For a long time, Spain is a beloved place for those foreigners who wish to move to warm countries. The Spanish Kingdom is particularly attractive for elderly persons, but beautiful weather year-round and excellent combination of price and quality of life attract an increasing amount of active ambitious young people from around the world.
The presence of a big international community in Spain entails a need for those who teach English in Spain. This is a pretty competitive type of labor activity, and although some dedication may be needed to get a job as an English teacher in Spain, but it will bear fruit to further your career.
Here we offer some ideas about your steps in searching job related to teaching English in Spain.
Let’s take a deeper look at teaching English in Spain.
If you are thinking about becoming an English teacher in this country, an important plus is that you don’t necessarily should have an academic degree. However, a high level of proficiency in English is not a sufficient condition. The basic requirements for teaching English in Spain are the following:
- The presence of a relevant teaching certificate (one or more): TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language), CELTA (Certificate in English Teaching to Adults) or TESOL (Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages) – all these are the most important documents confirming your qualifications. The price for courses and their duration can vary depending on an educational institution and its reputation. Online courses can be more affordable but it require more responsibility and perseverance.
- Visa and work permit: EU citizens will not need any permit to teach English in Spain. However, non-EU residents will be required a work visa to be employed.
- Knowledge of Spanish is useful: not a lot of people speak English fluently in Spain, unlike the Nordic countries. May be you will not face difficulties in big cities, but away from the resorts, your Spanish skills can be very useful.
- Using resources for finding jobs and internships in Spain: it is worth to explore the local labor exchange, internet resources offering jobs, or to take advice from Spanish friends.
Teaching English in Spain – in what institutions?
Teaching English in Spain opens up great opportunities: you can work in schools, courses, universities and, of course, give private lessons, including online ones.
Language schools
Language schools provide an excellent opportunity for stable and safe earnings. There are hundreds of such schools all over Spain, where students of different ages and nationalities are taught. Different levels (from elementary to advanced) are taught in these institutions teach at different times of the day. Since most vacancies do not provide for full-time work, you can explore the possibility of teaching at several language schools at different times. The drawback is that income here is not as high as in other teaching positions.
Private schools
You will have to meet a defined range of requirements: a confirmed language certificate, teaching experience, a confident possession of Spanish. In return, you will be offered a stable monthly income, a social package and paid vacation.
Of course, this is a prestigious job that requires a responsible approach and appropriate competencies.
International schools
In Spain, international schools are a more popular option than private ones. It is a great possibility for those who wish to teach English in Spain: such institutions are usually bilingual, which means that fluency in Spanish is not so important. The salary is also quite high, a group of learners is compact, and the atmosphere is usually pretty relaxed. But as a big proportion of students of international schools use English as their first language, there are fewer job opportunities and competition is high.
Universities
Now that Spanish universities offer more Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programmes in English, the demand for qualified English teachers in Spain has grown considerably. This is a perfect option with a decent salary and social coverage for those who have a sufficient teaching experience and relevant recognized qualifications.
Public schools
For Spanish public schools, it is typically to learn English from the initial stage, and the Spanish Ministry of Education willingly hires native English speakers to teach as language and culture assistants for Spanish learners. Moreover, assistants can be employed in primary or secondary schools to communicate with students in English. This is the profession that does not require a special teacher’s certificate. However, this income is not very high and you will need some knowledge of Spanish to get this job.
At the same time, many public schools in Spain offer good opportunities for English speaking assistants from all over the world who teaching English in Spain.
What is my income from teaching English in Spain?
It depends on several factors, such as the number of working hours, the region where you work, the type of educational institution where your work place is, previous experience and teaching level. If you teach English in Spain, you probably won’t make a fortune; however, you can certainly earn enough money to live comfortably.
As a rule, hourly rates for teaching English in Spain vary from 14 to 30 euros. Weekly schedules also may differ. A job as a language assistant in public schools takes about 12 hours weekly, and it can be about 25 hours a week in private schools. Language schools or courses and private lessons can be combined – that depends on your workload. This means that the monthly income can vary from 700 to 2,500 euros, but it usually ranges from 1,200 to 1,800 euros. The cost of living in Spain is quite acceptable, at present, it is about 16% lower than in the UK, so this should be enough to enjoy your life without any worries.
Remember that it is not only about hourly/monthly wages. You have to weigh all your costs and benefits. Unpayable expenses can include trips to students, educational materials, preparation of a training room, etc. Also bear in mind that although work under contract is usually paid less than hourly work, but the first option has benefits such as paid vacation and social guarantees in Spain.
It is also worth to figure out, there might be some free or inexpensive trainings, which you could get in your new position. Sometimes, large institutions offer in-house trainings for their employees, where they can improve current skills or get new ones.
How can I find a job as an English teacher in Spain?
The best method to find a job as an English teacher (or any other job) in Spain is to search the Internet. There are many sites for job search as well as online forums that you can refer to. If you already reside in Spain, you can search for a job in local Spanish resources – newspapers, recruitment agencies or social networks.
A few final tips for teaching English in Spain
If you have difficulty finding a job, for starters, you can try to become a volunteer or to get employment as an assistant. Some schools and academies offer part-time volunteer vacancies.
You can also try an «exchange» option – it’s when half of the conversation being in English and the other half in any other so as both parties are given a chance to practice their non-native language. This method is popular among Spanish youth, and this is also a good way to improve your practice in Spanish.
It should be remembered that students in Spain usually have a break of almost three months. This period can lead to a significant reduction of your income, so we also recommend you to take a vacation too or look for temporary work, for example, summer language camps.
