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BELTA Guide to Teaching English in Belgium
Listed below are a number of Frequently Asked Questions for foreign English teachers settling in Belgium.
Where can I find information about living and working in Belgium?
The best place to start is the ‘official guide to Belgium’ (click here). It provides official information and services on all things Belgian, including the details on what paperwork needs to be sorted before and after your arrival in Belgium. Just click on the right category to get you started.
What degrees do I need to work as an English teacher in Belgium?
If you want to come to Belgium to teach English, there are a couple of things you need to take into account. Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German and is therefore organized in three communities. These communities are each separately responsible for education. In addition to the state-funded institutions, there are also lots of private companies who seek English trainers. Most of them are situated in Brussels.
More on state funded institutions:
In Flanders
GO (Gemeenschaponderwijs) State education of the Flemish Community
Catholic Education in Flanders
Education in Brussels and Wallonia
Private companies often employ native English speakers as teachers even when you lack the relevant diploma and/or experience to teach English. However, having the right degrees and experience will, of course, help you along a long way. If you are interested in a career as a ‘state teacher’, you will need the right degrees. This means a BA in English for the first and second year of secondary school and an MA degree for the higher years. If you wish to become tenured, you need an additional teaching degree. University colleges and universities do not alwyas require a teaching degree. University colleges highly value experience in the private sector. Teaching at a university requires a PhD.
Where do I start looking for a job?
Check out the following websites for a good start:
www.vdab.be (Flanders) (An exhaustive list is featured on the VDAB website.)
www.actiris.be (Brussels)
www.forem.be (Wallonia)
www.selor.be (official site for government jobs)
Also, for a list of some of the private language schools in Belgium, click here.
As a native speaker with no teaching experience would you recommend I do a teacher training course such as TEFL or CELTA?
Yes, if you have no teaching experience, you should definitely do a CELTA. Language Teacher Training Brussels are the CELTA trainers in Brussels and you can find more information on their website: www.lttb.eu
Do teaching schools provide you with any initial training and teaching material to help prepare your classes?
This depends from school to school. Some language schools tend to leave their teachers to their own devices while others train incoming teachers. Some schools go so far as training you and offer ongoing teaching support and coaching.
What type of teaching jobs could I expect to find in Brussels when starting out?
Business English, General English, English for specific purposes,… it all depends on the clients that come in. If you have experience in the private sector, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to teach Business English classes.
How easy is it to find a job teaching English in Brussels?
If you look at the websites of private language schools, you will see that they are always looking for teachers. The one thing that does need sorting out is your paperwork (see more www.belgium.be/en for more information). Make sure you fill out all documents required so that you are allowed to work in Belgium.
Is it possible for me to teach within the state school system?
Getting a position in a state school is a complicated matter for non-Belgians as their diplomas have to be recognised and they have to have B1 (B2) levels in Dutch in Flanders e.g. to get a position in secondary schools or university colleges.
It is usually easier to apply in a private school, a European school or an international school:
European School, Brussels I (Uccle): www.eeb1.com
European School, Brussels II: www.eeb2.be
European School, Brussels III (Ixelles): www.eeb3.eu
European School, Brussels IV: www.eeb4.be
European School, Mol: www.esmol.be/en
International schools in Brussels
International schools in Belgium
If I’m a non-EU citizen, what do I need to do to be able to teach in Belgium?
Your degrees (Bachelors/Masters) are not immediately recognised in Belgium. If your degree is from a university within the European Union, it is recognized. So, if you want to teach in Belgium, you need to first think about having your degree recognised by the community in which you will live. If you plan to live in the north (Flanders), then the Flemish Ministry of Education needs to recognize your degree; if you plan to live in the south (Wallonia), then the Wallon Ministry of Education needs to recognize your degree. If one community recognises your degree, there is no guarantee that the other community will. You can check NARIC website, where you can find information about qualifications and their equivalents in different countries. There you will find also more information about teaching in the different regions in Belgium.
The other option is come to the country – with the appropriate visa – and attend an evening program that ends in your receiving a ‘Belgian (Flemish or Wallon)’ degree in education at the appropriate level (primary, secondary). The programs are offered only in the language of your community though (Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia). This takes a few years to complete.
The third option is to teach in a private language school. Some private schools – especially in the Brussels area – will be happy with a CELTA and/or a DELTA certificate. Most of these schools require you to be an independent freelancer. There are specific laws governing independents in Belgium. You should be able to find more information on a Belgian government website.
In addition, there is a language requirement. In Flanders, you need a B1 level of Dutch (according to the CEFR) to teach in a secondary school and you need a B2 level of Dutch to teach in a college or university. Nowadays, this level in indicated in the job qualifications and usually a college or university will not interview you with this level of Dutch.
Do many tools, teaching material exist to support you in class to teach business English?
Yes, Business English is VERY popular. All the publishers have lots and lots of material on BE, but you needn’t even look that far. There is plenty of BE teaching material to find online. You can also find lots of interesting Facebook pages and groups like the BESIG page.
To teach business English do you need to have specialized knowledge/vocabulary for certain professional sectors e.g. law, medical, trade, marketing…?
You need to be flexible, need to be able to adapt. There is lots of material out there that you can use to get started with all of the different areas. English for specific purposes covers law, medicine, business,…all sorts really. There are even books for nursing, tourism, aviation, cabin crew, logistics, human resources,… All the typical ‘skills’ are also represented in books: meetings, presenting, telephoning, negotiation, emailing, correspondence,…
What type of salary could I expect starting out if I wanted to teach in Brussels?
This depends on the number of hours you want to teach, the school, your experience, etc. If you teach in the public system, your salary will be around €1500 per month. This is without seniority or a teaching degree.
Do teaching schools offer additional benefits such as meal tickets, contribution to transport,…?
That depends on the school and I would hazard to guess your negotiating skills. The government refunds public transport and offers stability in terms of pension and salary.
If you have more questions, check the comments below. The answer may be there, but sometimes it is difficult for us to answer your questions as we simply do not know what might be the right answer in your specific cases. Here are a few additional websites that might help.
Living and working in Belgium (VDAB)
Work in Belgium: finding a job (Expatica)
NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre)
Very specific websites about teaching in Wallonia/ Brussels (French-speaking) and Flanders (Dutch-speaking) do not exist in English.