TEFL in Italy: anyone with experience?
Replies: 13 - Last Post: Nov 22, 2012 6:57 AM Last Post By: travelinstyle46
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TEFL in Italy: anyone with experience?
Hello fellow Thorn Tree members!I am a 25 year old female who's inclination for wanderlust and adventure is starting to creep up on me. I graduated college with a Liberal Arts Major and am now working at a large company in Minnesota. Throughout college I was fortunate to be able to explore the world and study abroad- two activities which I desperately miss. Due to my insatiable need for an new adventure I am in the (very) early stages of researching moving to Italy for a year to teach English as a foreign language.
I understand there is quite a bit of prework to undertake before I am ready to make to move to Italy and I am hoping that there is someone out there with advice or experince which they can offer me. From my research I have deducted that I will need a certificate, working visa and preferably a job lined up before I move. Is there anyone on the forum that has thought about teaching abroad or actually done so? If so, please let me know of any agencies, contacts or tips and tricks you might know of. You'd be helping a girl with a big dream out.
1
Man, it always hurts a little to give this answer. Sadly, without an EU passport, the likelihood of finding legal ESL teaching work is highly unlikely. In order to get a work visa, you need to prove that you have a skill which the employer cannot find locally. In the EU, "locally" means anywhere in the EU, including the UK and Ireland. With an unrelated BA and no experience, irregardless of the certificate you choose to do, this simply does not qualify you as a foreign expert.That said, there are a few companies like CETP (although they don't do Italy) which will organize positions and visas for non-EU applicants, for a $2,500 fee!!!
3
It sounds like your main goal is to be abroad and to teach EFL instead of going to Italy. In which case try other, easier destinations. East Asia has high pay and Southeast Asia is equally doable for Americans. Do some searches.4
eslcafe.com and tefl.com have lots of adverts for jobs - see what qualifications (including nationalities) they need.For a small number of work visa options, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa#Non-participating_countries
5
Also, since you're under 30, you could do a Working Holiday visa for plenty of countries. There are several options in Western Europe you could consider. Later on, if you've still got wanderlust (like many of us), you could do TEFL in Asia where there are no age restrictions for visas until you hit 60 years or so.The world awaits ;)
7
Yes there are plenty of ways to see the world. A WHV is a good place to get started on a couple of continents while you're under 30 for many young people including Americans - who have it much better than young Chinese kids I know where there's only one good option: New Zealand.Though I never got a WHV - I just earned $ in the US and started by jumping over the Atlantic in my mid-20s, and was a sculpture apprentice in Italy, worked for room and board at an art gallery in the UK, studied in France, etc. Once I moved to Asia I got more pragmatic and career-minded, as you do eventually. It's been good fun, lots of work, along with some harrowing times too. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Also, if you're interested to teach in exchange for room and board in Spain (and I think Germany), I've heard good things about this volunteer program: http://www.diverbo.com/en/volunteer-abroad/why-diverbo
8
On the Diverbo program "PLEASE NOTE: All candidates must be European Union nationals or already in possession of an EU work visa." Therefore would not apply to the OP.As for WHV, Americans only have agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore and Ireland if memory serves. I'm sure it's listed in #5's link.
10
Some people are so 'optimistic' that they overlook the legalities of things. LOLThe OP asked about TEFLing in Italy. No amount of optimism is going to change the answer to that question.
11
Ahem. I never mentioned Italy. It was clarified earlier on that's not legal for Americans. I said 'plenty of countries'.There are many ways to work and gain experience in your 20s. A WHV may be an easy way but not always the best, depending on what your aspirations are. Countries have restrictions about what kind of work you can do and for how long. I 'worked' in Italy for a summer in exchange for room and board, and it was a great start to my career, such as it is. Much more valuable than picking fruit, TEFL or working at a bar.
13
The OP hasn't even said why she is thinking of TEFLing in Italy. Comments about what might be more valuable from a career point of view are hardly relevant without knowing WHY the OP is considering what she says she is considering.She has been given the answer to her original questions. Speculation beyond that is really rather pointless without additional input from the OP
All I see now is attempts to self-justify irrelevant comments.
