ESL Teacher

Hey there!

1. Officially, you cannot be employed as an ESL teacher without an ELT permit. However, this being Malta, rules might be bent a bit I know of a few colleagues who worked with me (in a language school) without a permit.

For the requirements to get an ELT permit, check here: https://eltcouncil.gov.mt/en/Pages/ELT.aspx
I got mine last May, wasn't a big deal, but I have a CELTA.

2. Depending on the school / area, you might find teaching jobs all year round (especially in Sliema, St. Julians, ...), but most teachers are needed in summer (June - August).
Many schools will only employ you as a "temporary" teacher and you may find they will cancel lessons (or ask you to do more hours) on very short notice (often on the same day)!
As for the pay, with a CELTA you can expect about 11 Euros / full hour (60 minutes) of teaching time, breaks are usually unpaid, as is any preparation. Without a CELTA it will most likely be less.

3. The language schools are privately run, hence private schools, so I'm not sure what you mean by your last question. If you mean private schools (as opposed to state schools) in the regular school system (i.e. for Maltese / expat children and teens), the requirements for teaching there are completely different.


There is another thread from about 3 or 4 months ago on this forum where I answered more or less the same questions, you might want to check that, too.

Bernie

Thank you for all your help and advice.

O I wanted to know how long it takes once you have applied for your ELT permit?

I am looking to move there,  would you know of any good places to apply once in Malta?  thanking you again.

I would do online teaching with a company like I do, you'll get paid more and have more flexibility on your work schedule, and you can do it wherever you have a connection.

The problem with teaching in schools is what was eluded to..you don't get paid for breaks or prep and generally the classes aren't back to back.

I agree with you about the pay, Dorieus. Personally, I enjoy teaching in a real classroom much more than online, which is why - as long as it's financially possible - I will continue to teach in schools. But that's just me.

Regarding the time it takes for the ELT permit to be processed by the ELT Council: If you have all the paperwork and meet all the requirements, not long. I e-mailed the responsible person at the Council, Catherine Bugeja, who was really helpful and friendly. I went to the Council in person, but couldn't make it during their official office hours. Catherine said it would be no problem to see her on a Friday afternoon. So I got the police conduct, took it to the ELT Council (which is in the Ministry for Education and Employment in Floriana) together with a copy and the original of my CELTA, my passport and the ELT application form on Friday afternoon, and on the following Tuesday I got a mail confirming that my application had been successful. This is enough to apply at a school. The actual permit came in the mail a bit later - in fact I don't exactly know when, because I was not in Malta at that time, it was in my post box when I returned about a month later.

As for where to apply: Here's a list of all schools in Malta: https://eltcouncil.gov.mt/en/Pages/Lice … hools.aspx
As we're talking about Malta, it's probably best to mail the DOS directly or even better, phone or walk in to ask if they need teachers. At least that's what worked for me. I'd go for the more central ones in Sliema, St. Julians, ... as there are enough students all year round.

Hope that helps
Bernie

Yeah, I've done it for twelve years in the class room, to be honest I wouldn't mind a total change of jobs around now, lol.

Hi, saying u dont get paid for holidays etc how do they pay you? Do they pay a set amount each month or only in the months you work?xxx

Meaning here (england) you get paid pro rata is it the same in malta?xxx

The best forum for any question regarding teaching English in another country is:

http://www.eslcafe.com/

Flick1581 wrote:

Hi, saying u dont get paid for holidays etc how do they pay you? Do they pay a set amount each month or only in the months you work?xxx

At least at the school I work(ed) at, you hand in a work report every week where you indicate the hours taught, and you get paid for those hours at the end of the month (or rather, by the 15th of the following month). Only contact hours are paid, breaks are unpaid, an hour is 60 minutes, i.e. if a student books "4 hours" as a teacher you only get paid for 3 hours, as effectively a "student hour" is 45 minutes. Pay is the same regardless of what you teach (one-on-one, groups, Business English, General English, ...). Most teachers are on a temporary contract (usually 2 months), but if the school has more work, the temporary contract is renewed. I know of only 3 colleagues who are employed full-time (or at least all year round), they get paid for 20 hours/30 hours respectively, but have to be at the school for this amount of time, whether there is work or not, meaning in winter they do a lot of administrative tasks, too.

Dogeared wrote:

The best forum for any question regarding teaching English in another country is:

http://www.eslcafe.com/

I checked this site rather thouroughly last year (before I went to work in Malta), but for Malta, at least, it wasn't very helpful.