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The focus of this synthesis paper is on the Teaching Conditions and Job Opportunities that American and Canadian ESL teachers may experience while in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Export of oil has brought phenomenal growth and wealth to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This growth has caused an ever increasing need for people in the UAE to learn English – the global language of business; many institutions offering classes for learning the English language in the UAE have experienced a teacher shortage which means that most teachers have experienced high salaries and favorable teaching conditions. High wages and excellent benefits mean that most employers are very selective in hiring English teachers. But, given the huge demand for English language teachers, opportunities for teachers with TESOL, CELTA, and holders of MA TESOL (Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) degrees find that the United Arab Emirates often offers a choice of jobs at a variety of schools.
The first step in finding and accepting a teaching position in the UAE is to take a thorough look at a variety of schools in the UAE so that you can get a feel of what UAE schools look like, what their teaching policies are like, and who they are seeking to employ. A good place to start is Teaching UAE indexing were you can find a list of schools that are currently teaching English to Islamic people in the UAE (96% of the people living in the UAE are Islamic). Each listing has a hyperlink to the individual school website so that you can take a look. The Emirates Network site offers connections to 46 private International Schools in Dubai; the listings also have hyperlinks to the schools. The RAHA School is an example of an average K – 9 school in the UAE and is often looking for teachers. This school was established in 2005 and is working on gaining full accreditation in by the government. The school states that they are dedicated to producing students who will be world citizens.
The American School of Dubai and American International School of Abu Dhabi are official websites that allow visitors a chance to examine examples of high quality private schools in the UAE. Both of these sites list job openings. For openings at the university level Zayed University offers streaming videos provide views of the University in Dubai and links to Zayed University itself so that you can view job openings.
Another place you will want to look is Dubai Academic City: DIAC is spread across an area of 25 million square feet; DIAC partners include 100% foreign ownership, 100% tax free, 100% repatriation of profits. There are currently 20 international universities from diverse regions of the earth, including Michigan State, and 8,000 students. DIAC employs people holding an MA TESOL as instructors and it growing so fast that they often have openings for instructors.
Rather than contacting individual schools yourself, you may want to look for advertisements for open teaching positions in Local Classified ads in the UAE governmental classified listing or for teaching jobs listed with the government of UAE.
Another way is to look for job offerings from schools on specialized sites like Bizness UAE that offers listing of schools with openings for teachers in the UAE. This site is nice because it allows you to contact the school directly via email. The site gives company profiles of some of the schools via the “More Details” hyperlink. (Use the search box on the lower right hand side of the page. Click the ‘select’ button and choose ‘Education’ then ‘Schools’).
A very traditional way to search for a job is to list your resume with a job recruiter such as those found through Jobs in Dubai and Teleport My Job. Teleport My Job is referenced in many other websites as a reputable company with recruiters who will work diligently to place your resume with viable employers. They claim to have a web of 1000’s of recruiters, HR managers, and company directors in Dubai. You pay for this representation which may or not be a good idea. I might contact the government for advice about the legitimacy of any company that requires payment before providing assistance for me.
There are many job sites with ‘Monster dot com’ formats in the UAE. You post your resume, search through lists of jobs, apply online and wait for a call or email. Myesljobs specializes in jobs for ESL teachers. When I looked at this site they listed nine current job openings for people with a Masters degree in teaching English as a second language at the new Dubai Academic City University in Abu Dhabi. If you do not want to place your personal information with a company that is not specifically working for you, you can use this type of site as a directory to finding the names of schools to look up on your own. Once you view the sites job listing, go to the individual schools websites, investigate the school and view the job openings. After reviewing all available information about the school you have the option of applying directly to the school – and not listing your personal information with an online job service that may share your information with companies for years after you have terminated your search. Most of the people you will be completing for job against will be non-citizens of the UAE but Melbourne University tells us about newly graduated teachers UAE Nationals (with 4-year degrees in teaching, May/June, 2008); luckily most of these teachers are pursuing Elementary level teaching positions.
