| Working Conditions |  Most of the English Language schools in Greece are small and private. The pupils attend the local state school in the morning, and so the English schools work in the afternoon and evening. The majority of schools employs only two or three teachers and has one or two hundred pupils. Attendance at such a school is the standard for children from all kinds of social backgrounds. They typically start at the age of eight, and go on until they are at least fifteen.
You would not in general expect to teach the youngest children, if not you happen to speak Greek, but you might teach children of ten upwards. Classes last for one or sometimes two hours, and for the older pupils there is a strong orientation towards exams such as the Cambridge FCE and CPE. A good number of the children are enthusiastic learners and classes are typically reasonably small, with maybe ten or twelve members. Discipline is hardly ever a problem, though, like young teenagers everywhere, students can sometimes be boisterous.
You will work with a high standard of materials and equipment. Every student has a course book, including material for all your lessons, and you will also have a teacher’s guide and audio cassettes to go with every course book. The majority of schools make use of video and a lot of them now use computers and the Internet.
Work hours are usually between three and ten p.m. Monday to Friday, for a whole of about twenty-five hours a week.
Additionally to the hours spent teaching, you will also have to spend the balanced amount of time planning lessons and correcting written work.
Remuneration
• The usual hourly rate of pay for 2006 – 2007 is 8.54 Euros gross, minus 15.89% for your National Insurance contribution, leaving a net balance of 7.18.
• Your employer will be responsible for making National Insurance contributions on your behalf. Additionally to your contribution of 15.89%, your employer contributes a further 27.97%.
• At  Christmas and Easter you will have two weeks' holiday. You will be given holiday pay and also a bonus equivalent to about one third of your monthly salary.
• Rates of sick pay are the same as if you were working.
• The majority of employers offer furnished accommodation. You will pay only for utilities.
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