Page 28 - ELG2005 May Issue 470

TEACH IN . FEATURES & COMMENT

Teach in Australia PIXABAY PIXABAY

Phiona Stanley reviews the pros and

cons of teaching “down under”

h, Australia: surf some big waves, Otherwise, you’ll need to bear in mind that
take a selfie with a quokka, and there are almost no employer-sponsored visas
hang out in quirky urban spaces. in this sector (one exception is for roles such
AThe sun shines, the people are as Celta trainers, where you can demonstrate
welcoming, and – at least until the to the immigration department that no one
coronavirus outbreak – around 240,000 jobs locally can do your job).
are generated directly by an international If you’re under 31, from one of the 40-odd
education industry worth AU $38 billion a eligible countries (including the UK, Ireland,
year. That’s bigger than tourism and second USA and Canada), and you don’t have
only to mining for earning export dollars. dependent children, then a working holiday
So, where Australia calls, 750,000 visa may be your best bet. This lets you spend Its unique wildlife is part
international students a year follow. And a year in Australia, but only up to six months of Australia’s charm
someone needs to teach them. working for any one employer. Bondi Beach, Sydney. Many students come to Australian expecting a stereotypical Australian lifestyle
Within the broader international education Next best advice: fall in love and come in Covid-19 Update
industry – dominated by universities and on a partner visa! However, all employers pay pension This might sound do-able, but bear in mind One of the most rewarding aspects is that
vocational education colleges – sits the contributions (called superannuation, that the Australian cost of living is high: non-native teachers are positively celebrated. As Zhou Enlai said in the 1970s,
smaller but hugely important English OK, my paperwork is in order, abbreviated to ‘super’) at a minimum of 9.5 renting a one-bedroom flat within half an For a newly arrived migrant, having a teacher apocryphally of the 1789 French
Language Intensive Courses for Overseas what now? per cent of your earnings, and if you leave hour’s train ride of central Sydney (where who has learned English themselves is a Revolution, it is “too soon to tell” what
Students (Elicos) sector. There are big differences between the three Australia after a working holiday, you can many of the language schools are located) costs wonderful inspiration. the long-term effects will be, not least
‘Smaller’ is relative, though. Nearly 180,000 Tesol employer types in terms of get about 60 per cent of this money back. around AU $450/week. Melbourne is similar. as the outbreak has exposed just how
students study English language in Australia qualifications and working conditions. These The seasonal nature of the work tells If you’re a more experienced teacher, you’ll University colleges many of the sectors’ eggs have until
each year. This is the sector in which you’ll are outlined below. you a lot about language-school students: find this is double-edged sword. On paper, Like Tafe, university college salaries are much now been in the single basket marked
find Tesolers working in university colleges, many are on working holidays themselves, teachers with a degree, Celta, Delta/Masters better, and non-native teachers are usually ‘China’. The casualisation of Elicos work
Technical and Further Education (Tafe), and Language schools taking some English classes before setting in Tesol, and a decade or more of classroom welcome. Also like Tafe, university colleges in Australia means that any drop in
language schools. (And yes, as in North Teachers need a minimum of a university off up the coast for an adventure. A few experience would be on Step 12, earning tend to ask for Tesol Masters degrees rather student numbers results in unemployed
America, the industry is collectively known as degree (in any subject) and an Australian are more ‘serious’, improving their English around AU $66,000, or AU $1000/week after than Celta (or Delta, which is not widely teachers, and—at time of writing—the
Tesol rather than Tefl or ELT.) Qualifications Framework (AQF) level four ahead of Ielts exams and so on. tax. recognised in Australia). But there is some student flow has all but dried up.
And all teachers’ pay, across Tesol sectors, qualification; the Cambridge Celta is one. But expect fun: your students will turn The snag is that, for a lot of language leeway here, with some degree-plus- Celta- Higher education is worst hit, as the
is externally set by the government’s Fair Armed with these, your best opening up with salt in their hair, sun-kissed after schools, you’re now too qualified teachers travel restrictions began at the start of
Work Commission, although some employers gambit is to send CVs to schools, as teaching beach barbeques. Within this tourism- expensive. This means finding work during the academic year and many
pay slightly more under their own ‘Enterprise vacancies are not usually advertised. You can meets-education world, the tricky notion that you’ll hear stories of One of the most peak periods. institutions put in place a hiring freeze.
Agreements’. find a directory of the better language schools of ‘authenticity’ haunts language schools’ would-be teachers in job As with language But the English language sector,
on the English Australia website. marketing, and students may complain interviews bargaining rewarding aspects is schools, the work is particularly the university pathway
Sounds amazing! Language school teachers are mostly hired about non-native teachers and non-Aussie their own salary down to seasonal and casual. colleges, cannot be far behind.
Where do I sign up? on an hourly or daily basis, and the work is homestays. ensure they get work. that non-native But here this isn’t Perhaps there will be silver linings: a
Your first hurdle is a visa. If you’re an seasonal, peaking over summertime (October The schools, trying to stay in business, because the students diversification of the market or a rethink
Australian or New Zealand citizen then no to March). This means that there’s usually no understandably tend to sell back to the Tafe teachers are positively are on the beach. of the stepped salary system. But, for
worries, mate. access to holiday pay or paid sick leave. students what they already think they There’s much less casual celebrated. Instead, the now, English teachers are clamouring
“know” about Australia (blond surfer work in the Tafe sector. demographic is mostly for other jobs. In the case of one
teacher I know in Sydney, turning to
Chinese students (and
PIXABAY types, etc.), thus perpetuating a lot of the But the pay is much a few Nepalese, Saudis and others) taking artisan sourdough baking instead. I
better, starting around AU $53,000
stereotypes. A vicious circle that makes it
harder to find work if you don’t look and (annually) and going up to AU $91,000 for pre-university courses to hone their academic wish them well. These are hard times for
perform the part. more experienced teachers. English skills to gain direct entry to degree everyone. But it is too soon to tell what
Despite the fact that salaries are To work in Tafe, you will need a Masters in programmes. the long-term effects will be.
externally set, they are still extremely Tesol (rather than a Celta) and also the This means that the cohort is quite
challenging to live on, particularly in Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, homogenous. Most have upper-intermediate Dr Phiona Stanley is Associate Professor of
Sydney or Melbourne. If you have a degree which you can take locally/online or by levels of English, are in need of academic Intercultural Communications at Napier
plus a Celta and two years’ teaching recognised prior learning (i.e. your previous skills development and are motivated by University in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has
experience, you’ll start on Step 4 of the teaching and assessment experience is assessments. worked in various roles in the Australian
salary scale, although this may take some accredited). The busy periods are the three months in Tesol sector, including as a language school
negotiating: some schools won’t recognise Tafe jobs are advertised through each state’s the run up to the start of each semester: teacher, a university college teacher, a Celta
overseas experience. Tafe website and, as there are colleges all over November to January (for semester 1 starts) trainer, a consultant, and as Senior Lecturer
The Step 4 annual teacher's salary is the country, you’re less likely to need to live and April to July (for semester 2). As some in Education at the University of New South
AU $53,300 (US $35,380/£27,300), with a within commuting distance of the (expensive) universities are now switching to a trimester Wales (Sydney). Her current research focuses
weekly gross pay of AU $1020, which inner cities. This is because Tafe teaching system, this is changing, but the busy periods on interculturality in various contexts,
equates to AU $834 in your hand each work is largely with new migrants rather than remain the run-up to each university including healthcare and tourism.
The Gold Coast is a popular spot for tourists – and students week after tax. short-term international students. enrolment period.

28 May 2020 editorial@elgazette.com 29