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.
