# Teaching English?



## Niamh

I am constantly coming up with ridiculous plans and here is the latest! I have been thinking about the possibility of teaching english in Portugal. I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice, perspective, their own experiences etc.

The city I was concentrating on is Coimbra, this way I could stay with my grandmother and save on rent. I know there are about four private language schools in the area (I have some friends who attend one in particular) and I may do some tutoring on the side. Lisbon or Porto would no doubt have more opportunities but I am quite attached to this particular area of the country and my family. 

As far as I know the general requirements for teaching english is a bachelors degree and a CELTA?


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## canoeman

and being self employed not a particularly cheap option in Portugal 
Being a major university city probably a good place, there's also a child's English speaking/teaching nursery so residents seem to attach importance to English as an extra language.


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## Niamh

Oh yes, I definitely would not stay if I couldn't find a regualr teaching job, the tutoring would just be something on the side! Teachers in general are having a hard time finding a permenant position or even decent contract work, I have heard it from the horses mouth. 

I guess what I am more interested in is whether private langauge schools are hiring native speaking english teachers? Will speaking and understanding Portugese help at all? I would not say I am fluent but close enough.

Thanks for the response canoeman!


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## Adam Matthias

Hello there. I am currently an English teacher here in Portugal. I was having difficulty finding a direction so I went an did my CELTA in Lisbon and now I am teaching in Braga. My family live near to Coimbra and I know there are many schools who are looking for teachers. I wholeheartedly endorse a CELTA. they are recognised and many schools will not even consider you without one. Teaching is very rewarding here. Students are lovely even though they aren't that academic. I was teaching for for three years in Poland before I returned to Portugal and there is a real difference. Being English, I thought it would be easy to get a job here... alas... things aren't that easy. There are many local teachers who are crying out for work. It is still possible to find a good job... I will give you any info you need to help..


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## Niamh

Adam Matthias said:


> Hello there. I am currently an English teacher here in Portugal. I was having difficulty finding a direction so I went an did my CELTA in Lisbon and now I am teaching in Braga. My family live near to Coimbra and I know there are many schools who are looking for teachers. I wholeheartedly endorse a CELTA. they are recognised and many schools will not even consider you without one. Teaching is very rewarding here. Students are lovely even though they aren't that academic. I was teaching for for three years in Poland before I returned to Portugal and there is a real difference. Being English, I thought it would be easy to get a job here... alas... things aren't that easy. There are many local teachers who are crying out for work. It is still possible to find a good job... I will give you any info you need to help..


Hey Adam, 

Thanks for offering to give me some info, there are a few questions I had on my mind and if you could answer any I would be thrilled 


How long did it take yout to find a teaching position once you had gotten your CELTA?
Is it necessary to have a lot of experience?
Is it mostly part or full time work?
Can you live off of the wages you receive? I am not looking to support some lavish lifestyle or save up much, just live. Maybe a few ryanair flights  
Outside of Coimbra, where would you recommend applying?

I will be finishing my undergradutae degree this July, plan to do my CELTA over the summer and then apply in September. 
Any other advice you have would be very much appreciated!

Ps. Just curious, where near Coimbra are they from?


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## anapedrosa

Hi Niamh,

Thanks for posting the question - I am guessing we share similar heritage.

I'm curious, do you know if CELTA similar to CTESOL. My daughter just completed her undergraduate in applied language studies with a CTESOL. She's currently looking at teaching English here in Ottawa, but once I move over (2013 target) she may want to try the same that you are suggesting.

Good luck, I hope you make it over. As winter starts closing in on us, I spend more time thinking about the benefits of being in Portugal.

Cheers,
Ana


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## Adam Matthias

Niamh said:


> Hey Adam,
> 
> Thanks for offering to give me some info, there are a few questions I had on my mind and if you could answer any I would be thrilled
> 
> 
> [*]How long did it take yout to find a teaching position once you had gotten your CELTA?
> [*]Is it necessary to have a lot of experience?
> [*]Is it mostly part or full time work?
> [*]Can you live off of the wages you receive? I am not looking to support some lavish lifestyle or save up much, just live. Maybe a few ryanair flights
> [*]Outside of Coimbra, where would you recommend applying?
> 
> 
> I will be finishing my undergradutae degree this July, plan to do my CELTA over the summer and then apply in September.
> Any other advice you have would be very much appreciated!
> 
> Ps. Just curious, where near Coimbra are they from?


Hey Niamh,

I am very happy to answer your questions. I know how many I had before I started teaching. I will answer them in order if that is ok.
1. It didn't take me long at all to find work. I got my CELTA during August of 2008 and I started teaching in the September of that year.
2. Experience is usually down to the school. Some schools demand it, but if you get an A for your CELTA, then chances are that you won't have many problems.
3. It is possible to find part-time work but unless that is what you would seriously prefer then I wouldn't recommend it. You need to be full-time for at least two years to get the most experience you can.
4. A teachers salary isn't bad. Not amazing but take home is usually between 1200 and 1400 euro. Cost of living is very low so it is easy to make ends meet.
5. Porto is a great idea. it is truly beautiful in the north. Lisbon is nice but can be quite a sytem shock during the summer. I guess your choice is down to what you are looking for. Schools have different things to offer. Even if you are not entirely where you want to be, transport is so easy over here that you can get to wherever you want to see.
Oh.. and my parents live near Tomar and that area. It's very nice but I fancied seeing a different part of Portugal.


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## gabbsilva

Hello everybody ... I've just registered and I can be of some help to many of you who intend to teach English in Portugal. There are two ways you can do it, public and private; to teach in public schools you need to get your degree undergo equivalences. Better check a few tertirary institutions before submitting your docs to equivalences. Or, then you might as well do the CELTA exams and try the private schools/instituitions around. My experience says if you're looking to stay in Portugal for a reasonable time, then submit your degree to equivalences, if you plan to stay for a year or so, then get the CELTA exam done. The only problem with private institutions is that the admission usually is toooooooooo personal, which leads to some injustice and wages are not that great. Cheers


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