Expert: Cesar - 1/15/2010

Question
Hi, my parents are colombian but I'm an american citizen. I was born and raised in newyork I speak fluent english. want to move back to colombia. I have an associates in business  administration.I was wondering if I could teach english with my degree?

Answer
Dear Ms. Juliana:

Yes, you can teach English in Colombia as long as you have good grammar, even if you do not have a degree in Education. What some schools would do is have a verbal interview with you in English and then sometimes would ask you to take a grammar and comprehension test in English. It helps if you also know some Spanish, even if poor. If you pass the test and interview then most likely you will be accepted. They want someone how has at least a decent English -preferably native- accent and not broken or incoherent English that people cannot understand (some Americans have a strong accents at some states that make them hard to understand by other Americans and that would not help). A foreigner such as an Asian might have a strong Asian accent and would probably have an accent that is difficult to understand by Latinos. I have talked to people who have been in the US and come to Colombia, say that they know English, but have a terrible broken English that even me would have a hard time making sense of what they say due to their very poor pronunciation and grammar. That would not work when wanting to be a teacher. You need good grammar and pronounciation. Many people do not know much English and would admire the ones who say they speak English, but the ones who hire teachers know sufficient English to know how knows and who doesn't. You need to have sufficiently good English to be able to teach it and be understood. I bet you meet all or most of the requirements for many private schools since you were born and raised in New York and speak fluent English. The exception would be if they also want you to speak a decent Spanish. In some few schools grammar might not as important as long as you can manage the students and can provide a learning experience of any kind. Some elementary school students could be difficult to control. You might know very good English, but if some students give you a hard time during class then it would be hard for you to teach. Luckily, some schools have a discipline director and supervisors that you can call to take the difficult students away for some time, but you need to know how to control your students unless you teach adults or older people. The income foreign English teachers receive is usually higher than the average for medium level professionals, but that is because there is a lack of native English teachers and Colombians know that Americans and other foreigners are used to higher incomes and would not work for salaries that are very low. Still the income would probably or most likely be significantly less than what an American teacher will receive. About 4 years ago a good income for a brand new English teacher was about 19,000 pesos per hour. Now it is probably 25,000 pesos. Fees for private classes vary greatly: it could be for example $20,000, to $40,000 per hour, but you set your price. Normally, they ask for two hours per private class and you might get two students to sit with you as you teach them and review their homework with them. The demand for private classes is not big because the price per hour is high for Colombians. Many advertise private classes in newspapers and on classified ads at websites. Normally, school teachers receive requests for private classes to the domicile of the students, but that involves taking the time to go there and back, which could add a couple of hours if going by bus and/or metro, plus walking some distance. If you have a car then the trip time will be less, but you will use some gas. You can also take taxis, but that diminishes your income. People with some saved money can start a small school, but would need to invest in rent, advertising, utilities, permits, etc.

Some schools are small and would pay little. Some used to pay like 8 thousand per hour, but that was like 5 years ago. Now that should be in the range of 12 to 15 or 20 thousand. One problem you could have is the number of hours they would give you. It could be just 2 to 6 hours a day and then you will have to be a teacher in two schools to work at least 4 to 10 hours a day. You can use your creativity to create more income such as giving conferences, short courses, etc. in some conference rooms or teach at companies. I know of a school that has contracts with companies and hire teachers that provide classes very early in the morning (like at 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.) and then the students go to work after that. The problem is that it is few hours and maybe the next class could be at lunch time or maybe a few hours after. So what do you in the meantime waiting for the next class? That is often time lost. If you teach in a school then you have to spend time in teacher meetings, which are not paid. Also you will have to create tests, grade them, prepare the classes so that you would have enough material to teach, and wait in the teacher's room until it is time for the next class. You could have 2 hours of class at say 8 a.m. and then one at 11 a.m. or after lunch like at 1 p.m. and you will have to stay until the last class is over or even longer to attend a meeting. It is pretty much the job of a part-timer, but you could be lucky and be offered more hours. You could start with 19 hours a week and if you do good they could give you more classes. They could even ask you if you could provide classes in other subjects such as in Math or whatever you feel qualified to teach. This will be in a private institution. At public schools or universities they will probably ask you for a degree, most likely in Languages. I have a relative who was a teacher in the US and taught at a prestigious university in Medellín. He made extra income by providing classes at private schools. I even taught English at a well known private school and I do not have a degree in Education. I was also offered work at other private schools.

Best wishes,

Cesar
www.CesarUSA.com