Teaching English In Saudi Arabia

In general most of the teachers in Saudi Arabia come from the surrounding arab countries such as Jordan, Syria and Egypt, this is ok but Saudi Arabia’s national curriculum states that English is to be taught to the students as a second language and despite this there are very few native English speakers found within the education system.

This makes it a great place to be if you’re from the UK or the USA as there is a great demand for native English speakers within the educational system. Saudi Arabia is also an oil rich nation and its links and ties with the world on a business level are vast. For this simple reason the English language is extremely important as it caters for a large expatriate population who are their on business and representing the various internationally based oil and investment companies. The staff at airports, hospitals, hotels and other businesses that offer services to these foreigners all need english language training thus making it a great place for English teachers in general.

There are many private schools within Saudi Arabia that mainly cater for the above mentioned expatriate population. For most, if not all of the lessons, English is the language that is used, however, there are also some French schools that have lessons taught in French. For more English teachers private schools should be your main target as the pay is much better and you will probably be teaching in much smaller classes making the whole experience much more enjoyable.

Another target market are the expatriate workers from non English speaking countries within Europe. They often language schools whilst they’re in Saudi Arabia to brush up and improve their English. Teaching at a language school may not always be fun; the hours are usually longer, and many classes may need to be taught at night. There are also foreign international language schools that are located in Saudi Arabia, but with some of these schools it is often required that the teacher attends a training course before starting so that they can become familiar with the way that specific schools would like their students to be taught.

When you are teaching English in Saudi Arabia and you feel that you are not making enough money, or you simply need to that little bit extra don’t worry as the need for private tuition is always high. Much of the native population of Saudi Arabia prefer to lean by private tuition as it means they can really spend some quality time with the teacher and learn much quicker. Common clients are wealthy businessmen, princes and other well off residents who simply want the best for their children, partners and family.

If you stick around until exam time then you can expect demand for private tuition to grow even higher as the students that have failed English will then most likely want to be taught privately to ensure they pass their next English exam. The average salary for an English teacher in Saudi Arabia would be anything starting from £1,500 upwards depending on the type of school and city you are working in.