school profiles and teacher/employee/student comments.  It will make finding information on schools easier and you will still get your question(s) answered.

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