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Joachim
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Posts: 311
Location: Brighton, UK
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 Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 10:30 am Post subject: Spain Newbie! |
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Apologies if this has been done to death on this board, but I was wondering if somebody could confirm a few rumours for me:
1) There are far more ESL teachers in Spain than there are jobs
2) The pay is pretty low down the scale - sometimes less than 1000 Euros per month
3) Job hunting tends to take months
And also answer me a few questions:
1) If you are an EU citizen, do you still need a special visa?
2) What qualifications are generally requiredto teach English in Spain?
3) Is it worthwhile?, have you had positive experiences?
Many thanks in advance |
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Hector_Lector
Joined: 20 Apr 2004
Posts: 548
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| Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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There are thousands of English speakers here who call themselves �teachers� but who have no qualifications or experience. They do nothing to help. As a result, salaries are low, and no-one regards it as being a serious profession.
Students do not expect to learn English, as most of them have had the unfortunate experience of having a foreign person as a so-called teacher.
If you know what you are doing, fine. If not, why not learn what teaching actually is all about? |
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SEndrigo
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Posts: 437
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| Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 3:07 am Post subject: Re: Spain Newbie! |
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| Joachim wrote: |
1) There are far more ESL teachers in Spain than there are jobs
2) The pay is pretty low down the scale - sometimes less than 1000 Euros per month
3) Job hunting tends to take months |
Hi, here are some answers for you:
1. This is irrelevant, since there are plenty of jobs to go around, especially in Madrid. I never met a teacher who had problems finding work.
2. True - Pay is on the low end, but this depends on whether you work at a good school or not, and whether you teach any private lessons on the side. But yes, salaries are lower than most other countries.
3. False - In Madrid, you can find jobs within a few days, or at the most a few weeks. Since employers in Spain hire in person, and almost never from a distance, if you knock on many doors, the odds are in your favour.
I personally found jobs within a few days, but that's just me.
| Joachim wrote: |
1) If you are an EU citizen, do you still need a special visa?
2) What qualifications are generally requiredto teach English in Spain?
3) Is it worthwhile?, have you had positive experiences?
Many thanks in advance |
1. No you do not need a special visa if you are an EU citizen
2. Depends on the school. Some require TEFL, some require nothing at all.
3. Absolutely, yes. But it depends on what you're looking for out of life....don't expect to earn a lot of money. For most people, teaching in Spain won't be a long term career. But if you're young and want a new experience, Spain is a great place to start. |
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Joachim
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Posts: 311
Location: Brighton, UK
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| Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 2:00 am Post subject: |
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Thanks very much for your responses, it has cleared a lot of stuff up for me. I have been teaching in Asia for almost three years now, and when my contract is up I would really like to teach closer to home, and it would be great to practice my Spanish as well.
And we get the rogue TEFL-ers with no qualifications, experience or professionalism out this way too.... |
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Mouse
Joined: 24 Dec 2003
Posts: 208
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| Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 2:24 pm Post subject: Re: Spain Newbie! |
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| Joachim wrote: |
| 1) There are far more ESL teachers in Spain than there are jobs |
Not in my experience.
| Joachim wrote: |
| 2) The pay is pretty low down the scale - sometimes less than 1000 Euros per month |
I'd say often less than 1000 Euros a month, especially after tax, and especially out of Madrid.
| Joachim wrote: |
| 3) Job hunting tends to take months |
Again, not in my experience (says the king of anecdotal evidence).
| Joachim wrote: |
| 4) If you are an EU citizen, do you still need a special visa? |
No.
| Joachim wrote: |
| 5) What qualifications are generally required to teach English in Spain? |
Qualifications? What are they? This depends on the desperation of the institute in question, but I'd say that a CELTA (or whatever) is a reasonably standard requirement.
| Joachim wrote: |
| 6) Is it worthwhile? have you had positive experiences? |
While I'm not an ardent Spain lover who sees this as the best place on earth to live, teach and enjoy life, I'd go so far as to say that I'm generally happy here and that there are positive experiences to be had.
I don't think I've said anything that Sendrigo hasn't already said, upon reflection, but should I delete my post or just... submit it. |
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SEndrigo
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Posts: 437
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| Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Joachim wrote: |
Thanks very much for your responses, it has cleared a lot of stuff up for me. I have been teaching in Asia for almost three years now, and when my contract is up I would really like to teach closer to home, and it would be great to practice my Spanish as well.
And we get the rogue TEFL-ers with no qualifications, experience or professionalism out this way too.... |
I'm sure Spain will be a big change for you, coming from Asia...
I had heard however that you get less rogues (or backpackers, as I like to call them) in Asia...perhaps this is not true then?
I've no idea what Hong Kong or Bangkok are like, but if you like the party culture, you'll have a good time in Spain. |
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Joachim
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Posts: 311
Location: Brighton, UK
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| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 3:11 am Post subject: |
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Hong Kong is stress stress stress work work work, while Bangkok is a lot more happy and fun.
Needless to say which I preferred! |
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gsbcn08080
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 73
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| Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:48 am Post subject: |
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Don't expect Spanish children to be as well behaved as Asian ones.
I've met a few teachers that could manage children in Asia but not in Spain . |
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