Teach English In Europe - The English Teacher’s Dream

Everybody wants to teach English in Europe. Europe is a great place to check out, and for westerners it is much more comfortable than living in Asia or South America. For lots of English teachers, Europe is the dream job. But, how do you go about getting there?

The European Union

It helps you get a job in Europe tremendously if you are a member of the European Union. In most countries, English schools will hire a British citizen over a North American almost always. This is not because of some nasty prejudice, or a preference for British English; it is just easier for them. There is less paperwork and hassle on their end.

That being said, it’s not impossible for North Americans and Australians to get teaching jobs in Europe. It happens everyday. But, you should be aware that it will be a little tougher. The good news is that there is some demand for American English. If you can get your visa paperwork sorted out for yourself, it will make it much easier to get a job, instead of relying on sponsorship from the company. There are also short-term study abroad programs where you can teach in Europe for a few months.

Experience And Qualifications

Europe isn’t like Asia, where you can stroll into the country with fluent English and a big smile and land a job. European schools are pretty demanding about qualifications and teaching experience.

While a Masters degree will help, you don’t necessarily need so much schooling. A TESOL or CELTA certification, that you can get in just a couple of months and for a lower price, will do just fine. Europe is a good destination for experienced career teachers who have already done Asia or South America.

It also helps if you have some real-life experience in the business world. The area of highest demand in Europe is for business English, and in many schools they would rather have an experienced businessperson than an experienced English teacher.

What Kind Of Work Is Available

Like Asia, Europe has it’s private conversation schools, but you won’t see as many of them there. There are also assistant teaching programs like Japan’s JET program in some countries, where you work in the public schools as an assistant teacher. However, for long-term employment, these aren’t very good options.

Most teachers who end up staying in Europe live on private lessons and business classes. Most work with dispatch companies that offer short-term contracts. You might be teaching intensive business English classes, or something along those lines.

Head For The East

The area with the most opportunity for English teachers is Eastern Europe. Countries like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic have growing economies, and they need English to succeed. These are the countries where there are the most jobs and the least competition, and they are the easiest countries to teach in if you want to get your foot in the door.

If you are looking for teaching jobs in Europe, check out the regular teaching abroad websites. But, also post your resume on regular job sites like Monster.com and Craigslist, because European employers look there as well. It takes a little extra work to get a teaching job in Europe, but every year lots of English teachers make their dreams happen.