TESOL Newsletter from Rennert: December

Each newsletter, we feature a particular country and give insider tips from people who have lived and taught there. This month it is the Czech Republic. This has long been a popular destination for teachers from around the world. It's incredibly beautiful and a lot of fun.

Czech Republic
The scoop (word-of-mouth advice from someone who's been there):

Paul moved from New York to the Czech Republic for 2½ years after becoming certified:

"I lived in a provincial city, Hradec Kralov, for the first six months that I was there, before transferring to Prague for two years.

I worked for Caledonian School. I found my job thru Dave's esl café. I emailed my resume, then they contacted me and set up phone interview. I actually spoke with a recruiter in Toronto. The school sponsored me for a resident's visa and helped arrange the visa. There was a woman in the city center of Prague who also helped with paperwork once I was there, so it was easy.

In Hradec Kralov, there was no physical building. I mainly went to companies and taught at their offices, but I even had one of the classes in my apartment (which was given to me by the school). In Prague I had some general English classes, but I guess because all my classes in Hradec Kralov were in-company, I kept getting Business English classes when I got there too. Other teachers had various mixes of in-company vs. in-school classes.

The hours you work depends on what and who you teach. I had a few in-company classes that began at 7:00am and 7:30am and some days I had a very big gap in between classes, though other days I had a busy schedule. The latest I finished was around 8pm. Classes were usually 90 minutes or 2 hours max and a full-time teaching load was generally about 20-25 hours per week. We got paid per hour, but if we didn't have enough hours, the school would sometimes give us admin work to supplement our income.

We didn't earn a lot of money, but it was a little bit more than the average Czech salary. I ended up walking away with some money, I think because I didn't go to Prague first. In Hradec Kralov I didn't have to pay for my apartment and I was the only native speaker teaching in the area so my schedule was much busier.

Unlike in Hradec Kralov, in Prague the school didn't pay for, or arrange, accommodation. There was an agency that the school dealt with, but teachers complained that this was a bit pricey. However, in Prague there's a big American and British expat community - there's even a website for expats - and lots of people found their apartments that way. I found mine via a teacher I met on a trip to the Netherlands that the school had arranged.

Charles Bridge, Prague, 1999

One thing to keep in mind if you go there is that at first I was surprised by how cold and distant Czech people seemed. But, although they seem reserved at first, but once they get warmed up, their friendship is very genuine.

Oh, and the beer is cheap!"

School that are known to employ American teachers:
This information is made available to graduates of the WL-SIT TESOL Certificate course. Course alumni are also provided with job opportunities that arise from time to time, as well as a database of ESL schools in the New York area.

Please note: While every endeavor is made to ensure this information is accurate, Rennert is not responsible for incorrect information.