Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is still a thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.
A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.
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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a job placement program in Peru and guaranteed lifetime job assistance waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is still a thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.

A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. 

One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a job placement program in Peru and guaranteed lifetime job assistance waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is a still thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.

A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. 

One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is a still thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.

A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 26

Nihat - Turkey

Turkey is a strange country. On one hand, she is one of the biggest natural open museums in the world with Hegia Sophia, Ephesus, antique theatres, and the other ruins of all the ancient civilizations that dwelled in here. Being located in Eurasia, she bridges Asia and Europe and is also surrounded by three seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea). She has got beautiful beaches, natural resources like spas and an incomparably beautiful nature. On top of all this the Turkish people regard entertaining guests as a holy mission. On the other hand, Turkey cannot make the best use of these beauties. People have been seriously suffering from an economic crisis for two years. You may think this has affected the English teaching sector in a negative way. "While people cannot make a living easily, how on earth can they spend money on language learning?" you may think. On the contrary, the crisis surprisingly contributed positively to the sector for people that were laid off have learned a lesson: they need to get more and actually working qualifications like English and computers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people's lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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Employed or unemployed, business (wo)men or employees, a lot of people are nowadays taking English courses. There are a lot of successful entrepreneurs in Turkey that follow the technological developments closely and try to catch up with the newest innovations. They have seen that the domestic market is too small for all, so they need to open to the world market. They are using English in their web pages to advertise and/or to import and export.

I've been teaching English to Turkish students for 7 years all of which passed in private schools. Private schools in Turkey have preparatory classes during which students are taught about 25-30 hours of English a week.

Turkish students, like the aforementioned Turkish entrepreneurs, are aware of the fact that only if they can communicate in English, they will have an advantage over the other candidates when applying for a job. This encourages them to learn English, which even leads them to go to English courses on weekends or in the evenings. What's striking about them is their interaction and warm conversations with the expatriate teachers whose main duty, most often, is to teach speaking. To illustrate, I remember a hot discussion between the two people on whether Washington apples or Amasya ones (a city in Turkey) are more scrumptious. Students even brought into the class some apples to add to the discussion. What I am trying to get at is, once you call their attention, they can blow your mind with their participation.

State schools are not as lucky as the private ones, though. Due to the economic crisis the whole country is suffering from, they cannot afford to employ expatriate teachers to teach their students. They have to make do with enthusiastic Turkish teachers of English. Yet, the new policy of the Ministry of Education seems to contribute to the significance of English in Turkish education curriculum. The Ministry is planning to teach first year students in the high schools 20-25 hours of English a week – not 2-3 hours as it used to be. This means more students needing to learn English, and, accordingly, more demand for teachers and English materials. Maybe, as a requirement of the new policy, the Ministry will agree to employ foreign teachers soon. Who knows?

In brief, the status of English in the Turkish Education Curriculum and also in the commercial arena is gaining more importance every day. It is now an imperative that each and every Turkish citizen learn to communicate in this language. If you are a person that loves teaching, that enjoys sharing and dealing with young learners, then Turkey is the right place to be.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our outdoor beach-front training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And guaranteed job when you finish the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 26

Nihat - Turkey

Turkey is a strange country. On one hand, she is one of the biggest natural open museums in the world with Hegia Sophia, Ephesus, antique theatres, and the other ruins of all the ancient civilizations that dwelled in here. Being located in Eurasia, she bridges Asia and Europe and is also surrounded by three seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea). She has got beautiful beaches, natural resources like spas and an incomparably beautiful nature. On top of all this the Turkish people regard entertaining guests as a holy mission. On the other hand, Turkey cannot make the best use of these beauties. People have been seriously suffering from an economic crisis for two years. You may think this has affected the English teaching sector in a negative way. "While people cannot make a living easily, how on earth can they spend money on language learning?" you may think. On the contrary, the crisis surprisingly contributed positively to the sector for people that were laid off have learned a lesson: they need to get more and actually working qualifications like English and computers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people's lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

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Employed or unemployed, business (wo)men or employees, a lot of people are nowadays taking English courses. There are a lot of successful entrepreneurs in Turkey that follow the technological developments closely and try to catch up with the newest innovations. They have seen that the domestic market is too small for all, so they need to open to the world market. They are using English in their web pages to advertise and/or to import and export.

I've been teaching English to Turkish students for 7 years all of which passed in private schools. Private schools in Turkey have preparatory classes during which students are taught about 25-30 hours of English a week.

Turkish students, like the aforementioned Turkish entrepreneurs, are aware of the fact that only if they can communicate in English, they will have an advantage over the other candidates when applying for a job. This encourages them to learn English, which even leads them to go to English courses on weekends or in the evenings. What's striking about them is their interaction and warm conversations with the expatriate teachers whose main duty, most often, is to teach speaking. To illustrate, I remember a hot discussion between the two people on whether Washington apples or Amasya ones (a city in Turkey) are more scrumptious. Students even brought into the class some apples to add to the discussion. What I am trying to get at is, once you call their attention, they can blow your mind with their participation.

