fbpx

Advance your career with the Trinity DipTESOL course. Register for our free live seminar

Register now for any of our upcoming ELT events to celebrate 25 years of teacher training

Working in India

Working and studying in India

Please note that it is not legally possible for non-Indian English Language teachers to apply for employment visas in India, so if you are not an Indian citizen and do not hold an Overseas Citizen of India Card [OCI card], we cannot find you work in India as this is not legally possible. 

However, we will help you to find jobs outside India. If you are an Indian passport holder or a holder of an Indian government OCI card applying from outside India, you do not need to apply for a visa but you will be charged the same fees and offered the same conditions as non-Indian passport holders applying from outside India. Unless you are an Indian citizen or the holder of an OCI card you’ll need a 12-month student visa in order to take the Cert TESOL course along with the Certificate in Teaching Experience in India.

Once you have been accepted both the Certificates we will provide you with the necessary paperwork and assist you with the process of applying for the student visa. With this student visa you cannot work, but you can develop your skills in India through our Certificate in Teaching Experience with stipend.

Certificate in Teaching Experience with stipend

Once you have successfully completed the Trinity Certificate Course with us, you can continue your studies with the Certificate in Teaching Experience. In other words you are still a student but, at this stage, you are developing yourself professionally. 

If you wish to stay on with us you will have your accommodation paid for you by us and we will provide you with a living allowance of about Rupees 10,000 a month. Depending on exchange rates this is about 100 Pounds or 150 Dollars or 135 Euros.

This will be enough for you to cover food expenses if you cook for yourself. On our Teaching Experience course, you will be given mentoring and will work to develop the skills you need to deliver not only general English classes but English for international Examinations so that you can develop the special skills required to teach a variety of levels and adult professionals preparing for them.

This will ensure that you are not only trained but also experienced when you leave us to look for a job. This is your chance to consolidate your skills in a supportive environment, build up an impressive CV for your first job application and have the experience of teaching Indian students while working with Indian professionals as your colleagues.

We will provide you with a Certificate of Experience when you leave. In order to be considered for this programme, you would need to have completed the Trinity Cert. TESOL course in our centre in Kerala, be a native English speaker and a non-Indian citizen.

The Certificate in Teaching Experience is for 10½ months after the Certificate in TESOL and people taking this programme are expected to stay for a minimum of six months. If you get a job after 6 months, you can ask to leave early.

 

 

Can Indian English teachers get jobs overseas?

We are often asked by applicants about job opportunities for people with Indian passports. There is a lot of conflicting and inaccurate information but we hope that this information helps to clarify things. First of all, it is important to remember that all countries have rules about entry visas. In India, for example, no employment visas are issued for English teachers from outside India although some people may be able to work legally on volunteer or other types of visas.

When Indian English teachers wish to work overseas, they are often surprised to find out that other countries also have stringent rules about the issuing of work visas. There are many message boards where English teachers express their anger and frustration about this issue, particularly those who have been told that a particular qualification such as the Trinity CertTESOL is valid worldwide. Whilst this is true, it does not mean that all countries will offer visas to Indian passport holders.

The Trinity CertTESOL and the Cambridge CELTA are the premier qualifications for entry into English Language teaching jobs (read more here). Look on specialist jobs websites such as TEFL.com and you will see that almost all employers prefer these qualifications so taking the Trinity CertTESOL is often necessary to obtain a job but there are also other considerations. Unfortunately, many job advertisements specify that the jobs are for particular passport holders only, usually from what are perceived to be “native speaker” countries.

We have been running the Trinity CertTESOL with trainees from a wide variety of countries, some of which are now working overseas. They have jobs in the Gulf countries (Dubai, Oman and Saudi Arabia), Indonesia, Russia, Chile (this is a volunteer position) and Colombia (also a volunteer position). We also know that Indian English teachers have jobs in other countries such as the Maldives, Brunei, Qatar and Malaysia.

It is also important to remember that, when applying for a job overseas, some employers may require specific degrees, in English for example, and there may also be a requirement for several years experience that has to be gained before you are eligible to apply. Many employers are also concerned about the speech model offered to their students and they ask for what are often called” neutral accents”. The idea of a neutral accent is increasingly controversial. We (and many other employers) believe that everyone has an accent but some might request this due to a perception that a standard British or American accent are the most desirable models for their students.

 

So can Non-Native Speaker English Teachers get jobs overseas?

The answer is ‘Yes’ but you have to fit the profile required for the job. If you take the Trinity CertTESOL course in India and you are an Indian citizen, there are many job opportunities in corporate training, private coaching institutes and international schools in India itself. These jobs are relatively well-paid (35,000 INR per month is a common starting salary) and they often offer a salary plus free food and accommodation. This allows new teachers to build up their skills so that they can meet the job experience requirements of overseas employers.

If you take the Trinity CertTESOL with us, you can expect a lot of help and advice related to finding work and we will also help you to identify good opportunities in India and elsewhere so that you can gain the skills and experience you need for a good career either in India or overseas.

If you would like to find out about one of our graduates, Mayank Kaushik, who is working in Colombia, visit our blog. For further information about the Trinity CertTESOL course, work or visas contact us.

Download our Working around the world guide

Hey, wait!

Are you thinking of teaching English abroad?

Download our Working around the world guide and compare salaries, cost of living and entry requirements in 50 different countries.