Teacher Karolina: How I started teaching in the Dominican Republic

Karolina is an English language teacher who moved from Poland to the Dominican Republic and launched a new career as an English language teacher. In this post, we explore how she did this, and what advice she has for others.

Teaching is something that I’ve always had a talent for! When I was in high school, I used to help my classmates with their homework. When I was at the university, I used to tutor high schoolers in math, English, and French. The idea to get into a teaching career came to me while I was working at a call center in the UK. I felt unfulfilled with my job and my life in general. I needed a change and I started looking into different possibilities. I’m an avid traveler and I’ve always wanted to have a job that would allow me to travel a lot. My goal was to find a career that would make me feel fulfilled and allow me to travel around the world. 

While doing my research, I stumbled upon a blog of an ESL teacher who wrote about her teaching experiences and travels. I realized that I could teach English as a foreign language in many countries around the world! So, I decided to pursue this career. 

I started by getting a TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) certificate. I spent a few months going through the training and learning as much as I could about teaching English as a foreign language. Once I got my certificate, I started looking for teaching opportunities around the world. .

Making the leap to the Dominican Republic 

While I was looking for teaching jobs and applying to many different schools around the world, I started thinking about my dream destination. I’ve been to the Caribbean a few times before and I’ve always wanted to live in Latin America. The reason why I decided to choose the Dominican Republic was that one of my best friends lives there. When I contacted him and told him about my plan to quit my job and get on a one-way plane ticket to his country, he offered to help me get settled. He also pointed me towards different language schools where I could potentially get hired as an ESL teacher. 

The first teaching job I found in the Dominican Republic was at the largest and most popular language school in the country, called Academia Europea. I started teaching English and French to teenagers and adults at all levels. It was my first in-class teaching experience and I fell in love with it! However, after a few months of teaching there, I decided to get a job as a teacher in high school, since it is better paid.

Having previous teaching experience that I gained at the language school helped me get a job at one of the most prestigious schools in Santo Domingo. I mentioned looking for a job at a high school to one of my adult students after class. It turned out that her cousin worked at a high school and had mentioned to her a few days earlier that they were looking for a teacher! She made the call and put me in touch with her cousin who passed my CV to the school principal. I got the job a few days later. 

How to find teaching jobs in the Dominican Republic 

If the idea of teaching in the Caribbean sounds appealing to you, here are a few tips to help you find a teaching job in the sunny Dominican Republic. 

Do you need a work visa to teach in the Dominican Republic?

This is one of the most frequent questions that I get from teachers wanting to teach in the Dominican Republic. 

Yes, in order to work in the Dominican Republic, you need a work visa. The school that chooses to hire you will usually help you with the necessary paperwork. To get your work visa, you will need the job contract as well as a few other documents. You will need to apply for your visa at the Dominican embassy or consulate in your country (or the one closest to it).

Once you get your visa, you will have 30 days after your arrival to the Dominican Republic to get your temporary residency card. This card allows you to live and work in the Dominican Republic for a year. If you wish to stay longer than that, you will need to extend it for another year before it expires. 

Language schools in the Dominican Republic

There are quite a few good language schools in the Dominican Republic that are likely to hire foreign English language teachers. Here are some good leads to look into:

Academia Europea: This is the biggest language school in the Dominican Republic. Apart from English, they also offer other language courses such as French, Italian or German. Most of their teachers are foreigners! (https://academiaeuropea.com/republicadominicana)

PES (Progressive English Services):This is another one of the popular English schools in the Dominican Republic. They focus solely on offering English classes to kids, teenagers, and adults and hire a lot of foreign or bilingual teachers. (http://www.pes.com.do/)

Instituto Cultural Dominico-Americano: This is a very professional and high-quality language school. It may be more difficult to get hired there, as they require more qualifications from their teachers than the other schools. (http://www.eldominico.edu.do)

However, please keep in mind that schools in the Dominican Republic prefer to hire face to face, so you should make sure that you’re fully prepared before reaching out to them.

Conclusion 

If you’re thinking about teaching in the Dominican Republic, there are many ways to find teaching jobs in this small, sunny country! Dominican Republic is a very undervalued and often overlooked ESL destination. However, it may be a perfect destination for you if you are a non-native English teacher with a TEFL or TESOL degree. Other benefits of living in this tiny Caribbean country are the costs of living and the laid-back lifestyle!

Living and teaching in the Dominican Republic is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. It has been an amazing experience which had taught me many new teaching skills. It has also helped me become the person that I am today.

Connect with Karolina on LinkedIn.