Thread: Teaching English in Russia?

Hi guys

My mom is interested in teaching English in Russia, probably some place around Moscow.

I tried to find some threads about this, but the best I could do was http://masterrussian.net/mforum/viewtopic.php?t=8251 and that didn't help at all.

So now I'm cluttering the General Board up :P

The opportunities to teach sound awesome, they promise to pay for a room, and to pay for her to fly there, and to pay for her to teach, and pretty much everything, plus I was stunned to see that "full-time" in Russia is about half the amount of hours that "full-time" is here in the States - so plenty of time for tourism. :P

Also, I was hoping to go along too and do some private tutoring. I'm all happy about this, because it sounds like a cash cow.

My mom has been more gloomy - she's hung up on the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". She has been looking for a catch, some strings attached.
She started going on about how Moscow is on of the most expensive places to live in the world. I reminded her that the companies offered to pay for the room - but does anyone know if that includes heat and water bills?
I'm also looking into St. Pete instead, but more people speak English there and it's more like a tourist city, so I'd prefer Moscow from the two.

So, does anybody know anything useful about this? My mom says there's a ton of information out there about it, but it will take her awhile to weed through it all.

Thanks in advance,
DDL

dont worry about the cost of living. real estate is expensive but if the company provide a place then no problems. food is cheap (there again, that depends on wage) but for me it was cheap. tell her not to panic so much. you could probably find some work teaching private clients with ease, just put out a private add in the moscow times. i guarantee you will find it cheap as hell over there

Thanks, Columbo. So do you think water and heat are provided with the room, or should we ask the employer?

Also, my mother was alarmed by the crime rate. I was under the impression that things like the Russian Mafia and purse-snatching was much more publicized than they really happen, but is there anything to worry about?

DDL,

The company I'm using is called Language Link (http://www.languagelink.ru). I'm doing a work-study program with them, where they basically set you up with a room, some initial TEFL training, and pay a modest salary for part-time teaching. However, I know they offer different options to people who already have EFL certification, and know that they do compensate people for airfare if they are already certified. While I haven't left yet, dealing with the company so far has been pretty smooth - they are knowlegable and helpful about questions you have.

About private lessons - while i haven't done it myself, I have also heard that you can charge American rates for private english lessons. However, i'm not sure how big this is in Moscow (due to the availablity of English-speaking people there). I do know that in smaller towns (Saratov) it isn't difficult to find people willing to pay even somebody who isn't certified to teach English. Even making friends with Russians in smaller towns yielded several offers to come to their place of work / residence and teach english.

tdk

im not qualified and i received plenty of work (all in dollars in an envelope). its very very easy to find work for at least $20 an hour (that was my price for kids). my friend even has one client who pays $65 for 90 mins, thats more the exception than the rule, but sweet for him tho

Thanks, tdk, we've been looking into LanguageLink and they look interesting. Your input was certainly helpful.

Columbo, that's amazing! I wish I could make that much for a 90 minute session. :P

Are there any opportunities for professionals (people with MBAs or law degrees) to teach English to executives?

@DDL,

If you are interested in teaching english to executives, try doing a search on "Business English". I know a lot of companies in Russia contract companies to send people to actually come on-site and teach english. However, I think you have to find a company that provides these services, as i'm not sure that a business would hire any native-english speaker they find (I know that LL does do this type of work).

tdk

the only english people want is business english! whether or not you have a qualification doesn't play a part really. some want TEFL but the demand is soo big is doesnt matter.
i had never seen business english before. i just sat there with the course book and thought on my feet, not hard if you have a normal level of intelligence. fact is they will take you because you are a native speaker, they would take a bum american (brits are more favoured ) over a super qualified russian teacher with years experiance in a heart beat.

Originally Posted by Lt. Columbo

im not qualified and i received plenty of work (all in dollars in an envelope). its very very easy to find work for at least $20 an hour (that was my price for kids). my friend even has one client who pays $65 for 90 mins, thats more the exception than the rule, but sweet for him tho

$20 an hour? Wow. I only got $2 an hour tutoring kids in Kiev.

Kiev is Ukraine.

Originally Posted by Vincent Tailors

Kiev is Ukraine.

Lol, different world there I guess.

In St Pete they won't offer you a good job unless you're a Brit with a CELTA paper. The days when every bum native speaker was offered a job are over - there's been too many badly qualified teachers and most students are after Cambridge exams these days so you've got to have CELTA or you won't be qualified by the British Council to teach your students exam courses. Cushy job days are over.

you can get a TEFL (thats teaching english as a foreign language) by taking a 2 week course. dont know how your american ones work tho

TEFL is not valued in Russia.

Originally Posted by VendingMachine

TEFL is not valued in Russia.

What, if anything, can you tell me about this outfit, Mr VM? Ever heard of them? http://www.languagelink

@DDT,

what do you want to know?

tdk

Just wondering what the report on them from inside the EFL industry would be. How difficult it is these days to teach without any certificate. I have been toying with the idea for some time now. I don't think I'll ever get fluent enough in Russian usless I live there for a while.

I've spoken to a few EFL teachers and they basically say that anybody you work for also has a certification course, usually about a month and costing around $1000 USD. I'm actually doing the work-study with LanguageLink (No certification required, they pay you to teach part time and you also take Russian lessons), at the end of which you get some kind of in-house EFL certification. I'm not sure how useful this is with other universities/companies, but I would imagine that if I wanted to do another contract with LL their own in-house certificate would be sufficient.

tdk

Cool! It would be funny if we met on a job in Russia somewhere, wouldn't it?

Let me ask you.......why didn't you go as an "intern" instead of "work study"? You would avoid the $1000 fee. Your Russian should be good enough by now that you could pick up fluency just by interaction with life in Russia.

I would lose more than that in scholarships and health benefits at the university i'm currently at. (I need to be taking classes of some kind)

tdk