Hi all,

I recently settled in Switzerland with my husband and have my Permit B. I have a BA from an American school and am also certified through CELTA (Pass A) to teach English. Currently, I am looking for work teaching English part-time. I have to admit, though, that scouring through the jobs pages and reading others' experiences about finding work as an English teacher is rather discouraging.

The other posts I have seen in English Forum about teaching English seem to be rather old (nearly a year, which is a lot considering the economic changes) and mainly about people looking to come to Switzerland. I am more interested in the experiences of individuals who were already in Switzerland (perhaps married to a Swiss or trailing a spouse) who decided to teach English here. I am not looking to teach in public schools as I do not have the proper qualifications but am more interested in finding out how one goes about finding part-time work with private language schools.

I was hoping that anyone with experience looking for work as an English teacher could shed some light on the best ways to find a part-time position. How did you find your job? How long did it take you to find it? What tips would you offer to someone else looking for an English-teaching job?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome.

I am an English teacher, I have graduate degrees in Linguistics and TESOL. I can here with my hubby and son. After looking for about 6 months, I found a part time job teaching in an after-school program. I applied to public, private and language schools. Everyone I know says I was lucky to find a job this quickly, and I have to admit- I think I am. It takes time and patience here, but there are jobs. I would recommend that you apply to local language schools- teaching business English, etc. and once you have something, just start networking. Of course places like Geneva and Zurich will have more opportunities but honestly, the best advice is to have patience and find something to keep you busy as you look for work!

Also, you don't say whether you have experience in teaching or what kind of English/level you've taught. If you don't have too much experience and you can afford to, I would suggest volunteering a bit to add something to your resume. All the interviews I've been on seem to be very interested (of course) in the experience that the candidates have.

good luck!

I started by setting up a classroom in my house and teaching classes locally. The local paper came by and took my picture and wrote up a short article. (Local papers are always looking for stories.) Within 2 months, I had 3 small classes going. So, that's a place to start.

Then, networking is everything!!!! Go to the ETAS AGM: http://www.e-tas.ch/events/agm/agm-in-bielbienne. Your timing is good because I think it is at the end of this month. Talk to everyone: workshop leaders, participants, people running the stands. In other words, make your self (in a good way) seen and heard. Sign up with all the reps of the publishers. Ask for free books; you'll be surprised how often they oblige. Ask people about job openings and for personal contacts at the schools they work at. I know the costs of the AGM and the trip to wherever it is this year are probably a lot, but it is worth it; at no other time in the year will you have the opportunity to meet with most of the English teaching scene. There are a lot of school reps that go too. If Robin Hull is there (ask around or look for a very short man with a bizarre English accent), go and talk to him. He runs a school in Zürich that has tons of classes and is a good place to get a start. Oh, it is also probably worth only going on the Saturday, but if you have to stay overnight, you might as well go on Sunday too.

Have you tried contacting English schools in Schaffhausen or Winti?
www.roys-school.ch appears to be one. Took about 36 minutes on Google to find that

My tip would also follow along the same lines -- find the schools in your area and send them an application. There are always teachers coming and going at language schools.