Tefl.NET Forums

Quite a good suggestion.
It is not the age that does the job, but know how and technique which is totally independent of age.
And who would dare to enact such a law? The collude of the oligopoly is always stronger than the scattered group of silent teachers. There is hardly anyone to stand up and defend a just cause, with fear of poking their nose into someone else`s business. But the day is nigh when they will have to feel it on their own skin. So all I can say for now is - good tidings.

My experience is that the industry, in general, is extremely ageist, it is easy to research maximum teaching ages in any given country with a simple google search, if you are looking for work on your own, its pretty easy to find, but most of the "Tefl Companies" (some advertising here on TEFL.net) have arbitrary (illegal) age cutoffs well below the law in the applicable countries, when they advertise jobs and programs, and when you question it they will either block you or say they are simply meeting their customers "requirements" and that EU Equal Opportunity Laws are not applicable. But there is work out for "Oldsters" and many schools and companies actually prefer to hire us. Good Luck

Under EU law it is illegal for any recruiter to discriminate on age. This includes age preference in recruitment ads for ALL websites that are accessible in the European Union (yes, that includes ESLcafe, seriousteachers and a host of other non-EU sites that can be accessed in the EU). I note that tefl.com seldom includes age in their ads, the only age limit I have seen is where it is a government regulation of the host country for the work visa.

That is very good light being shone on the topic guys, thanks.
That puts EU as one of the most just places to work with rational ensured laws. What a pity that we cannot say the same about other massive contractors on the other side of the globe with democratic eruptions in their backyard.

Joe wrote: ↑23 Jun 2019, 06:45 There are lots of people over 46 teaching English as a foreign language all over the world, both offline and on. Some countries make it more difficult to get employed after 50 or 60, but it's far from impossible.

absolutely agree

Quite nice. Cheers. Good to hear some positive news on the topic at last.

Re: post by pasqual » 24 Nov 2019, 16:37
"Under EU law it is illegal for any recruiter to discriminate on age. ... [T]he only age limit I have seen is where it is a government regulation of the host country for the work visa."

So, EU countries can and do practice age discrimination, but EU recruiters can't.

That almost makes it worse: recruiters are not allowed to tell you that you're too old even though the government will say you are when you apply for a visa.

By the way, about fifteen years ago, Germany had age limits for work, not (just?) for visas. I have a German work visa that appears to still be valid, but both formal and informal restrictions probably would make it nigh on impossible for me to work there -- at least in a government school.

Age is not the determinant and yes can do anything anything at this age. HIT IT BANG ON. :D

Finding an opportunity to teach does seem to me to have an upper age limit. As a retired and pensioned USA Public School teacher with 30+ years licensed K-12, teaching adjudicated teen boys, adult men's prison, and conversational English in Peru and Mexico. My education includes two Bachelor of Arts degrees and a Master of Science in Education. I also have considerable experience in Business, Computer center operations, and accounting. I have a 168-hour level 5 TEFL certificate from TESL.org.
I thought I could find a part-time minimum pay Teaching position, even a volunteer place because I am a good teacher, and I love teaching. I have applied to close to 100 open positions since the beginning of 2020.
So far, no position, not even a rejection letter. I am an active, capable, and caring teacher.
I am 77 years old. It seems like a wast of the remaining years I am willing to give, but nobody seems to want me. I am wondering, does anyone know of a volunteer position or organization that handles volunteers? Perhaps TEFL.com might open a section for we older but better teachers that aren't ready to hang up our lesson plans.

Have you tried applying in Mongolia? I have never seen age listed as a factor in ads for jobs there, and when I was there, age never came up. Also, I don't know of age being a factor here in Kazakhstan. I am 75, and our German teacher is about the same age. We don't have an opening at the moment, but if you are interested in working in Almaty, let me know for the future (Covid-19 dependent).

Thank you, Yes I am interested, just let me know. James

COLIN wrote: ↑18 Nov 2019, 20:18 But the day is nigh when they will have to feel it on their own skin. So all I can say for now is - good tidings.

What an odd post!

Where are you from, Colin?

@ jmcc: I sent you an e-mail through tefl.net giving my e-mail address and asking for your resume, but I haven't gotten a resume from you.

Really sorry but I have not seen that request, if I knew how to send a resume' to you I would do it now. I will try to find out how to do that. thank you, James McPherson

Okeh, I got it.

"if I knew how to send a resume' to you I would do it now. I will try to find out how to do that"

Maybe this is the problem

And your age? :mrgreen:

diane wrote: ↑09 Oct 2019, 16:53 Hi
I was wondering the exact same thing. I am 57 and have been teaching for 20+ years. I am retiring with my husband to Greece over the next few weeks and have completed my TEFL qualification. My idea is to do some online teaching because I love the job and I feel too young to "do nothing". I have taught English previously but not in this format. My question is; is TEFL teaching online easy to adapt to? Any information/experiences will be appreciated.

I think it will be easy to adapt since you already have your heart in teaching.

I am 68, and yes, indeed, there ARE opportunities for older teachers. Many countries prefer older teachers. Be sure to look at Central and South American countries, many of which prefer having older teachers. The Czech Republic, Romania, and Russia are also good countries in which older teachers can look for jobs. I recently earned my TEFL certificate through the International TEFL Academy (ITA) in Chicago, Illinois, and they have a LOT of information on age limitations in various countries. They also have Facebook groups for mature teachers.

Also you might consider teaching EFL privately or tutoring one student or a small group of students. Working as a freelancer in many countries is often easier than working in a school or organization.

Best of luck,
Hazel

I'm 69 years old, and I earned my TEFL certification in March 2022. I've been tutoring the Iranian grad student whom I started tutoring during my required practicum.

The school I attended online, the International TEFL Academy, in Chicago, Illinois, suggested that I look at Central American and South American countries, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Russia as places where there's no problem with being an older teacher. Recently, others on tefl.net have told me that Mongolia and Kazakhstan are other possibilities. I believe that there are charts out there that let you know about any age limitations countries may have. For example, Germany, where I'd love to go (I'm fluent in German and lived in Germany for a long time) has a mandatory retirement age, and I'm past that. But I think it might be possible to work as a freelancer there. Again, I'm not sure if this is so, and I'd have to check it out.

Also, you can certainly work from home. I've used Zoom to do so.

Best of luck to you, and please don't give up!

All best,
Hazel