www.teachingjobsoverseas.co.uk - Bristol Teacher finds new opportunities in Abu Dhabi

 

After 14 years teaching science and SEN in Bristol, most recently at the City Academy, Silla Rieser is now teaching in a slightly more exotic environment. She’s at Al Emeraat school in Madinat Zayed, 160 km outside Abu Dhabi.

“I was becoming very routine in my teaching and there was little room for creativity or spontaneity. My son had grown up so I decided it was time for an adventure and a change, to shake up my tired brain cells and give them something new to do and think about,” says Silla. Now she’s teaching alongside local teachers, to improve the quality of their teaching and student’s learning as well as assisting them in the process of changing from teaching in Arabic to teaching in English (a plan set by the Abu Dhabi education council for 2008). “I’m learning Arabic on the double. However the students are very keen as are the teachers to learn English, so I’m currently team-teaching Arabic/English and having a lot of fun in the process. There’s no better way to learn a language than in situ. However, not all international teaching jobs need you to learn the language. Most international schools teach in English anyway so it’s not normally such a challenge.”

Silla points out some big differences between Al Emeraat and her old school in Bristol: “There’s not only the number of different nationalities and different cultures and customs under one roof, but very unusual nationalities e.g. Sudanese, Palestinian or Jordanian who I would otherwise not be able to meet and live with at such close proximity. This has certainly given me a much great perspective on life as a whole and as a person as well as a teacher. I always thought of myself as a flexible person but this has made me realise that I still have a long way to go! I firmly believe that through this I will become a stronger, more self-reliant person as well as an even more experienced teacher. My brain has woken up again and that, for me, is definitely the best thing!”

Silla admits she found it quite disheartening at first, looking for a teaching job overseas. “Initially I was applying on my own and having no one to talk to or guide me through to process. Then I went on the TES website where I found an ad for Teachers International Consultancy (TIC). They were invaluable in guiding me through the process. They found a person who had also worked in international settings himself who was a very positive person to talk to. TIC helped me to organise my CV and encouraged and supported me in finding the right job for me. Applying abroad is not easy as you’re unable to visit the setting or talk to teachers already working there. If you’re new to international teaching, you’re also not aware of the networking that goes on between the international schools. To your new employer you are an unknown quantity. Working through TIC meant that I became a part of that network. I probably wouldn’t be here without them.”

Silla offers some advice to other teachers considering an international move: “Start the process as early in the academic year as possible, as most schools interview for the following academic year in February, March and April. Find a country that you’d like to move to and think carefully about whether you’d be able to live with their sets of rules e.g. Ramadan, drinking or cohabitation in an Islamic country. Work with a specialist agency like TIC who are already involved in the international network and can give you all the advice that you need. And also make sure that you are able to return home without too much difficulty i.e. rent out your house and keep some of your possessions with friends or relatives. It will make you feel better. Even if you never use it, it’s there.”

For more information about international teaching opportunities, Teachers International Consultancy will be hosting one of its regional seminars in Bristol on Saturday October 11th at the Bristol City Inn from 2pm until 4pm. The seminar will highlight the work opportunities available to qualified British teachers overseas. The seminar will include advice about finding the best, accredited International schools, making an international move work for you and your family, and the variety of teaching opportunities that are available including short and long-term contracts, pre-retirement placement and sabbaticals. The seminar will include presentations from British teachers who have taught in international schools as well as a question and answers session from the experts (all of who are ex-British and international teachers and head teachers). Open to qualified and training teachers, all attendees will receive a free on-line portfolio.

Teachers International Consultancy has placed teachers in accredited international schools all over the world. “There are over 4,000 international schools in almost every single country in the world, from the Bahamas to Madagascar and from Mongolia to Japan. Two hundred new international schools were opened last year and they are crying out for energetic, motivated, experienced teachers like Silla,” says managing director of TIC, Andrew Wigford. “The first place they turn to is Britain because English is the language of choice and the skills of British teachers are highly valued throughout the world. Once you’ve taught for a couple of years in the UK, you can literally work anywhere in the world that you choose,” he says.

For Primary teacher, Dominic Crompton who taught abroad for three years then returned to Britain and became a deputy head teacher, the opportunity provided tremendous professional development: “You go out there with one mindset, you return with another; that’s broader, more open to the rest of the world. Professionally you are so much more employable, especially if you’re returning with experience of developing curriculum and with leadership and international links. Without doubt, it’s an experience I would recommend to anyone. It is impossible not to bring something back that is of great value, professionally and personally.”