Teaching English in Greece - Jobs in Greece
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Teaching English In Greece
There is a considerable demand for the teaching of English as a foreign language in Greece and there are a number of opportunities for both regular full time and part-time employment. Learn about teacher training, pay and conditions for teaching English in Greece in this guide.
- In Greece there are literally hundreds of "frontistiria" (private language schools. Singular ‘frontistirio') and the majority of Greek school children attend one after school hours. Many native English speakers work teaching English either in frontistiria or by giving private English lessons to pupils. Frontistiria are open during the school year, September to June, and usually close for 3 months in the summer.
- A Presidential Decree signed in 1997 made it possible for European Union Nationals to be generally employed in and also open Foreign Language Frontistiria. Officially you need a university degree to open or teach in a 'frontistiro' language school, but some will employ you without one.
- A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign language) or TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate is also very useful and will greatly improve your chances of employment and, importantly, you will learn how to teach English as a foreign language... which will include brushing up on your English grammar (can you distinguish the present perfect simple tense from the present perfect continuous?).
- TEFL / TESOL courses can be taken online as well as at many centres throughout the world, including the UK and Greece. There are both full courses and the shorter introduction courses, some of which include classroom teaching experience. You can even take an online course and then gain experience with practice teaching in Greece if you wish, before taking on a job.
- More information, as well as a list of private language schools in Greece, can be obtained from the Panhellenic Association of Language School Owners (PALSO) : P.A.L.S.O (Panhellenic Federation of Language School Owners). Likavitou 2 Athens 10671 Tel.: 0030 210 3640792 Website: http://www.palso.gr/
- PALSO have local offices in all the major towns across Greece and the Greek Islands. Although PALSO is not an employer, their offices hold lists of vacancies in local language schools so if you have a preference for a certain area or island you can contact the local PALSO in that area for details. You can also post your CV on the local PALSO office notice borads so that Language School Owners looking for teachers can find your details.
- Teaching jobs in Greece are widely advertised on the internet and in local Greek newspapers between August and October, at the start of the school year. There are few vacanices at other times of the year so if you are interested in teaching in Greece aim to start job hunting in August for a September/October placement.
- Non EU Citizens require a work permit to teach, which must be obtained in advance. Many language schools prefer to employ EU citizens as there is less red tape involved.
Teaching Hours
Students in Greece attend private language school frontistiria after school hours so the majority of teaching English jobs are in the afternoon and evening hours. It is normal for students to take English classes up to 10.30 pm at night. Usual frontistiro hours are from around 3.00 p.m. until 10.30 p.m. so you are most likely to be working in the evenings.
Pay & Conditions
Pay is generally around 10 to 12 euros per hour plus IKA Greek national insurance in the language schools for an experienced teacher, or approximately 800 to 1000 euros per month, teaching approximately 25 to 30 hours per month. Check out the working conditions/ hours before accepting a position. Some may expect 40 hours of teaching per week for as little as 600 euros per month.
Many English teachers supplement their income with private lessons which are much more lucrative - experienced teachers can easily charge 20 to 25 euros an hour. Once you are established in a language school you may find that some students require extra lessons at home so make it known that you are available. Word of mouth amongst parents then often leads to more private students.
Copyright © 2008 Carol Palioudaki
Further Information on Teaching and Working in Greece
- TEFL Courses
Online TEFL courses, Weekend TEFL courses and teaching practice. - ESL Cafe
Resources for students and teachers around the world. - Article Resources for Teaching English Abroad
Articles, teachers reports, jobs, forum. Great resource links for teaching English abroad. - British Council in Athens
Information and links for teaching English in Greece. - Teaching English Org
Lesson plans, ideas on teaching, activities teaching problems and more from the British Council and the BBC. - Living and Working in Greece & Crete
Information on teaching, working and living in Crete. - Summer Jobs in the Greek Islands
Working in Greece
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Comments
Very good Hub with definite direction and good advice!
Hi AuraGem and Patty -thanks for your comments... glad to have provided enlightenment! Teaching in Greece is not the best paid opportunity (in fact any work in Greece is generally low paid by UK standards .. and Australian too I would guess) but it is a great way to spend time in a beautiful country.
Over the last few months, there has been a lot of debate about the proposed requirement for English Teachers working in private schools frontistiria) to take exams in Greek language.
This proposal still seems to be in limbo, as it hasn't formally been withdrawn, but the Greek government has been informed by the European Commission that the proposal contravenes European law.
That aside, the requirements for a foreign teacher to be hired at a frontistirio are relatively straightforward. The employer applies for a permit (adeia proslipsis allodapou) and the only documentation required in support of that application is a certified copy of your college diploma and a certificate from the public health committee issued after a medical including a blood test and chest X-ray.
