I am a Romanian teacher of English, obviously non-NEST!
I have been learning/studying English for 35 years now and teaching it for 25 years. Over the years, I taught English to pupils and students from K to 12 and adults. I obtained all the degrees in teaching that count in Romania and have no meaning for the rest of the world.
I have always been a titular teacher (as opposed to substitute); for those who may not know, in Romania this means that a titular teacher is hired and can work in one school until retirement or until s/he decides to transfer to another school or to give up the teaching career. A substitute teacher is hired for only one school year and needs to find a teaching job every year. If you’re wondering why being a titular teacher would be something worth mentioning in a teacher’s life story, let me remind you we’re speaking about Romania… I don’t think this detail would be of any significance anywhere else in the world.
Between September 2007 and August 2009 I was a school inspector for English and German (a language I don’t really speak) with the County School Inspectorate which is subordinated to the Ministry of Education and coordinates the teaching activity of all the teachers of all subjects all over the county. As a school inspector, I was responsible with the English and German languages and with how they’re taught in all types of education provided in Romania: general, technological, vocational, ongoing and post graduation, adult etc. The job description involved organising, monitoring, supervising and inspecting the activity of about 325 teachers of English and 21 teachers of German all over the county. Did I have a say in hiring or firing teachers? Of course not!
Starting September 1st 2009, I’m back in my school, ready to start full-time teaching again! What’s changed? My views on teaching! There’s more to come on this…
Hello, Mel! Miss you a lot! In fact, we all miss you.
)
I’ve just found your blog. I’m excited to read what you have posted in.
I take some time to read and……I’ll be back soon
Hi Cristina,
I miss you all as well. Hope you’re all fine.
Glad you like my writing, I enjoy doing it. Thanks for reading me.
Melania
Hello there,
Thanks for sharing you stories about teaching in Romania… there’s a lot to learn from you and maybe you can advice me or give me tips. Im from Manchester UK and I will hopefully be teaching Audio Engineering. How much you reckon will be the normal teaching pay for my sort of field in Romania? Also, what are the prospects of me teaching English in Bucharest ? I have a TEFL Certification and a Business Masters Degree too…cheers any advice would be great as this will be my first time to come over…
I’m sorry, I can’t help you with any of the latest information about teaching in my country as, for the last 8 months, I’ve been in London. What I know is lots of things have changed, including some raise in pay, but I couldn’t go into detail. Sorry…
Hi, I’m staying in Romania with my boyfriend, we are both American and speak English fluently. My boyfriend is TESL certified and would like to begin teaching english at least as a teaching assistant. Could you point me in the right direction? We are open to living in almost any city as long as he can teach!
Hi Noemi,
Irrespective of where in Romania you are right now, your boyfriend should meet the local County School Inspector for English and present the situation to him/her. They should give him the advice he needs in order to be able to teach English in Romania.
Good luck!
Ms. Paduraru,
Having retired at a relatively young age I find myself having far too much energy to accept my idle status. I have made a few email inquiries expressing my willingness to teach or tutor English in Romania on a volunteer basis. I am willing to pay all of my expenses, work free of charge, accept an assignment in any school, and do so willingly and respectfully. Responses seem to be slow, or not forthcoming at all. Do you have any advice or direction you might be able to share? I have a University education from a large, well respected institution in the US.
Jeff in the US
Hi Jeff,
I’d need a bit more information to be able to give you any advice.
Contact me on my email, melaniapaduraru at yahoo dot com.
Melania
That would be lovely, thanks!
I hope it’s a decent picture… hahahaha…
Here’s my e-mail: melaniapaduraru@yahoo.com
Would you like to give me more details about our university years? I checked my profile on LinkedIn, there was nothing there to show that someone had tried to contact me… or, at least, I didn’t see anything?
I’d love to hear from you again!
OK…will try and scan an old picture…this evening at home – just let me know of an email where I can send it…
Sorin
Maybe you should check your Linkedin account more often
…and just in case my name does not ring the right bell, I think we knew each other back in the 80s when we were both students in Galati.
NB I could be wrong and in that case I apologize (by looking at this picture, http://kenwilsonelt.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/melania.jpg, I think your are the right Melania).
All the best and a very short winter,
Sorin
You were right, I’m sorry, the name doesn’t ring any bell, but I’m all the same glad to get in touch with someone who reminds me of the beautiful days in university…
I promise to check my LinkedIn account!
Please keep in touch!
Melania
I’m sorry, Denis, I can not approve your comment to be posted on my blog… If you write your comment in English, then you may have a chance to be published…
Teach
Thank you, Adi !
It’s so sweet of you to say that!
It’s good to be back, I’ve missed you and my students too!
Welcome back to school! We’ve missed you… or at least I have.