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Its often questioned If Non-native ELT instructors or Teachers of English language to the speakers of other languages would have a satisfactory work-life in their field in Turkey or not?. Many teachers that have been working in Turkey as EFL teacher or have employment experience, contradict the mentioned Idea, whereas, some of non-native English speakers from middle east and northern African countries agree and consider Turkey to be the hub of ESL job opportunities for non-native English instructors. Although I consider Turkey to be a suitable destination for EFL teachers because of its vast opportunities hidden, many obstacles and struggles are to be faced to get selected for a job interview and recruited officially by employers. On one hand, being an Eurasian country situated in a very strategic region, connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, having bilateral agreements and business transactions with almost all countries in the region with huge population particularly youth and youngsters, Turkey can be counted as one of the best places to find employment opportunities specifically in the education sector. For instance, Ankara with a population of eight million, hosting more than 3 million students from different cities in Turkey and different countries of the world, studying in 6 governmental universities and many other private institutions, mostly in English and Turkish Languages, has a huge demand for Native and non-native English Instructors and teachers to teach and train students in different areas of EFL such as, IELTS and TOEFL preparation, (Hazirlık Atlama) proficiency preparation classes, Aviation English Exams preparation, General English, English for (YDS), (YOK DİL) Turkish governmental exams and so on. Moreover, many companies and organizations tend to hire Business English teachers to teach and train their staff and personnel in their place, since most of the white-collar employees in Turkey are not so familiar with the English language which can also be counted as one of the reasons making Turkey full of opportunities for English teachers. Moreover, documents required for teaching English in Turkey differ and vary depending on the area of working and operation, but having a bachelor degree is a must to get an official employment and work permit card. Work permit process and procedure takes approximately a month and its validity is generally for one year. On the other hand, bureaucracy, excessively complicated administrative procedures for recruitment, expenditures and legal procedures that are to be followed by employer plus health insurance which must be covered as well to hire and recruit a foreign employee, makes employers reluctant to hire and recruit a foreign EFL teacher with a proper salary. This situation puts non-native English teachers under pressure and makes them accept part-time employment with the minimum wage and maximum workload. Besides, due to the lack of proper contract and insurance, employers sometimes take advantage of and delay the payment of salaries or even reject and deceive teachers. All in all, despite being a center of EFL opportunities for Non-native teachers, working in Turkey has many drawbacks that can cause teachers to waste their time and lose their energy for nothing. However, if one is employed properly with a standard (Native Teacher) salary plus SGK insurance, he/she can make make a good life and gain valuable experience of working in both European and Asian environments. Thank you Ali Jaber Matin
