TEFL certified english tutor available!

[fionaforrester]

I do believe the only questions I asked were:

Would anyone be interested in hiring her after the Summer to teach their children English or know of a company that hires trained English teachers?

So yes, I was slightly disappointed with the bombardment of negativity... If I'd have asked if people thought it was a good idea, then maybe the replies would have been more appropriate. And my sister is an EU citizen as she's from Scotland, in the UK as I mentioned in my first post.

But thanks for the web site posts! I will send them on to my sister and she can have a look at them. That information I find helpful!

I do understand that it would be difficult, but when I posted for information looking for a job for myself, I got a lot of the same answers almost 2 years ago. But after persevering I found a job even though there were over 65 applicants for it. It took some time but I believe it was worth it and I would want my sister to be over here with me instead of in another foreign country where we'd see each other even less. Plus it was her idea in the first place to come here so I really want to make it work.

But please keep me posted with ideas! I do appreciate them.
Thank you

[Pursuivant]

Yes, its a wonderful idea the job will come jump from the bush and bite her in the nose, just tell her to stroll in the evenings in Kaisaniemi park.

[Pursuivant]

Sister sitting on your sofa all summer = Pissed off boyfriend

Oi, beibe, nyt taisin keksiä
voisimme kokeilla ryhmäseksiä
Otetaan systerisi mukaan kimppaan,
olenkin jo kyllästynyt yhteen pimppaan.

[tony webb]

Hi,

I'm a recently qualified TEFL teacher and have been living over here for a few months now. I'm also from the UK.
It is very difficult to get TEFL work over here. I'm still looking. I have a business degree and have run my own business for many years in the UK until this recession.

I have many Finnish friends and have been given some valuable insights;

1. Finns learn English from the age of 7 at school.
2. Those that want to learn, when they leave school are English grammar and pronunciation perfect.
3. When they leave school their English level is anywhere between pre-intermediate and C1 the only thing that prevents them from having a higher grade is conversational skills.

It is very difficult to get work in a school as a supply/freelance teacher. Schools tend to give priority to native Finns and Swedes. it's possible I've had some work provide a good income around 60€ a week but you only work 3.45hrs a week. Most schools finish for summer around 2nd june 2010 and don't start back until early august. Although it's not compulsary over here your sister would be advised to get a full criminal record check certificate (CRB). It's a big advantage. Also you can't touch kids even if it's just to shake hands or to pat them on the head to congratulate them without a CRB. Again a native Finn/Swede will have one of these.

I think you mentioned that it was your sister coming over. My advice would be to try and specialise in what you want to teach. I loook on mol.fi for English speaking jobs. There hasn't been any advertised for a month until today. It doesn't start until August. Finland reopens after the July holidays and until then they like to enjoy the sun. teaching is best in winter when Finns like to be inside.

Although the Finns claim to be a multiculteral society it is very much on their terms and only after native Finns/Swedes have refused the job.

Finns like British English better than other types of English. That is a strong advantage but probably not enough on it's own. They don't seem to realise that a native English speaker would be a huge leg up for learners because they won't feel lost and useless when they first hear native English spoken.

When teaching in schools you need to have some Finnish language skills. It makes life easier. On a TEFL course they teach you to use imperatives and to demonstrate by example. What they don't teach you is that kids will ask you questions in Finnish or Sweedish and you have to be able to answer them. If you can't answer them you've lost control of the class because they play on your weaknesses. I learned the hard way. Also the TEFL course is mainly aimed at giving adult instruction you have to take a young learners course to know how to teach in schools.

They do say that Finland will start to emerge from recession this autumn. From my own business experience from previous recessions companies will concentrate on building up their financial reserves before they start spending on training courses and recruiting for staff.

The odds are heavily stacked against your sister getting a job but it might not be impossible.

I hope this helps.
Tony Webb

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

You need to be looking at the private teaching companies, not schools. It's very hard to get into the high schools etc with TEFL (or any non-Finnish teaching cert.). If you do get a few classes, then they aren't enough to make a full schedule.

The hourly rate is often better in the public sector than the private...but what good is that if you are only teaching 5 classes?

2. Those that want to learn, when they leave school are English grammar and pronunciation perfect.

Hmmm...Pronunciation is one area that Finns really need to work on. Younger Finns are ok (probably from all the online gaming), but the older ones often have quite poor pronunication.

From my own business experience from previous recessions companies will concentrate on building up their financial reserves before they start spending on training courses and recruiting for staff.

Yeah, training and travel are often the 2 things that get cut first. And training is the last thing they spend on when the money comes in. Can't blame 'em..but it's a sh!t for us.

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

As for the criminal record...easy to get. If you need one to show that you haven't done any naughty activities while you've been in Finland, you can just apply online for it....Some police station or another.

[fionaforrester]

Well that's really interesting about the criminal record certificate. I'll definitely pass that information on as if it's going to be an advantage, well i don't think we should be turning any advantages away really!! so thank you, i wouldn't have thought of something like that.

