Working For A Chain: Berlitz

If you’ve brainstormed some potential language school chains to work for, no doubt Berlitz has come up.

Berlitz is well known for its language schools in over sixty countries, its book and phrasebook series, and its method (called the direct method and based on the Natural Method).

It also has its own 40-hour training program, which approved (but not yet hired) applicants take without charge. If they pass, they are offered hours. One common criticism seems to be that teachers who are not guaranteed full-time hours are still prohibited from teaching elsewhere, though this may not apply in every country. Due to the methods and books, which “present language in the context of real-life situations”, Berlitz methods are sometimes presented as not requiring substantial preparation. Lessons are said to be “results oriented,” and it seems that teachers are rewarded for getting high student approval ratings.

Find the vacancy list here, but note that more information may be available on the sites of individual schools. In the US, Berlitz hires native speaker teachers of a wide variety of languages, and often offers language teachers discounts if they enrol in Berlitz language classes (ie an English teacher can take Spanish lessons at a discount).

To find out if (or where) you are eligible to be hired by Berlitz, check here.

If you’d like to compare Berlitz with other language school chains, be sure to check out TEFL Logue posts on International House as well as NOVA and AEON in Japan.