Age restrictions

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robertm8621
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Joined: 06 Jul 2022, 01:27
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Age restrictions

Unread post by robertm8621 »

I am 67 years old but I have over 25 years' experience teaching TEFL and a Master's in Applied Linguistics. I wonder which countries do not have age restrictions?
kdammers
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Re: Age restrictions

Unread post by kdammers »

Private Kazakhstan language institutes hire people at least into their seventies. As far as I know, there is no age limitation in the country in general. Mongolia is another country where ageism does not seem to exist (I got hired there when i was over 65). Mexico and the U.S. have laws against age discrimination, though discrimination takes place. As far as I know, Costa Rica does not have age restrictions (applications don't ask for birth date). Turkey seems to allow older people to work there, but I am not sure. While the EU has laws against or restricting age discrimination (e.g., not allowing requiring age information on applications), Germany has a mandatory retirement age and age discrimination in practice in the public sphere that disadvantages people even as young as those in their fifties.
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geliza
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Re: Age restrictions

Unread post by geliza »

Hi Robert - Age can be a problem depending what your status is. If you're looking for salaried work the age factor kicks in more frequently. If you're self-employed working on a sub-contracting basis, employers can be much more flexible. As for the countries with no age restriction - it seems to me that many countries in Europe are trying to push seniors to work longer to alleviate the economic burden of retirement benefits. Age restrictions kick in mainly with state education - there's no hard and fast rule for the private sector.

Certainly your experience should count for something!!

Good luck

Gill
hcb2022
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Re: Age restrictions

Unread post by hcb2022 »

The TEFL school I attended, the International TEFL Academy in Chicago, Illinois, advised me to look at positions in Mexico, Central America, and South America. In these countries, older teachers are preferred. Also Russia, Romania, the Czech Republic are other places where older teachers are preferred--although Russia and Romania may well not be good countries for anyone to teach at this time.

I was just in Panama, to volunteer at an animal rescue organization for a month. I had a number of requests to teach or tutor EFL while I was there. The animal rescue "adventure" was not at ALL as it had been presented to me, so I came back to the US much earlier than expected. But I think that EFL jobs would definitely be available in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

And BTW, I'm 69 years old. I've taught German and other subjects for many years. I just earned my certificate in TEFL in March 2022, but I earned an MS in Ed. in TESOL some time back. As part of my TEFL practicum, I started tutoring an Iranian student who was studying engineering at a university in my town. He was an advanced learner and an absolute pleasure to work with. I've gone on tutoring him up until my trip to Panama.

Hazel
hcb2022
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Re: Age restrictions

Unread post by hcb2022 »

KDammers mentioned mandatory retirement ages in Germany. I wonder, though, if it would be possible to work as a freelancer in Germany. That might well be one way to get around the mandatory retirement age. As long as you had a number of clients, you could probably privately teach or tutor EFL in Germany. You couldn't, however, teach at a public school. I've lived in Germany for quite a long time, and I'd love to go back, so I may well look into this possibility for myself.

Hazel
oneota
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Re: Age restrictions

Unread post by oneota »

I worked at a university (in a non-teaching capacity) on a contract basis and taught a few individuals privately after I passed the mandatory retirement age. There were no legal or other problems with that. (I am kdammers -- sometimes tefl.net signs me in one way; sometimes the other.)
tenneray
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Joined: 16 Sep 2013, 21:11
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Re: Age restrictions

Unread post by tenneray »

This is an interesting but sad thread. I thought this may interest its followers:

https://www.internationalschoolsreview. ... ears%20old.
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