[Dani Dias]

Hello there ,

I'd like to know if any of you are ESL teachers in Canada at the moment or if someone's had the experience there.
I've been teaching English for quite a long time in Brazil (my native country) but I'd like to know if there are good and enough ESL openings in Canada and what certification is most valued up there.
Although it's a future and yet very uncertain plan going to Canada, some info on that would make my life a bit easier.
Btw, I'm Brazilian, lived six years abroad (US). Would being a non-native in an English speaking country be an obstacle for me?

Thanks,
Daniela

[Mimiteach]

Hi Daniela,

Well, there's an awful lot of opportunities for you in the province of Quebec since they implemented ESL in grade 1 and 2 (primary levels). I know for a fact that at my own schoolboard, many interesting contracts were offered to people who weren't even qualified to teach ESL because they lack teachers... However, I'm not sure that the bigger areas (Montreal city, Quebec city) are in need but, if you're willing to try smaller cities... well, I believe now is the time... Good luck!

Myriam

[DaveESL]

Myriam - That sounds very interesting! Could you tell us a bit more about the jobs (hours / salary / etc.)? Is a local teaching certificate required?

I'm an American, and I've been teaching English for over 8 years (5 in Taiwan, 2.5 in Hawaii, 1 in China) and I have a master's in second language teaching. I'm done with my contract here in China in January and am thinking about where to go next. I love camping, hiking, etc. so maybe Canada would be good.

Any additional info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Dave

[purecity]

Because much of Canada is English-speaking, I don't hear of the same need for ESL teachers for schoolaged children in most areas. If you wish to work exclusively as an ESL teacher, there might be opportunities in private colleges/associations that teach adult ESL learners. In Alberta, you can teach privately without official teaching credentials. Schoolaged children in the public education system are often integrated with their Canadian peers and accommodated within their classroom. Some might get some pullout asssistance for part of the day but that is increasingly rare.

If you have official teaching credentials from elsewhere, you may be able to apply for provincial certification and be eligible to be hired by a local school board. Be forewarned that your credentials might not be enough and that you might need to do some training to meet the provincial requirements.

If you can teach another language other than English, you should have a good chance of work in Alberta as there is a demand for second language teachers in many of the school boards, especially in the smaller towns.

If you'd like more info about Alberta certification, send me a private message and I can point you to more specific information online.

[lucycorne]

anyone know how easy it is to get a work visa? i'm a british citizen...

[Mimiteach]

Well, I don't really know about visas, but as said in my first post, the Province of Quebec is in great need of qualified teachers, especially in smaller areas... I also believe that, these days, they are pretty enclined to recognizing qualifications from abroad The starting salary in Quebec is about 30 000$CAN (increasing every year up to 63 000$), 32 hours a week (Monday to Friday) when working full time... There are provincial and federal taxes but living here isn't really expensive compared to most provinces in Canada... You get 2 months off during summer, 2 weeks for Christmas holidays and a week long Spring break... If you read French and you'd like to get more info, I suggest you take a look at this site: Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE) - ACCUEIL This is the site of our Unions federation... I hope it helped

[DaveESL]

Thanks for the information! That sounds pretty good. Do you need to be able to speak French in order to teach there? My French is VERY rusty, and was never that great to begin with.

Thanks again!