Trinity validated 4-week intensive TEFL Courses all through the year. Our course provides you with a headstart in an exciting new career as an English Language Teacher and is designed to give you the skills to enjoy teaching and teach effectively while you travel, experience new cultures and earn money. Also Diploma TESOL Courses for experienced teachers and Teacher Development Courses, CerTEB, TEFL Starter Courses and One-to-One Teaching courses.
OxfordTEFL ... experts in Teacher Training
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 Konviktska 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. 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?
Will I get a job?
In short, yes! The TEFL market in Prague an the wider Czech Republic (CR)
is very healthy. 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 a lot 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. 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!
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...
Further queries? Email me directly: careers@oxfordtefl.cz
See you in Praha!