After researching the resources listed above you will find that there is a wide variety of conditions for teachers of English in the UAE. The biggest differences are between teaching at private or public schools. Gulf News tells us don’t expect high wages in the UAE if you work as a public school teacher (May 2008). i-to-i TEFL website offers classes to become certified in TEFL…but it also offers some information about teaching English in the UAE such as average income: $30 to 50, 000/year, depending on qualifications.
What does living in the UAE look like? this video will help you understand what an average house provided as benefits for a teacher would look l ike. Following are suggestions for helping your move to the UAE a happy one: Shelter Offshore you’ll find inviting descriptions of living in Dubai and links to sites for housing, buying a home, finding a school for your children, etc. Top Ten suggestions for people moving to UAE can help you prepare for a move. Useful Info is a listing of useful articles for people moving to the UAE. Guide to proper etiquette for western business people in the UAE can help you not make social mistakes. Teach International This site is primarily a sales site for TESOL courses but also offers a brief description of the UAE and background information for people to consider as they look into becoming a teacher of English language in non-English speaking counties.
The UAE is working on improving school teaching standards and supports improvements in teaching; the (Education Guardian) website offers an article about award winning curriculum used to teach English in the UAE. Abu Dhabi Embassy of the US webpage tells us about US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Visit to the UAE and her signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Education – May, 2008
Following are some videos inside High School level classrooms in the UAE. Keep in mind that these are videos from You Tube so the students are often acting silly for the camera. inside a private high school; another classroom; boys goof around – “teacher” (who looks much like a student) responds with mock whipping; High School student hams it up.
Looking at the suggestions and advice from expatriates who actually work and live in the UAE can give you invaluable insight into making a decision to move to the UAE. Following are some excellent resources to expatriates in the UAE: Expatriate Woman Abu Dhabi website; this is a place were women working in Abu Dhabi share information and observations…you are welcome to lerk and learn. This site claims to be for women who have just moved to Abu Dhabi or are thinking about moving there. Ipod pod casts with interviews from people living in Dubai; this site would like to share the experiences of people living in Dubai with people who are interested in finding out what living in Dubai is like.
Putting a human face on teaching in the UAE by telling the first person story of a teacher’s experience while teaching in the UAE. Moving to Dubai Travel-forum; Dubai is a good entry place for American’s seeking work in the UAE as it is more westernized than some of the smaller cities. ‘Moving to Dubai’ is a chat-room for people who have lived in the UAE. It sounds like Dubai is quite a transient place and that you would find people from almost every country there. Like anywhere…you’ll find the kind of people you are looking for.
Ask a question to expatriates A board to post your ideas and questions for people living, or wanting to know about, the UAE…it looks government sponsored and another Ask the experts about the culture and working in the UAE.
Teaching English in the Middle East, here is a must read for anyone interested in teaching English in the UAE. This blog goes over qualifications, wages and atmosphere (dated 9/07). Of course it is always nice to take a look at the familiar when exploring a new city, job and or profession. Take a look at Craigslist.org in Dubai…if you are familiar with Craigslist you’ll welcome this website for job postings, lodging, furniture, etc.
Canuck Abroad
discussion forum includes questions and answers about teaching in Dubai. This discussion includes a listing of English curriculum schools that a person applying for jobs in Dubai might want to check out.
Expatriates in the Emirates
Based in Dubai this site is for expatriates
Easy Expat dot com
this website is rather usual but does offer internal links to insights about working and living in Dubai
INMED / Oasis Hospital
in UAE … health education organization / medical missionaries.
Blog
Experiencing the Emirates…a blog spot. This blog has a picture and links to six newspaper articles (May 2008) about the low wages paid to teachers in the UAE and about a new pact between the United States of America and the UAE to improve educational standards.
Flashcard games
for countries in the Middle-East; with good information for both students and teachers to know.
Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab
interactive lessons for teaching ESL
Getting There:
Cheap Flights Asia.com
this site compares prices between 32 airlines around the world including United Airlines, USA
Guide to proper etiquette
for western business people in the UAE
Shelter Offshore
Inviting descriptions of living in Dubai and links to sites for housing, buying a home, finding a school for your children, etc.
