Where can English Language Teaching take you? Natilly Macartney shares her experiences of moving from London to embark on a new role teaching English in Austria, reflecting on how the higher education system operates there.
I am just over a month into my new job as a Senior Lecturer in the English and American studies department at the Alpen-Adria University in Austria. The university is relatively small with just over 10,000 students spread across its campuses in Klagenfurt, Graz and Vienna. I work at the campus in Klagenfurt, a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and situated on the shore of the Lake Wörthersee. Klagenfurt is a melting pot of cultures as it’s the meeting point of Austrian, Italian and Slovenian borders. But this region not only benefits from a diverse mix of cultures – thanks to its geography, it also has a wonderful Mediterranean climate.
Becoming a Senior Lecturer of English
In Austria, the main requirements to be a Senior Lecturer of English are a Masters degree in a relevant field, such as TEFL or applied linguistics, previous teaching experience and a basic level of German. Here a Master’s degree is a highly sought after qualification; even my e-card states my name followed by MA! This is the first time I have taught English at university level, and of course, it was a big step from teaching children English in primary school to teaching Bachelor students.
ELT in universities vs ELT in schools
I have been told by my colleagues that higher education in Austria generally works by the principle ‘Freiheit der Lehrer’ meaning freedom of the teacher, therefore, you decide how and what you want to teach. There is still a core curriculum to cover, but an advantage is that you decide how and when to assess your students, a big plus when it comes to teaching languages!
I teach students who major in either English or business, so my classes are split between teaching English for academic purposes and English for specific purposes. The biggest difference between teaching English at university and my past ELT experience is that the focus is not on teaching the language, but rather using the language as a tool to develop different skills. As I started my role mid-semester, I picked up six different classes and had to begin delivering classes ASAP (meaning on my first day!). However, it wasn’t too overwhelming as my colleagues were incredibly supportive and I had already began preparing for my courses whilst still in the UK. Before arriving in Austria, I was added to the Moodle for the courses I was going to teach as an external, and this gave me an idea of what other lecturers were doing. I also bought the core books from the reading lists that other lecturers had put together and read through those. For anyone about to make a similar move in their career, I would advise them to prepare in a similar way.
ELT and corporate: the crossover
Before moving to Austria, I was working for an international education company in London. It is difficult to see any clear crossover between working for a corporate company and working in academia, however, my experience working in corporate was excellent training for my current job. Teaching English in a university involves a lot of administrative work, as well as teaching. I gained many transferable skills in my previous job which I need to use here everyday, for example, how to use Outlook, write emails, make phone calls, use Moodle etc. I would recommend anyone who wants to teach English at university level to use any experience they have in the corporate sector to their advantage, because once you begin working in a university people assume you already have good administrative skills.
How to Deutsch Lernen
How to Deutsch LernenAs well as working my way around a new education system, in which students earn their degrees via a system completely different to the UK, I am also slowly getting my head around the German language. In this region there are many people who speak English, however, English is not the most common second language. Because of the geography of this region, many people speak Italian and Slovenian as a second language, therefore, good German skills are a must. One way I have been improving my German is by borrowing books from bookshelves which are dotted all around the city. The idea is that you take a book and replace it with another book. I hope that my English students are noticing the English books I have been leaving behind!
There really is very little, if anything, to grumble about life teaching in Austria. The wages in academia are relatively high, even if you haven’t got a PhD, and you get paid 14 times a year. In general living costs outside of Vienna are low, and the standard of living is high. What I value the most here is the incredible work life balance and being able to spend time outside enjoying the nature everyday.
Oh and the last point to mention if you’re not already sold on life in Austria – the university allows you to take your pet dog to work!
Natilly will be back to discuss her Austrian adventures teaching Business English and EAP. In the meantime you can view some of her previous articles here.