TEFL Teacher in July

[ginnyoh]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, and have found it quite helpful thus far. I'm planning my journey to BA and will be there in July. I've got a TEFL certificate and am currently teaching EFL students at an international school here in California. I plan on supporting myself via teaching EFL in BA, as well as freelance writing (judging from the postings I've seen, freelance writing may actually be more profitable and sustainable, though I really enjoy teaching). Hoping to learn as much as I can from you all (and other sources, of course) before I arrive.

Cheers,
Virginia

 

[ginnyoh]

ETA: Also looking into a film studies program at UBA...

 

[starlucia]

If you search the forum, you'll find many threads on this topic. The problem with TEFL in BA is that everyone here wants to learn English, but no one wants to pay for it. So it's a great place to work if you want to build your resume or earn some extra spending money, but seems like a miserable and unreliable way to support oneself. I taught for a few months, but as a TESOL master's student, was only doing it to build my resume, not earn a living. Here's how it broke down: 10-15 hours a week at an institute for 30 pesos an hour (not including unpaid prep/travel time), plus 9-10 hours a week of private lessons at 40 pesos an hour (not including travel time.) 30 pesos is nothing these days: the cost of a decent bottle of wine, lunch at Tea Connection, or a couple of cab rides. So teaching can cover a lot of daily expenses, but certainly not all of them (especially if you plan to dine out, go to bars, or travel, or have to rent an apt. in dollars.) I would never recommend someone move here to teach unless they have other income or savings to fall back on.

 

[ginnyoh]

Definitely. Yes, my main source of income I earn via freelance writing, and have several very stable writing jobs that I turn in remotely (and am paid via direct deposit); would it be enough if I were earning between $1,000 and $2,000 USD per month while in BsAs? Writing at this pace would allow me to still have plenty of time to explore the area/take classes at UBA.

I'd love to teach additionally, and have plenty of teaching experience/a certificate. But it would be more for additional experience and for personal enjoyment; I have checked out plenty of threads about BsAs TEFL/teaching and do understand the low pay/major time commitment that teaching TEFL in BsAs entails.