Working as an English Teacher as a non-native speaker

[AusDream]

Hey there !

I will soon graduate from university as a Secondary School Teacher here in Germany. I am very eager to pursue my career in Australia and luckily this profession is on the Medium and Long-term strategic skills list. Here in Germany I studied Physical Education and English. That gives me a good chance to pass the IELTS language test. Even though my English is very good, teaching English as a non-native speaker to native speakers seems not a very good idea somehow. I can of course teach English here in Germany to non-native speakers, but teaching the language in Australia doesn´t convince me so much and naturally native speakers are still an edge better.

So is it possible to teach just Physical Education or is a second subject always obligatory ? From what I read its always two subjects being taught.

Another possibility would be to teach German. But I don´t think the demand in public schools as a Secondary School Teacher to teach German is so high in Australia. And I am a natve speaker, but I don´t have a degree in teaching German and I didn´t studied it in Germany.

 

Do you think I should give it a try or just let go ?

Stay safe everyone and thanks for any opinions or advice

[Afrochic+61]

Hi @AusDream,

I think you could tackle this in a few different ways - from the teacher front and from an immigration side.

I’d first join an Australian teacher forum - there’s a couple on FB that you could put into the search terms e.g. Beginning teachers, Australian Secondary teachers [I’m assuming there’s one like this as there’s Australian Prep teachers, Australian Grade 1,  Early Years etc.] I’m sure you catch my drift. On these forums you can ask your professional questions and get on the ground feedback. I think also look on the different State education websites and see what sorts of adverts they have for teachers and the requirements expected. Once you’ve established what the requirements are, you can then check that against your qualifications and see where you sit. 

Next, choose the state you’d like to teach in and see what their teacher registration requirements are.

On the immigration front, you can also google AITSL and click on their migration tab. See their requirements for a positive skills assessment. You’ll need this to migrate.

Depending on which State you’ve chosen, check what their requirements are for offshore applications for teachers in terms of work experience post qualification. You could also look into a working holiday visa that you can use to come over if you qualify, try and get a teaching job to gain Australian work experience and as a way to scout the industry to see if it’s what you want. 

As much as your concerns on teaching native English speakers are valid, I really wouldn’t stress too much about this. If you are passionate about your role, relationships with your students will overcome any language issues that may arise. Most times students want to be valued and heard to breakdown these barriers. 

I am sure I have left out other relevant  information but others will chip in as well.

Good luck

[starlight7]

Quite a few schools here in Victoria offer German. The school my grandchildren go to certainly does. Look at Lutheran schools in particular, I am sure most of those would. I am not sure how much teachers are in demand, though, unless they teach maths and science.  You would need to check.

[Marisawright]

On 30/03/2020 at 00:43, Afrochic+61 said:

As much as your concerns on teaching native English speakers are valid, I really wouldn’t stress too much about this. If you are passionate about your role, relationships with your students will overcome any language issues that may arise. Most times students want to be valued and heard to breakdown these barriers. 

I think you are missing the point.  The OP is not worried about teaching subjects like PE and German to native English speakers.  The point is that their second subject IS English.  

@AusDream, I agree with you that trying to get a job teaching English would be unrealistic.  I am sure your English is excellent and your grammar is probably better than the average Australian English teacher, but employers would be worried as soon as they heard your accent, and they would be overly alert for small errors in speech.  There are quite a number of German schools in Australia, but I think even they would be looking for native speakers to teach English. 

[Marisawright]

@AusDream, the bigger issue is that you haven't graduated yet.  To get a visa to live permanently in Australia, you must have both the qualifications AND experience required.  

Assuming you are under 30, your best option would be to apply for a Working Holiday Visa (417), which would allow you to work in Australia for a year.   That visa is very easy to get.  It is normally granted within a few days or weeks, (although you will have to wait until the coronavirus emergency is over, which will be next year sometime).  

If you want to work as a teacher while you are on your WHV, you will need to be registered first.  Each state has different registration requirements, so your first step is to check those requirements, and see if you are eligible.  

[AusDream]

On 31/03/2020 at 01:29, Marisawright said:

@AusDream, the bigger issue is that you haven't graduated yet.  To get a visa to live permanently in Australia, you must have both the qualifications AND experience required.  

Assuming you are under 30, your best option would be to apply for a Working Holiday Visa (417), which would allow you to work in Australia for a year.   That visa is very easy to get.  It is normally granted within a few days or weeks, (although you will have to wait until the coronavirus emergency is over, which will be next year sometime).  

If you want to work as a teacher while you are on your WHV, you will need to be registered first.  Each state has different registration requirements, so your first step is to check those requirements, and see if you are eligible.  

Hey,

thank you all for your kind responses and especially you Marisa. I already did the WHV in Australia and that was also the time I fell in love with the country and everything.

You said it: To get a job teaching English is quite unrealistic. Is it possible to teach just one subject ? In my case it would be Physical Education. Or is it basically impossible and it´s always two subjects being taught ?

 

Greetings and thanks so much so far !!