Anyone work in TEFL

[fireplacetiles]

I have a pgce but haven't taught for 15 years, I am 51 and thinking about doing a CELTA course with the idea being I would work with refugee children and adults in school or maybe teach groups. However I don't live in a city with any language schools so I am wondering if there are many jobs around in schools? If you already do this do you enjoy it? Would it be worth me doing this course, it is £1300 so it needs to lead to employment!

Hmm. Yes I did this course and loved it. I don't think I'm a natural but I'm enthusiastic and prepare assiduously.

I live near a city and my satellite town has language schools. I haven't applied to them as I didn't have the confidence to do so. A friend of mine has done and got work. However, it was cover work, and she would get phoned up the night before and told to prepare for three hours of lessons. One of our trainers on Celta course said when she was teaching she wasn't told if her contract would be renewed month to month.

I ended up advertising locally on noticeboards. I set myself up as a private teacher. I got a few one to one pupils that way and some through word of mouth. I could have probably got more if I'd made more of an effort but I was also volunteering teaching refugees at a charity that met in a church hall.

So, you can get work, probably working in most geographical areas but language school work doesn't seem that secure, and is not well paid. For freelance work you have to advertise quite hard to get a small to reasonable amount of income.

Not surprisingly, many on my course were younger than me and looking to work abroad. Lots were also not native English speakers.

To sum up - great course, interesting and worthwhile job but precarious as an income source.

I'm 50 btw and did the course about 8 years ago.

PS @fireplacetiles the fact you have a pgce I think would mean you were qualified to work in state schools were I am not.

I'm currently an EFL teacher living in Italy, have been doing it for the last 3 years.

In terms of domestic UK work, unless you're willing to move to chase opportunities, I'm not sure you're going to have much luck doing anything above and beyond individual students over a kitchen table or volunteering for a charity/refugee situation.

Any permanent, full time jobs in actual language schools in the UK tend to go to people with lots of experience and even a DELTA on top of their CELTA. I do work in the UK every summer with an eye to becoming a permanent member of staff, but a lot of it is word of mouth and there's not much on offer given the number of people looking.

If you want an income stream, online tutoring is a viable way to do it - one of my colleagues who is currently too ill to work is tutoring for two different websites and managing to make ends meet while recovering.

In terms of work in actual schools (state or private) I'm not sure there will be enough provision to keep you occupied. Might be worth doing some preliminary research before you commit to the CELTA e.g. ring around your area and see what schools have any kind of EFL programme, and if they are looking to recruit or not.

Give me an @ mention if I can help with anything else! Good luck!

I have a CELTA and worked abroad and in the UK up to 8 years ago. Very enjoyable and rewarding, but not well-paid in the UK and jobs are scarce.
With your PGCE, I think there is more paid employment as an exam tutor these days. Many of my friends have after school tutors for the chilldren for English and Maths and they pay around £30 per hour in London. You'd need to update your skills for current curriculum I guess. But you could advertise locally and probably hire a room in a library to run afterschool homework clubs.