“I’ve been offered 15 Euros an hour at a language school. Is this reasonable?”
“Is it legal for a freelance teacher to be tied to one school
and not be able to take on work elsewhere?”
“Part of the TEFL problem in Germany is schools taking any Tom, Dick or Harry on without any experience at all, thus degrading the good work being done by so-called TEFL professionals.”
Three quotes out of many making up a special event in the German teaching environment.
Of course, it is important to worry about methodology, course design and materials development, but when you listen carefully to what teachers are worried about, you will discover that working conditions are a hot topic, too. While many events focus on the “content” side of teaching, this workshop will address teachers’ worries beyond the classroom:
- What are the problems and grievances we are confronted with?
- What about teaching requirements and working conditions?
- How does our service translate into money, and how much do (and should) we earn?
- Do we need fee agreements, do we have to put up with non-competition and penalty clauses?
- What should teachers know about taxes and other red-tape issues?
We will:
- Look at the German teaching environment, its features and peculiarities.
- Discuss pay rates.
- Look at fee agreements used for freelance teachers and identify tricky provisions.
- Discuss employment, billing, tax and pension issues.
- Listen to what teachers (including yourself if you like) say about their working conditions.
This will be a hands-on, “no-theory“ workshop. Every example, every quote and every document presented will be authentic. I will draw on the accounts of many teachers, including ELTA members, who have shared their experience, problems and documents. I will also provide hard, reliable data on pay rates in adult education, based on extensive research and empirical data provided by the German government and other institutions.
Join us for an afternoon full of surprises and controversies. We will come across simply unbelievable working conditions, illegal practices, void contract provisions, misconceptions and an array of important red- tape issues.
You are, of course, welcome to share your own experience.
About the speaker: Patrick Mustu is a lawyer, language trainer and translator based in Düsseldorf. Having taught at 20 language schools and four universities, he is familiar with the entire range of tertiary education in Germany, ranging from government-funded courses for the unemployed to in-company training, from university students to the premium segment of managers’ seminars. He is a frequent conference speaker with special expertise in quality management and ESP. In 2008, he was appointed an independent expert by Stiftung Warentest to sit on their advisory board for the English language course survey they conducted. Today, he focuses on providing language training to law and accounting firms. Patrick writes for Germany’s leading magazine for paralegals and covers ESP topics in Business Spotlight. He is a former EULETA (European Legal English Teachers’ Association) board member, and the author of “English for Tax Professionals” (Cornelsen Verlag), “Realizing Claims in Germany” (Hierosgamos), “Legal English” (Kiehl Verlag), “English for Insolvency” and “English for Income Tax Returns” (Spotlight Verlag).
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.
