You've chosen your location and the kind of employer you wish to work for, made some applications and have a job offer in hand. It is truly an exciting time when you receive your contract, but since you may be basing your decisions on a couple of phone calls with your prospective employer, it can also be a very nerve-wracking time. Will the school keep their promises? Will the school remain open throughout the year? Does the school actually exist? First time and seasoned teachers have every right to be cautious. So how can you assure that you are signing on with a legitimate, professional school?
Contracts and reputation
Reviewing your contract very, very carefully is the first step.
After four years of looking over contracts for those learning how to teach English abroad, I slipped up on my own contract. How could this have happened to someone who read contracts as part of their job? When you are emotionally invested and excited about teaching abroad, you will ignore warning signs and you won’t read a contract as objectively as someone who can see the facts in black and white.
- Andrea Dinan, former TESL trainer, International TEFL
What could go wrong?
There are many little items that should be looked at carefully in a contract. Some items may not bother you at all, but may bother the next teacher. Contracts can be worded in a way to give your employer more wiggle room than they should have. Here are a couple of common examples of problem clauses.
Working hours versus teaching hours
You may have a contract that states you are teaching 30 hours a week. When you arrive at the school, you find you are expected to be there from 7:30am to 5:00pm. So what are you doing for the extra hours? Some schools may have you putting on extra conversation clubs, doing marketing activities or other duties around the school. It is important to know what your working hours are and what your teaching hours are.
Medical costs
Perhaps your contract states that the school will pay for 50% of your medical costs. Sounds great, right?
I had this clause in my contract and didn’t really think too much of it. I was young and healthy. With two months left of my contract I contracted some sort of virus that no one could explain and was in the hospital for a week. The total cost was $1,800. My school paid $900 and I paid $900. However, if I had had the national insurance coverage like all other schools provided, the total cost would have been around $200; $100 paid out of my pocket and $100 paid by the school.
Breaking your contract
Another common problem contract clause found in English teaching jobs states you must pay the school a penalty if you break your contract early. Having to pay for visa costs and airfare is understandable if you are leaving before the first six months have passed. However, having to pay the school any other sort of money is unfair and unprofessional.
Other issues
Other contract items to be alert to include: security deposits for your accommodations, holiday time, being available to work on the weekends, having to travel from school to school, not having a guaranteed number of teaching hours or having to share accommodation.
Analyzing your contract
So how can you assure that the contract you are signing is fair, professional and meets your expectations?
Get someone else to read the contract
Always get a second opinion, preferably from someone who is in the English teaching industry. If you have taken a TESOL or TEFL training course, ask someone from the TEFL training centre to read over your contract. Reputable centres that provide TEFL training and certificates normally provide these services. If that is not possible, try to find someone in your network who has taught English abroad. Another opinion will help you to see things that you may have missed.
Google search your school
Bad news travels fast, especially in the TEFL industry. Schools that have not kept their promises create disgruntled teachers who are quick to vent their frustration on online forums. There are many websites such as Dave’s ESL Café or ESLemployment.com that offer discussion boards and allow people to post issues they have had with their employer. Some websites even have a “blacklist” of schools that have consistent problems.
However, do be careful with this method. It is important to look at each complaint objectively and think about whether it is something that you can deal with or not. You should also look into whether there are other similar complaints from other teachers. Common complaints that you find online may be that teachers aren’t paid on time, overtime is mandatory, there is a lack of teaching resources, an inflexible curriculum, or complaints about accommodation. Sometimes the teachers who complain simply didn’t read their contracts properly, and may not have valid issues with the school.
Ask the teachers
Schools should be happy to provide you with email addresses and even phone numbers of teachers who currently work at the school. The common question is: can you trust these teachers? Normally, you can. Teachers are typically glad to tell you about the pros and cons of the school, but you have to ask the right questions. If they are unhappy with the school, they will usually share that information to help new teachers avoid a mistake.
After reading the contract, make a list of questions and concerns you have and ask for contact information for at least three teachers from the school. Here are some questions to ask to get you started:
- What is your regular weekly schedule?
- Do you have to do any extra work?
- How would you describe your directors?
- What is your accommodation like? What is the neighbourhood like?
- Do you have any issues with payment?
- Have you encountered any other problems with the school?
- What are your fellow teachers like?
- What would you say are the hardest aspects of the job or the school?
- What do you like best about working at the school?
- Would you recommend this school to other teachers?
Follow your Gut
As I assisted teachers with their job search and their contracts, the most important question that I asked was, “How do you feel about the job and the contract?” More often than not if there was a niggling sense that something was amiss, it was true.
- Andrea Dinan, former TESL trainer, International TEFL
If you have any doubt, whether you can explain it or not, don’t sign the contract. Sure, you will have butterflies in your stomach but they should feel like excitement, not impending doom. It is always best to apply to a few different jobs and look at three to four different contracts. You can choose the best one and feel good knowing that you made the best decision.
Taking precautions before signing a contract will be an excellent learning experience and will help you prepare for what is ahead. As you board the plane to your new destination, you will feel that you have a good sense of who you are working for and what is expected of you. Now you can focus on all the surprises of actually living in your new country!
Packing and resources
So, you have a job offer, a signed contract, a flight, a visa and a departure date. Or maybe you have none of the above, and just plan to show up and find a job on the ground. Either way, you're ready to teach your first class… or, are you?
When packing for your new country, language and climate, take a moment to consider packing a few extras for your job. Depending on where you are going to teach English, the resources and materials available to you may vary widely, and it is not uncommon to be provided with nothing at all. It may be nearly impossible to acquire teaching materials once you are in-country—and, in many countries, especially outside major cities, finding any materials at all in English can be a challenge.
Since you may be expected to start teaching as soon as you arrive in country, it's best to go prepared. Do your best to find out who you will be teaching before you leave, as the materials that will be useful to you when teaching business English obviously differ greatly from those for pre-schoolers.
Teaching materials
Consider some of the following, which you may be very grateful you brought once you arrive:
- An English dictionary (or app) and grammar book
- Educational games or word games, such as Scrabble
- Magazines and picture books
- ESL teaching resources, such as lesson plans and activities (see teaching resources below)
- You may also consider bringing gifts or souvenirs from your home country to give out to your students. These may be available from your local member of parliament.
- Professional teaching attire: find out expectations in advance, but professional attire is usually the norm, and jeans are rarely acceptable. On a related note, be sure to research the climate and weather you can expect at your destination during the length of your contract!
Teaching resources: activities and lesson plans
Here are some resources for ESL teaching activities, games, lesson plans and resources, that you can check out from the road, assuming you have access to the Internet.
1. breakingnewsenglish.com
2. edhelper.com
3. englishbanana.com
4. englishclub.com
5. englishmedialab.com
6. english-the-easy-way.com
7. esl.about.com
8. eslflow.com
9. eslkidslab.com
10. eslmania.com
11. eslpartyland.com
12. esltower.com
13. iteslj.com
14. rong-chang.com