State schools are not as lucky as the private ones, though. Due to the economic crisis the whole country is suffering from, they cannot afford to employ expatriate teachers to teach their students. They have to make do with enthusiastic Turkish teachers of English. Yet, the new policy of the Ministry of Education seems to contribute to the significance of English in Turkish education curriculum. The Ministry is planning to teach first year students in the high schools 20-25 hours of English a week – not 2-3 hours as it used to be. This means more students needing to learn English, and, accordingly, more demand for teachers and English materials. Maybe, as a requirement of the new policy, the Ministry will agree to employ foreign teachers soon. Who knows?

In brief, the status of English in the Turkish Education Curriculum and also in the commercial arena is gaining more importance every day. It is now an imperative that each and every Turkish citizen learn to communicate in this language. If you are a person that loves teaching, that enjoys sharing and dealing with young learners, then Turkey is the right place to be.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our outdoor beach-front training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 10 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And guaranteed job when you finish the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is a still thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.

A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our beach-front outdoor training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 5 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 26

Nihat - Turkey

Turkey is a strange country. On one hand, she is one of the biggest natural open museums in the world with Hegia Sophia, Ephesus, antique theatres, and the other ruins of all the ancient civilizations that dwelled in here. Being located in Eurasia, she bridges Asia and Europe and is also surrounded by three seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea). She has got beautiful beaches, natural resources like spas and an incomparably beautiful nature. On top of all this the Turkish people regard entertaining guests as a holy mission. On the other hand, Turkey cannot make the best use of these beauties. People have been seriously suffering from an economic crisis for two years. You may think this has affected the English teaching sector in a negative way. "While people cannot make a living easily, how on earth can they spend money on language learning?" you may think. On the contrary, the crisis surprisingly contributed positively to the sector for people that were laid off have learned a lesson: they need to get more and actually working qualifications like English and computers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people's lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Employed or unemployed, business (wo)men or employees, a lot of people are nowadays taking English courses. There are a lot of successful entrepreneurs in Turkey that follow the technological developments closely and try to catch up with the newest innovations. They have seen that the domestic market is too small for all, so they need to open to the world market. They are using English in their web pages to advertise and/or to import and export.

I've been teaching English to Turkish students for 7 years all of which passed in private schools. Private schools in Turkey have preparatory classes during which students are taught about 25-30 hours of English a week.

Turkish students, like the aforementioned Turkish entrepreneurs, are aware of the fact that only if they can communicate in English, they will have an advantage over the other candidates when applying for a job. This encourages them to learn English, which even leads them to go to English courses on weekends or in the evenings. What's striking about them is their interaction and warm conversations with the expatriate teachers whose main duty, most often, is to teach speaking. To illustrate, I remember a hot discussion between the two people on whether Washington apples or Amasya ones (a city in Turkey) are more scrumptious. Students even brought into the class some apples to add to the discussion. What I am trying to get at is, once you call their attention, they can blow your mind with their participation.

State schools are not as lucky as the private ones, though. Due to the economic crisis the whole country is suffering from, they cannot afford to employ expatriate teachers to teach their students. They have to make do with enthusiastic Turkish teachers of English. Yet, the new policy of the Ministry of Education seems to contribute to the significance of English in Turkish education curriculum. The Ministry is planning to teach first year students in the high schools 20-25 hours of English a week – not 2-3 hours as it used to be. This means more students needing to learn English, and, accordingly, more demand for teachers and English materials. Maybe, as a requirement of the new policy, the Ministry will agree to employ foreign teachers soon. Who knows?

In brief, the status of English in the Turkish Education Curriculum and also in the commercial arena is gaining more importance every day. It is now an imperative that each and every Turkish citizen learn to communicate in this language. If you are a person that loves teaching, that enjoys sharing and dealing with young learners, then Turkey is the right place to ha

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our outdoor beach-front training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 5 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And guaranteed job when you finish the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

Some Things You Should Know About Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is a still thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.

A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town at our outdoor beach-front training centre with great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 120 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 5 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

TEFL Success Stories - Part 26

Nihat - Turkey

Turkey is a strange country. On one hand, she is one of the biggest natural open museums in the world with Hegia Sophia, Ephesus, antique theatres, and the other ruins of all the ancient civilizations that dwelled in here. Being located in Eurasia, she bridges Asia and Europe and is also surrounded by three seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea). She has got beautiful beaches, natural resources like spas and an incomparably beautiful nature. On top of all this the Turkish people regard entertaining guests as a holy mission. On the other hand, Turkey cannot make the best use of these beauties. People have been seriously suffering from an economic crisis for two years. You may think this has affected the English teaching sector in a negative way. "While people cannot make a living easily, how on earth can they spend money on language learning?" you may think. On the contrary, the crisis surprisingly contributed positively to the sector for people that were laid off have learned a lesson: they need to get more and actually working qualifications like English and computers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Study a TEFL course with TEFL Zorritos in Peru, South America and travel the world, live abroad and enrich people's lives by teaching them English. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate is an internationally accredited and accepted qualification to teach English to people from non-English speaking countries. More questions? Head to our What is TEFL? page

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Employed or unemployed, business (wo)men or employees, a lot of people are nowadays taking English courses. There are a lot of successful entrepreneurs in Turkey that follow the technological developments closely and try to catch up with the newest innovations. They have seen that the domestic market is too small for all, so they need to open to the world market. They are using English in their web pages to advertise and/or to import and export.