And thanks for the insight of being a TEFL teacher. I'm getting the general impression that it's not that easy... This is something that she's wanting to do because she's very interested in languages and has a degree (or she will do when she comes over here...) in linguistics which I've heard will be an advantage as well.

She has three months to see if it's worth pursuing over here though, and if it's horrible then she can always head home, it would be sad but not the end of the world. I think we'd both be disappointed if she never came over here and gave it a try!

But thanks for the help, it's made me more insightful into the world of TEFL in Finland.

[Rosamunda]

She has three months to see if it's worth pursuing over here though, and if it's horrible then she can always head home, it would be sad but not the end of the world.

If she is hell bent on giving it a bash for three months then tell her to come over in August or September. Nearly all the schools I have worked for CLOSE DOWN in July (right after Juhannus in fact). August is minimal (there might be some roll over work but that would invariably go to existing teachers). Things start ramping up in September.

It's not that it is horrible, it's just a bit lonely given that she will be expected to work on her own and will have little or no contact with other teachers.

I would suggest she gets 2-3 months intensive TEFL experience IN THE UK (after she gets her certificate) before she comes to Finland. Even if she has only 250-300 teaching hours on her CV - that is substantially better than nothing. And if she can get that in a school that has an affiliate in Helsinki (like Berlitz, EF etc) then all the better.

[fionaforrester]

I suppose that would be a better deal.. She doesn't need to come in July, so that would make more sense. July would have been good because I'm not working then and so would have time to go with her and show her round etc as it's not very fun trying to do that by yourself (i know that from experience!) in a country where you don't know the language....

But it's all up in the air at the moment so we'll have to see what happens.

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

There is always the summer camps...Spain has tons of 'em...Not something i would do now, but could be good for your sister. check tefl.com.

Things start ramping up in September.

@Fiona - And remember the contracts won't come in in one big lot. TEFL schools work with a few different companies...so the work comes in as the companies sign the contracts etc etc. Obviously...they won't all organise it on the same day, there is no deadline or general course start up date or anything like that. So it can be very slow. Sometimes you're lucky and you have a full schedule by mid-September, other times you aren't working much until late October...depends on so many factors...and this year I am guessing it will be very slow.

Edit: and you work freelance so when you ain't teaching in August...you ain't getting paid!

[Pursuivant]

This is something that she's wanting to do because she's very interested in languages

Good, now we'll have a prodigy learning Finnish quick to balance all those who think its a total ulkopaikallissija.

[tony webb]

I am a qualified tesol tutor (cambridge CELTA) and have several years teaching experience. I recently moved to Finland.

I have come accross the following hurdles;

applying to teach at adult colleges - some have said that they only use Finnish qualified English language teachers and others have said they give priority to finnish applicants. No one has shown interest in employing a native english speaking person although some have said they would use me if I spoke fluent Finnish.
pupils leave school with a very good understanding of grammatical English.
there is an interest in conversational English. You may get some luck with this.

Companies don't want to kow at the moment and many suggest contacting them again at the end of the year which is also the end of the Finnish financial year.

There have been jobs for summer camp tutors advertised on mol.fi but all of these required the teacher to have Finnish language skills.

It is difficult to visit some English language training companies as many of them are one man bands working from home.

Your sister will need a kela number as she will have to register with the tax office (vero) and she won't get that without a contract for work and submitting an application form for a residency permit (45€). Whilst it's true that your sister doesn't need a residency permit for 3 months she will need a kela number to get work. it's a vicious circle. I'm English and I'm currently having to go throgh this process even though I had a job that lasted 2 months. She will need a work contract, a finnish bank acount and to be able to prove employment by showing 2 months payslips. She can work and get a temporary Kela number whilst her residency application is being considered.

There are exceptions where your sister might not need to pay tax but she will still need to register with the tax office and to have a kela number. if she doesn't register by law her employer has to take 60% of her earnings as tax and pay a state pension contribution. She can claim the tax back at the end of the financial year if she becomes a resident. if not she might be able to get a certificate of earnings and taxes paid to give to her UK tax office. She still may not get the tax back.

It's not easy to get work over here at the moment.

[finlandforumuser]

one has shown interest in employing a native english speaking person although some have said they would use me if I spoke fluent Finnish.
pupils leave school with a very good understanding of grammatical English.
there is an interest in conversational English. You may get some luck with this.

You could consider to seek work in Russia, Moscow, SPb. Historically, level of knowledge of foreign languages is very poor there, while partnership with Western world is rapidly grow, so the demand in language skill is very high. It is very common to take private lessons and people are looking for native speaker, as individual or group study. I was taking English lessons for half year from native American and he had some other clients commonly sponsored by companies.

Last note, the salaries in capital regions are close to Finnish scale or even higher with 13% flat tax.

[tony webb]

about the CRB certificate. it's not needed but having one is an advantage.
Your sister can't apply for one here for two reasons; she won't have a residency permit and she won't have any records to check.

She should get one in the UK (scotland) and bring it here with her. She should then take it to a police station. They will check it with the UK and issue a Finnish certificate or validate the one that she has.