Teaching English in the UAE: Qualifications, Opportunities, and Cultural Experiences

The UAE is a politically and economically stable country and is ranked 25th in the world according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index for 2019. By the analysis from the Layboard, the country’s soft policies have earned the UAE first place in the global Passport Power Ranking. In addition, the UAE stands out as one of the 10 largest donor countries in terms of official development assistance (ODA). The UAE, being a tolerant country, welcomes representatives of more than 200 nationalities who do business, live, study, and travel in the UAE.

The official language in the UAE is Arabic, but residents actively communicate in English. National mobile applications, documents, signs, road signs, etc. are also duplicated in English. So for local people, it’s very important to learn English. That’s why teaching jobs in Dubai are so popular.

UAE universities have been attracting students from all over the world for a long time. Modern methods, techniques, and approaches to teaching determine the best student outcome, taking into account the learning environment, motivation, and ultimate goal. Their use mostly creates a successful mix for each specific course. 

There are several types of universities in this country: public (only for UAE citizens), private (some of them only for citizens), and international universities. It is the latter that are engaged in free teaching. They have ties with many universities in other countries, so they develop many programs for foreigners. Arabic is the official language in the UAE, but education is provided in English. 

Students take international exams FCE, IELTS, and study at prestigious universities around the world (Switzerland, Canada, Britain, and Germany). Students receive Cambridge ESOL International Certificates after passing the exams. The results are evaluated by British experts at the Cambridge ESOL Examination Center. These exams are taken by European students.

You can get a job in the UAE with an international TESOL diploma. The salaries of English teachers in the UAE are very generous. In Abu Dhabi, it can reach up to $6000/month, and it’s tax-free! However, not everyone will be able to withstand the psychological stress. You need to be energetic and psychologically stable to cope with Arab students. The teacher’s personality plays a very important role in learning. They should not only teach the material well. The teacher is a support for students, and everyone wants to get a piece of individual attention.

Education in the UAE has several advantages:

  • High level of teaching
  • One of the best places to live in the world
  • Opportunity for further employment
  • Multicultural environment
  • A unique experience
  • Ease of obtaining a student visa
  • Opportunities for tourism and outdoor activities.

Where can you work as a teacher?

Language schools in the UAE offer the following types of courses. Basic foreign language courses helps to master the skills you need to communicate in everyday life. Upon completion of the course, people will overcome the language barrier and be able to communicate easily in a foreign language, both orally and in writing.

Individual language courses allows to learn an extensive program in a short time. No matter what the initial level of knowledge is, the teacher will create a personalized language course for you.

Specialized language courses abroad offer an in-depth program. Participants can choose a specialization that interests them and learn professional vocabulary and terminology abroad. This will help them work with foreign colleagues and partners.

The intensive course consists of a rich curriculum that allows them to get the most useful information in a short time and quickly improve their language skills.

The Family Language Course is suitable for those who want to travel with their families and combine leisure with learning. Parents and children study in different groups, which are divided by the level of knowledge and age. After classes, the family attends school events and excursions together.

Requirements for the teachers 

The teacher’s language in the classroom has to meet many requirements, and first of all, it has to meet the educational functions that are the purpose of language use. These functions are many and varied: for example, explaining or giving instructions. For each learning function, there are different exponents (language samples). The choice of exponents depends on the learning context and purpose, the learner’s needs, age, and language proficiency level. When we use language according to the situation, we can say that we are doing it correctly.

Here are some of the functions and exponents of teacher language:

  • Getting learners’ attention. This function is important at different stages of the lesson, for example, at the beginning of a task – the teacher wants some students to do the task and others to listen. You may want students to look at the board, or you may want them to complete a task. Exhibits for this function are usually short, and teachers usually choose their statements to draw attention.
  • Instructing. The teacher gives instructions to the students during all stages of learning: before they start, during the performance (the instructions at this point must be non-linguistic: how to stand, where to look, and who to turn to), and at the end as a reminder. Instructions are usually spoken in the imperative mood – even with higher level and older students, but they should be polite – you can use “Please,…/Shall you…/Can you please…/etc.”.
  • Modeling. The teacher provides a clear model of the desired form of speech. When we model orally, it is important to say exactly what we want the students to say in the way the teacher says it. We also provide written models, for example, on the board so that students can see them when they are doing the task.
  • Encouraging. Sometimes students lack confidence and are shy about answering in front of the class. We can support them by using exhibits that promote a positive perception of how they are doing and can reduce anxiety. Sometimes we can tell them what to do next.
  • Nominating a student. We choose who we want to call on to answer or complete a task. We call on students by name for many reasons: to get their attention, to have different students respond, and to make them feel more comfortable.
  • Prompting. To avoid long pauses in the task, we can encourage the student to continue the activity. We help them think of an idea or recall a word, phrase, or action. This can sometimes feel like encouragement. By prompting, we offer words, phrases, ideas, or even time to help the student continue or recall. This means that we sometimes leave our sentences unfinished so that the student can finish them for us. We can also elicit what the learner needs to say by doing so.