I've been teaching English to Turkish students for 7 years all of which passed in private schools. Private schools in Turkey have preparatory classes during which students are taught about 25-30 hours of English a week.

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TEFL Zorritos offers FREE Surf Classes as part of our TEFL Certificate Course with the renowned local surf school "Hands & Surf"!  

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Turkish students, like the aforementioned Turkish entrepreneurs, are aware of the fact that only if they can communicate in English, they will have an advantage over the other candidates when applying for a job. This encourages them to learn English, which even leads them to go to English courses on weekends or in the evenings. What's striking about them is their interaction and warm conversations with the expatriate teachers whose main duty, most often, is to teach speaking. To illustrate, I remember a hot discussion between the two people on whether Washington apples or Amasya ones (a city in Turkey) are more scrumptious. Students even brought into the class some apples to add to the discussion. What I am trying to get at is, once you call their attention, they can blow your mind with their participation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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State schools are not as lucky as the private ones, though. Due to the economic crisis the whole country is suffering from, they cannot afford to employ expatriate teachers to teach their students. They have to make do with enthusiastic Turkish teachers of English. Yet, the new policy of the Ministry of Education seems to contribute to the significance of English in Turkish education curriculum. The Ministry is planning to teach first year students in the high schools 20-25 hours of English a week – not 2-3 hours as it used to be. This means more students needing to learn English, and, accordingly, more demand for teachers and English materials. Maybe, as a requirement of the new policy, the Ministry will agree to employ foreign teachers soon. Who knows?

In brief, the status of English in the Turkish Education Curriculum and also in the commercial arena is gaining more importance every day. It is now an imperative that each and every Turkish citizen learn to communicate in this language. If you are a person that loves teaching, that enjoys sharing and dealing with young learners, then Turkey is the right place for you. 

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town, free surfing lessons, great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 160 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 5 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And guaranteed job search assistance in whatever city/country you want to work, waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!

Some Things You Should Know About Teaching English in Turkey

TEFL in Turkey is a still thriving industry, though not quite as big as the boom years of the 1980s. There are of course many new private language courses opening, but the real growth area is private English-medium high schools and universities. There are also positions in state schools and universities, but these are hard to get and, furthermore, do not usually pay well.

A degree is a minimum requirement for any teaching job, but the subject of the degree is not important. Nearly all schools also require a TEFL certificate.

Visas are something of a problem. In the past, the usual procedure was to get a tourist visa, which you can buy on arrival in Turkey, then the school would get you a work and residence permit. However, the laws have changed, and you now have to apply for a work permit from your home country. Consider this before leaving! The truth of the matter is that most schools want you to stay for one year, but few schools are willing to pay work permit fees, or do the required paperwork. This means that you must leave the country every 3 months to renew your tourist visa. This is crucial, if you try to leave the country with an expired visa; you will be charged a hefty fine. However, without a proper work permit, your contract is not valid and you can leave at any time. It sounds a bit dodgy, but it happens all the time.

Most schools provide furnished accommodation or a living allowance for teachers, in fact you should insist on it, as rents can be very high in the big cities, especially Istanbul.  Generally the pay is not wonderful, but enough to live reasonably well on. About the maximum you can hope for is about 1000 US per month (after tax) in a good private university, going down to about half that for a small language school. As for saving money, only the most stingy teachers manage it, since the exchange rate is poor and inflation is high. One thing you must definitely ask about is whether your school gives a mid-year pay rise in line with inflation – if not you will need to convert some of your earlier pay packets into foreign currency to tide you through the lean months later. You can open a foreign currency bank account, which will pay a fairly good rate of interest. Some of the better schools will pay some or all of your salary in foreign currency, which is a definite advantage. In short, don’t go to Turkey to teach English expecting to make a lot of money. The salaries are reasonable, and the cost of living is very low, but you aren’t likely to leave with a huge savings account.

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TEFL Zorritos: What could be better?  Study in a beautiful Peruvian beach town, free surfing lessons, great accommodations available, including delicious local food.  Fully accredited 160 Hour TEFL course with a practical approach that provides you with 5 advanced certifications at absolutely no extra cost!  And a guaranteed job waiting for you when you complete the course.

Class sizes are limited, so don't wait, make your reservation today!