# Teaching business English?



## Melissa58275 (Apr 14, 2014)

At the end of this year, I will retire, at age 61, from my job as Managing Editor of a prestigious U.S. business newsletter. I have in mind that I'd like to spend some time in Germany (minimum 6 months and possibly forever) and have been told that it is legal and feasible for me to supplement my retirement income as a self-employed person in Germany, working under contract as an English teacher. My preference would be to teach adults, perhaps in a corporate setting, on a part-time basis. My hope would be to simply earn enough money to defray the cost of a modest apartment, allowing me to maintain my home in the U.S. until and unless I decide to make the move permanently.

Although I have no teaching experience per se, I have spent the past 30 plus years mentoring and teaching young reporters and writers how to write clearly, cogently and concisely. In addition, I am contemplating earning a Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), before departing for Germany.

I am wondering if anyone can confirm for me that it is indeed both legal and likely that I would be able to find such part-time employment? Any ideas about whether the investment of time and money in earning the CELTA would be worthwhile? And how I might be able to find this sort of employment when in Germany? I'm pretty open to location, though a mid to large size city would be preferable. 

By the way, my German language abilities are, at present, limited at best. But I'm a quick learner and figure there's likely to be no better teacher than immersion!

Thank you, in advance for any help you may be able to offer.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Two parts to my quick answer:

1. Sorry, I can give you no advice about the market or qualifications for teaching English - I'll leave that to others.

2. On the bureaucratic front, it's very hard to say. On the one hand, as a US citizen there is no formal provision for you to live in Germany as a retiree supported by pension income, nor do you have an automatic right to work. On the other hand, the authorities seem to have a fair bit of discretion when dealing with Americans, so it's not impossible either. 

Your course of action would be to arrive in Germany, register your address at the local Einwohnermeldeamt within two weeks, then within 90 days of arrival troop down to the Ausländerbehörde with all the relevant paperwork and present your case. With luck you'd be granted a residence permit with the right to work, say as a freelance English teacher, which you'd need to renew after a year or two; without luck you'd be asked to leave, albeit politely. (What constitutes relevant paperwork I leave as an exercise - Google "freelancer visa" for an idea.)


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Minor PS - you may find greater tolerance for this if it's a defined stay, rather than something more open-ended. Last year I was cheerfully granted an unrestricted work permit for five months because it was clear that we were all going home at the end (it was my wife's academic sabbatical). They even gave our 12-year-old daughter the work permit stamp.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

You might also want to look into whether you would have to pay tax on your retirement income. I think there might be a tax treaty with the US but I am not sure.

Regarding CELTA: As it happens, I just spent the entire weekend doing an intensive TEFL teacher training course. I am not planning on teaching English but it has been a while since I acquired a new skill and this sounded interesting.

Anyhow, the lecturer, an ESOL teacher with more than 30 years experience in several countries, highly recommended CELTA for anybody who wants to teach ESOL as a career/more long term than the occasional volunteer stint abroad for a few weeks.

Do try to find reviews about the different course providers, as quality differs greatly. One of the participants had already done CELTA and said she learned more during the TEFL weekend than during the one-month course she completed before.

Germans generally love certificates and paperwork and I think it would be quite advantageous to have CELTA.

Search 

TEFL jobs Germany
ESOL jobs Germany
teaching English in Germany 

and you will get an idea about the market. 

There is a general demand in all bigger towns and cities but you would be restricted to private language schools and such; teaching in state schools would require a recognised university teaching qualification.


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