To get a teaching licence to work privately or establish your own school is rather more complex, and certification in Greek language is required for that.
Regional Directorates of Secondary Education are not always fully informed about procedures, so it's often useful to contact the Ministry of Education in Athens. Anyone interested in teaching in Greece is also welcome to contact us at jobs@anglo-hellenic.com
Peter,
I understand that a teaching permit is not required for EU nationals, and the 'adeia proslipsis allodapou' is for NON EU nationals. Can you clarify if this is so?
This teaching permit thing in Greece has been driving me mad. I currently live in Corfu, although elsewhere (Italy and Australia) I have been an EFL teacher for a few years (I'm EU/British). I have excellent qualifications and experience to teach yet am up against this teaching permit barrier for which I must have proficiency in Greek (I do not). I understand this works to push jobs in favour of Greek nationals, but from my standpoint I find this ruling frustrating, archaic and against modern principles of language teaching. Is there anyway around this? Will some schools accept me and would it be legal? How long do we wait for the EU to make the Greek government withdraw this law?
This is very informative Carolina - teaching English abroad was something I've thought about many times - at the moment I'm still dreaming!
I lived and worked in Greece for several years and the paperwork was, well, hell. I loved Greece and all she has to offer except the paperwork. I had the misfortune to open an office in one town and then move it to another. As far as my clients were concerned a good move but it tied me up in knots with paper work. This English teaching thing seems to land in the same basket. It is such an open profession in so many other countries. I hope they find a way to make it so in Greece. Teaching English is a great career.
My heart goes out to all those embattled with Greek paperwork.
Mon.
Mon, I've been battling with Greek paperwork for 20-odd years,.. yes it's a bit of a nightmare but you kind of get used to it. Have been through the setting up and running of a business or two here as well. Eh, ti na kanoume? :)
Carolina you have a very informative hub it widens onces prospective to share there knowledge in English, and may I share a site that could help you guys in your teaching profession in ESL mingoville.com is a site dedicated for learning English in a fun way especially for kids who really finds it interesting to study through colorful games this site is alos good for adults too for there listening ability.I hope this could help you guys.
I have been working in Athens for a year now having worked in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The Greek mentality towards EU and it's own modern development within it is at best a complete sham. The default mentality is one of conservatism and even zenophobia like I've never experienced anywhere else. As a long serving Greek national at my school tells me, if you think me, me, me you'll get on fine here. As for me Greek bearocracy has left me utterly disappointed and longing for a more modern, wordly-aware country to offer my services in. My advice as my Greek neighbour told me recently is 'come here on holiday but DON'T work here!' Please all you wonderful teachers out there take your skills elsewhere to be appreciated. GET A LIFE GREECE!!
Duncan, sorry you sound so disappointed in Greece. Yes the bureacracy can be nightmarish as many (myself included) have already testified, and EU rules seem to be there to be flaunted - but once you start digging deeper into other EU countries' laws you'll find that that applies to the majority of the EU countries. In fact the (so PC) UK is one of the few EU countries that abides by the majority of EU rulings. Just take a look on the Europa.eu website to see how many countries are being hauled through the European court every month over various transgressions.
Greece and its people have many many good points - its a shame you haven't dicovered them.
I loved Greece as a place to live. I was working on a fairly remote island - which meant I HAD to learn basic Greek to survive, which was great! However, I worked for a very difficult woman who had a "nursery" class, and it turned out that some of the kids were 3 years old and needed help going to the loo... I didn't study my RSA TEFLA to wipe bottoms!!! Not only that, but the school owner I was working for had a penchent for following the book to the page and doing vocab tests for the kids - which they duly cheated in. When I started swapping the order of words in the vocab tests around, the kids got 2/10 or so, and the parents complained. I found this the most awful teaching method and found it amazing that the kids had been used to cheating with previous teachers who were too scared to challenge the owner. It has left a bit of a scar on my TEFL past, as rote learning / cheating is not for me. I wonder if Greek Frontisterio are the same all over or whether this was an isolated incident?
In addition, being a small island, the inhabitants were totally unaware of life beyond Greece. Apparently Greece is the best country in the world and the rest of the world apparently eats snakes according to the kids :-)
Oh, the other problem was that she "offered" to not declare some of my IKA so that we would both be quids in, to which I refused.
I just think I was unlucky with all this - if the woman hadn't been such a nightmare to work for, I'd probably still be in Greece as it was wonderful, despite the snake comments!!
i am interested. please contact me at salnazi@gmail.com
working
AuraGem says:
8 months ago
As an English teacher, this hub is most enlightening! In Australia, we hear of overseas work in the UK, China, Japan and Korea mainly, but I have never heard of teaching on offer in Greece!
Thank you! More food for thought!
Smiles and Light