Top Ten suggestions
for people moving to UAE, and Useful Info - a listing of useful articles.
Teach International
This site is primarily a sales site for TESOL courses but also offers a brief description of the UAE and background information for people to consider as they look into becoming an teacher of English language in non-English speaking counties.
Moving to Dubai
Expatriates and Experts give advice: Travel-forum. A chat-room for people who have lived in the UAE. It sounds like Dubai is quite a transient place and that you would find people from almost every country there. Like anywhere…you’ll find the kind of people you are looking for. Dubai might be a good entry place for American’s seeking work in the UAE as it is more westernized than some of the smaller cities.
Ask a question
A board to post your ideas and questions for people living, or wanting to know about, the UAE…it looks government sponsored.
Teaching English in the Middle East
a must read for anyone interested in teaching English in the UAE. This blog goes over qualifications, wages and atmosphere (dated 9/07)
Ask the experts
about the culture and working in the UAE.
Canuck Abroad
discussion forum includes questions and answers about teaching in Dubai. This discussion includes a listing of English curriculum schools that a person applying for jobs in Dubai might want to check out.
Expatriates in the Emirates
Based in Dubai this site is for expatriates
Easy Expat dot com
this website is rather usual but does offer internal links to insights about working and living in Dubai
INMED / Oasis Hospital
in UAE … health education organization / medical missionaries.
Blog
Experiencing the Emirates…a blog spot. This blog has a picture and links to six newspaper articles (May 2008) about the low wages paid to teachers in the UAE and about a new pact between the United States of America and the UAE to improve educational standards.
Easy reference phone numbers
Addresses and Phone Numbers of Government Offices in the UAE:
for travelers and http://www.government.ae/gov/en/visitors/index.jsp (a more complete listing) of phone numbers; a comprehensive site with information about visiting the UAE. This site includes times, phone numbers, and contact information for most of the things you might need to know as a visitor to the UAE. Important forms are available for download…like visa requests.
Dubai Hotels
Tourism – places to visit when you are in the UAE:
website with links to other UAE country hotels. The price per night, that I noticed, ranged from 215 (about $59 US dollars) to over 2000 Dirham’s (over $500 U.S. dollars) … favorable exchange.
Official tourism site
from the UAE; vital statistics are available on the ‘about’ hyperlink (This site is also listed above for the demographic portion).
Abu Dhabi City guide
Has a lot of information – worth taking a look at
Things to do in the UAE
with listings by city. Entertainment and amusement: Amusement parks and Spectator sports; History and culture: Educational sites and libraries, Museums; Outdoor Sports and Nature: Golf, Parks and gardens, Scenery and Natural wonders. This website many links, some are under construction, some are suspended (Some of the suspended sites will close your browser if you visit)
Luxury Links
bid on luxury travel packages in the middle east.
Seven Star Hotel
you need to see this
more Seven Star Hotel
watch for information
more information on tourism
including hotels
MurjAlArab hotel
…the Sail
Lonely Planet
destination pages Ten Reasons to visit the UAE:
listings of fun things to do in the UAE
man-made islands
shaped into the continents of the worlds; The World Islands & The Palm Jumeirah (Dubai)
Camel Racing, and Camel Kids
ensuring that Camel Kids are not enslaved to be the jockeys
Dubai Nightlife
many private clubs, must be 25 years of age to enter
Travel guide
includes a nice photo gallery showing local places and people as seen by locals and tourists.
Travel Warnings from the US State Department: Americans in the United Arab Emirates should exercise a high level of security awareness. The Department of State remains concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world. Americans should maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and treat mail and packages from unfamiliar sources with caution. In addition, U.S. citizens are urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of the objects to local authorities.
register with the US State Department
Travel Registration: when you travel to a country were your safety may be at risk (due to your American Citizenship or heritage) you may register with the US State Department so that if you need help while you are visiting a foreign country the local US Embassy will have your information on hand.
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Information shown on this website is the result of a collaborative effort by Dr. Rod E. Case and the EDS491/691 Special Topics in Teaching English
as a Second Language Class, Wintermester, 2007. |
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