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US/Canada: Travel & Teach - Hungary
Overview
If you are Hungary bound with your TEFL qualification, you are about to meet a Central European country with a turbulent yet fascinating recent history.
By the time of the break-up of the Warsaw Pact in the early nineties, Hungary was at the forefront of the countries looking toward the west for future growth and prosperity. Now you’ll find a country which has joined both NATO (in 1999) and the EU (in May 2004). Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is widespread, leading to a healthy demand for foreign languages and better work prospects for the EFL teacher.
This is, in fact, common with many of the Eastern European countries. However Hungary’s strengthening economic fortunes has led to a corresponding demand for better-qualified teachers. Hence to work legally in Hungary, you will need a degree and a TESOL certificate. Although many still work unofficially, you’ll undertake this route at your own risk. These types of teaching positions are therefore ad hoc and tend not to be advertised outside the country. Conditions of work and salary are often described as ‘basic’ but eating out, transport and the various cultural experiences on offer are cheap. Your biggest concern will be finding somewhere to live. Good, inexpensive accommodation is scarce and you can expect up to a third of your salary to go on rent.
There has been much coverage on the backlash against the West in the former Eastern bloc countries. However there is a realisation that a strong economy relies on a positive relationship with the West to a large extent. Learning English is part of this realisation and Hungarian students are likely to be highly motivated. But if Hungary is your chosen destination, bring extra clothing; the eastern European winters are notoriously cold.
Useful Contacts
British Council http://www.britishcouncil.org/
British Council in Hungary: http://www.britishcouncil.org/hungary.htm
Hungarian Embassy UK: http://hungary.embassyhomepage.com/
Hungarian Embassy USA: http://www.huembwas.org/
Hungarian National Tourist Office: www.hungary.com
Need more info: Teaching English Abroad available through our bookshop page
Central European Teaching Program (CETP): http://www.cetp.info/index.htm
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Comments
Lorraine Wickham
I visited various schools as part of a study visit and was offered the job at a private business school. For anyone considering the possibility, most Hungarian schools are very poorly resourced. Teachers are very poorly paid, approximately 10% of our salary (UK state school). I was offered a flat, although I am still trying to persuade my hosts that gas checks and health insurance are not luxury items but legal requirements over here. So far, it looks like a bleak prospect, but the educational standards are high, students are strongly motivated and the challenge to learn some Hungarian is tough enough to be forgiven if the phrasebook terms are all that is ever learnt. To be honest, they agreed to release me early at the end of May to allow for further job hunting next year and valuable examination work.
It’s not an option for the faint-hearted, but as my host Head of Department says,
“We will appreciate you” and that is something which goes a long way after teaching in an English system for 20 years.
Michael Newton
For the last five weeks I have been in a state Gimnasium (grammar-school ) in N.E Hungary, teaching (for the most part) English conversation to more than 2OO students aged up to 19 but including some very lively 12-13year olds. (16 contact lessons a week, with groups of 15-2O). The course with Global English has proved invaluable in stimulating the imagination and providing a solid basis in the understanding of English grammar to draw on!
Conditions here are very good, though Hungarian is providing a huge barrier, and I do have the back-ups of fluent French and German. Teachers here have all just enjoyed a 5O% pay-rise and in addition I receive a very pleasant flat with all expenses met; subsidized school-lunches and half-price rail-travel. I have something like 4OO pounds sterling a month to live on and save for fares home and holidays, though prices are generally much lower here than in the U.K. I may renew my contract next year.
Mary Rose
Mary Rose is the director of the Central European Teaching Program, an organization that places teachers in approximately 80 schools throughout Hungary. She says:
In 2002, at age 58, I went to teach through CETP and eventually ended up taking over the program ….and I decided to actively recruit teachers who already had a lot of living under their belts.
Hungary doesn’t have equal opportunity employment laws. Directors can flatly state, therefore, that they want someone fresh out of college, that they would never consider a male teacher, or that an applicant of Indian heritage may not be readily-accepted in their region of the country.
Still, the majority of schools take older teachers, some with initial reservations that either dissipate or grow depending on the teacher. One caveat: good hearing is essential to being an ESL teacher.
Currently 10 teachers of retirement age are teaching through CETP in Hungary. So please don’t let your age deter you from following your desire to teach abroad. Although you may not be accepted at every school, just the right director will say yes to you and your dreams.
Travel and Teach
A Global English Level 2 TESOL with business will significantly enhance your job prospects, as will a degree and any business experience/qualifications. Business English is definitely on the rise in the private sector. Many large multinationals are now present or showing an active interest in the former communist countries, which is helping to bring money into the fairly robust economy. As the economic climate improves, you’ll find that that the opportunities for teaching English do as well.
Check with your local Hungarian embassy or consulate to identify if you need a visa to enter the country. Although Hungary is now in the EU, if you want to teach legally you must have a work permit. The authorities are very strict about this and it is much easier to get the permit arranged before you leave for Hungary. It can be very difficult to change from a tourist visa to a working visa once in the country, so the best advice is to arrange work before you travel. To get the work permit you will need a labour permit, sent from your prospective employer. If Hungary is your destination, you’ll find excellent information on how to do this in the book Teaching English Abroad.
However, a desire to teach may be all you need to arrange work informally in the country. If you have a degree then your job prospects are significantly enhanced and a TESOL certificate will certainly help. Also we have heard that there are prospects for unqualified teachers, particularly in Hungarian owned schools. Do be careful though because there is a great variety in the standard of teaching. Interestingly, this is one country where you may have more success teaching in the State Sector, as one of our graduates, Michael Newton, found out. You can read his advice on this in the Student Comments section below. Also it is a country where there is still a strong desire for American English and there are several US teachers here already. If you are American and looking for the ‘off the beaten track’ Europe experience, then check out the Central European Teaching Program (CETP) (Details in Useful Contacts).
Don’t expect to be particularly well paid in Hungary. The exchange rate has meant that salaries do not go as far as they did 3 years ago. There is a wide salary range, from 30,000 Forints per month (net) at the low end of the state sector (approximately £75) to 100,000 net (£280) in the commercial sector. These higher salaries are available for well-qualified teachers or those with a particular area of expertise (such as Business English). It is recommended that you find out whether the salary you are being offered in any contract is the gross or net salary, as taxes take about 25% of earnings. However you may find that the school or institute is prepared to help with accommodation. In the state sector, native teachers often share classes with Hungarian English teachers.
You will not find many language laboratories in Hungary – travellers to Hungary comment that ‘state of the ark’ equipment is more the norm in many schools, so be prepared to take your own resources with you. It is possible to supplement any earnings with freelance work although your success in this area will depend on the length of your stay, your confidence and your negotiating skills.
