chrissmithx

I'm still looking at the possibility of returning home soon, however the ability to find suitable employment is proving to be problematic.

I've lived and worked in Taiwan for 20 years as a teacher of English, have a good list of corporate and private clients, am a Cambridge examiner for a few of their tests, have been a partner in a business. However, I don't have formal teaching qualifications and probably wouldn't want to teach in the UK. My degree is in industrial design - a field I left when I moved to Taiwan. Doesn't look great, does it?

On previous UK family visits I have signed up with recruiting websites and considered teaching through the government's Get into teaching programme. Recruiters seem not to know what to suggest and the Get into teaching programme, while well organised, would probably make me destitute - I have two very young and smart kids.

So now to my question: Has anyone found themselves to be in a similar difficulty and found solutions either before they moved, or when they hit the ground? The UK seems like such a foreign place to me at the moment. And the reason for returning is of course family.

Thank you for reading and responding.

BritInParis

A CELTA qualification might be worth investing your time in to give you the paperwork to go with your experience.

What's your family situation - you mention two young children, are you married?

chrissmithx

Thanks for responding so quickly. Yes, I am married. I could go for the CELTA but I'm not sure it would have much value in the UK. I'm not saying there would be no work at all by getting it, but it wouldn't be able to sustain a family.

BritInParis

I think you might be surprised given the number of foreign students who come to the UK wanting to learn English. Is your wife British?

chrissmithx

She's Taiwanese, so that adds a little complication. Actually, I think she'd be able to get work quite quickly if she wanted to. It's true that lots of students come to the UK. Many attend short courses before starting a degree, and there are others just here for a month or two. Study in the UK isn't cheap at the best of times, and my guess is that only students in a very comfortable position can afford extra classes with a tutor. It's not an impossible revenue source, but far away from stable and lucrative employment.

BritInParis

My mother has just retired from teaching English to homestay students. She turned down far more students than she took on. There are many wealthy parents who want their children to improve their English or prepare for exams. If you are making a living from teaching English in Taiwan, there's no reason why you can't do the same in the UK.

Bringing your wife to the UK may be tricky. I would familiarise yourself with a UK spouse visa, particularly the financial requirements.

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

Spouse Immigration-UK : British Expat Wiki

chrissmithx

Thanks again. Yes, I'm aware of the financial requirement. We could sell up here in Taiwan and use the lump sum route and put all our apples in one basket. This is why I'm so anxious about the employment situation. Glad to hear your mother had such opportunities. Teaching is fun, just not very lucrative. How did she manage to make the connections?

BritInParis

She freelanced for a company called Living Learning English who acted as the middleman. They matched students to my mother and she decided whether she wanted to take them or not. Obviously it was a different setup to teaching in a more formal classroom setting but the market is there.

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/categories/tefl

chrissmithx

That's very interesting. Did she do the CELTA? Or have another qualification to do this? I notice I can do an intensive CELTA for a month, which is very practical if that's all it takes.

BritInParis

She did, it was a requirement of employment I believe, although she had been a fully qualified teacher for 30+ years.

chrissmithx

Good for her. Glad the teaching paid off.
I've just written to British Study Centres in York. We'll see what they have to say.

BritInParis

Sounds good, let us know how you get on.

chrissmithx

Will do. Thanks again for the encouragement.

Tr1boy

I am CELTA qualified from years back when I lived in Colombia, I studied for it in Sydney.

ESL is not my profession and never has been but it has proved a useful addition to my CV, especially if a role requires 'excellent communication skills' ( which seems to be most of them!)

scot47

TEFL in Britain is not well-paid and not secure, Even jobs in universities are now seasonal and short-term.