We head to RUSSIA this issue. Moscow is an exciting city and the country is still in a very interesting transition period. It’s a wonderful opportunity to live somewhere completely different and truly immerse yourself in a new culture.

The scoop (word-of-mouth advice from someone who’s been there):
Liz lived in Moscow for a year.

"Moscow is a lively city with excellent night life and is culturally active. The local people may appear hostile and unfriendly at first, but after a while they are friendly and helpful. There are a few Soviet hangovers with customer services. It is better to find work before you go. Language Link and BKC recruit remotely with a ‘package’ – apartment, visa and travel. It is possible to find work on arrival, but the teacher needs to have good Russian and contacts along with experience. If you are recruited by LL or BKC they will arrange the visa beforehand. It’s difficult to arrange a visa independently for legal work. You usually have a 30-hour contract. You get national holidays and some paid leave (but not much). Usually your salary includes some medical insurance and apartment. Language schools start at 07:30 and finish at 21:30, so split shifts are inevitable.

"You don’t need to speak Russian in the classroom, but it is useful outside work. There is some English in some bars, some cafes, hotels/hostels but little elsewhere. There is a great website http://expat.ru that I recommend looking at.

"Teachers are paid the local salary. Teachers often complained it was on the low side but this could be supplemented with private work. Moscow’s not as expensive as people from the outside think. The survey which claims that Moscow is the most expensive city in the world was based on the costs for a business person, not a Russian. The best way at first of getting an apartment if part of a salary package - this is common. They are usually of a reasonable standard as well. Getting an apartment independently is possible but the tenant has to pay a large deposit. Most expats go to http://expat.ru for apartment shares.

"The students vary greatly – you will likely teach all ages (Young Learners to adult) and all levels (A0 to C2), as well as a wide range of needs – general, professional, ESP, EAP, exams (Cambridge ESOL and IELTS). Many learners are quite demanding and can figure out whether a teacher has prepared or not very quickly. For that reason, it was a great place for that reason to begin a teaching career."


Happy to be in Moscow

Schools in RUSSIA that are known to employ American teachers:
This information is made available to graduates of the WL-SIT TESOL Certificate course.

Please note: While every endeavor is made to ensure this information is accurate, Rennert is not responsible for incorrect information.

SUCCESSFUL ROLE PLAYS
Unlike skits, role plays shouldn't be scripted out in detail; instead you should give the student a general scenario with different elements and suggested ideas for complications to occur. Role play cards can be a very useful tool here. For example:

Before asking students to perform a role play you should prepare them by asking questions. The questions should incorporate the major parts of the role play and the vocabulary/idioms involved. After the question answer session the students should be comfortable with what they need to do.

• Allow them a few minutes to study the role cards and work out some key sentences.
Give help where needed.

• Each role play should be performed at least twice with the students changing roles.
In group situations have the stronger students act out the role play to the whole class.

• You as the teacher can take one of the roles if you need to.

• Avoid making corrections until the role play is finished.

• Recording or videoing role plays can be a very useful tool for giving feedback,
but only if the students are comfortable with this.
Red Square