I have been teaching EFL for the last 14 years and last summer, I was fortunate to make the transition to teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP). When I gave in my notice last April with my previous employer, I was a little lost and didn’t know what to consider. My wife (all thanks to her) recommended that I get in contact with my University where I had completed my MA. And here is where I started my journey towards EAP.
I was offered a 6 week intensive English course to teach, Monday to Thursday, and invited to an interview to be part of a ten-week summer pre-sessional course at the University, all in one day. In this blog post, I am sharing my tips for securing employment as an English Tutor with a University.
When it comes down to teaching at a University, I would recommend that you have a post-graduate qualification in the subject you wish to teach such as an MA in English Language Teaching or Linguistics. It would inform potential universities that you have the right study and academic skills to help students. This was mentioned briefly during my interview for a Pre-Sessional interview.
The next advice I would recommend is you do some research about the University you wish to work at. Find out some information about the languages department or who to contact with regards to employment. If you make yourself known, it will be easier for the department to remember who you are and they will be on your mind when they think about filling a vacancy.
Next, I would recommend that you get some books to help you learn a bit more about teaching English for Academic Purposes. These books will help you learn more about what is expected of you by the University as by the students:
When it comes down to finding vacancies with universities, you can either go directly to the University website but for short-term courses or projects, the departments are likely to advertise posts on other websites. Knowing which websites to view is integral to respond to and submit applications. The best website to view would be the British Association of Lecturers of English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP).
At the time of writing this blog post, I am only aware of the BALEAP website above to find EAP vacancies but I am sure there are other websites but I will update in due course if I find more.
Thank you very much. This is really kind of you to share your experience. I am looking for the right opportunity to make a transition. Many thanks