Teaching English in Italy: Advice and FAQs from TJ Taylor

TJ Taylor, a language training and consultancy company based in Milan, have produced a very useful guide to Teaching English in Italy: Advice and FAQs for anyone considering becoming an EFL teacher in Italy – or, indeed, for teachers who are already working but would like to know exactly what their options are:

'Teaching English in Italy can be a tremendously rewarding experience, especially as Italian adults are generally very rewarding students. However, there are some practices and situations to be aware of that will help you avoid the most common traps and frustrations of being a ESL teacher in the 'bel paese'.'

The guide includes 'some FAQs that we hope will help make your time in Italy as professionally and personally rewarding as possible.’

You can find some really good advice here and even if you are an experienced teacher or you run a school / consultancy, I think you will benefit from reading TJ Taylor’s answers to these FAQs. They are especially good on the thorny question of Italian employment contracts and tax – seemingly impenetrable topics that can flummox even the most rational and intelligent person!

I would add one point to TJT’s FAQs: if you are considering teaching in Italy – or if you already teach and want to become a freelancer or develop your career – it’s absolutely imperative that you speak to a commercialista. For anyone who doesn’t know what / who this is, a commercialista is a kind of “super accountant” / tax lawyer / Gandalf figure who will help you navigate the perils of Italy’s fiscal system. (‘Bureaucracy in Italy is designed to make life difficult.’ – TJ Taylor.)

There is a spectrum of schools and different language companies with “excellent and 100% trustworthy” at one end and “don’t touch them with a barge-pole” at the other. The overall message is: find out as much as you can before you accept a job with a school / employer; ask around – most EFL teachers will be very happy to tell you whether or not a particular school is OK or if you should steer clear of it; and make sure that you have all the correct paperwork – especially a contract.

I would also add that in the age of social media, you should join as many groups and networks as you can (such as the Milan Business English Network) and contact people who are already teaching in Italy. I am always very happy to advise people who want to come and teach here – especially in Milan.

Well done, TJ Taylor – especially Alex Taylor – for providing such a useful resource for teachers!

Read the Advice and FAQs here.