Job Discussion Forums

DC · Joined: 03 Jul 2003 Posts: 2 Location: Richmond,VA

I'm an American interested in teaching EFL in a Spanish-speaking country. At this point, I'm not sure of whether I should go to Spain or the Americas, so I'm hoping someone out there has grappled with this and could lend some insight.

I'm leaning toward Spain because I've spent some time there before (one summer) and wouldn't be totally overwhelmed culturally. This would be my first TEFL experience.

I'd also like to start by taking a TEFL course, rather than dive into working, so that I'll be better prepared and qualified. Spain seems to offer a much better selection of bona fide courses.

On the other hand, it would be much easier to work legally in LA, given the EU restrictions. And although I'm a bit squeamish on unstable governments/economies, it might be more beneficial to try something different.

My question for those in Spain is: Did you choose Spain over LA, even at the risk of eventually having to work illegally, because of the scarcity of good cert. courses in Latin America?

And for those in Latin America, did you find good training there, or were you forced to do it somewhere else or forgo it? If you considered going to Spain, were you deterred by the EU restrictions?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

DC

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Well,
You can't work legally in Spain without a EU passport, so many places won't hire you. There's too much red tape and people follow the laws.

You probably will end up working illegally in Latin America, but most people do that and there aren't any problems. It's more laid back.

You probably don't need a TEFL Cert to work in LA. You can get by with just being a native speaker.

Panama and Costa Rica are pretty stable, so is Mexico. But in Mexico you've got to get your degrees and other documnets apositlized.

Brasil is stable too, but it's not a Spanish speaking country.

PanamaTeacher · Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 278 Location: Panama

DC

At first your question seemed strange until I remembered that I thought 3d world meant universally poor. In almost every Lat Am country there is a part of the population that is way rich and in every major city there are really nice areas. So there are all types of amenities for those rich folks (luxury cars, apts, restaurants, english programs). So if you have money you can find a good esl training program. There is even a branch of Florida State University here in Panama.

I lived in Europe for two years and I loved it; there is no comparison in terms of quality of life: Europe is better. But as Nature Girl points out they got red tape up the a**.

I'm tired so this is all I'll say for now.

Adios Smile

MELEE · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 8:01 pm Post subject:

PanamaTeacher · Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 278 Location: Panama

melee I agree with you

I read dc's post and he seemed concerned with stability, culture, quality of schools, etc. So from that point of view I'd say Spain

I spent two incredible weeks in Cabo San Lucas and I used to go to mexico all the time (I love mexican girls). Mejico me encanta, andale. But some folks are not into roughing it, and Lat am can be rough.

u sound like u r set, so yeah for u all is groovy

but I must say that I love the ambience of europe, the way people are cool (the average mexican is not, in my opinion), the beauty of the cities, the feeling of history all around you, the jazz bars, wine, beer, food, museums, and all that stuff

I would say mexico is a departure from real life and europe is connecting to the orgins of western thought

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I haven't been to Spain or Europe for that matter, so I'll make an uneducated point and pick Latin America.

To me, Spain would be just too much like any other 'civilized country' (ahem). Boring.

Latin America is for the adventurous. If you can't get away from TV, your lattes, and all the trappings of life that make Westerners some of the fattest people on earth, then, no, Latin America is not for you.

PanamaTeacher · Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 278 Location: Panama

True.
Lat Am is adventurous, that's why I live here.
But if I had kids, I wouldn't raise 'em here.
What about you Guy?

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

There's a good point that a lot of us forget.

I don't have children yet (but working on it, eh?). Certain areas of Mexico, I would not want to raise my children, such as Mexico City. Acapulco is turning out pretty good and I think I could get all I need here for raising kids. It does require that you earn more than your average teacher though.

MELEE · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2003 5:14 pm Post subject: Being a kid

I'm getting married in 1 month Surprised

(to a Mexican) and we hope to have children. I would definately have them here. There is still a sense of being a kid. And my community is extremly safe. I know there will be tension between me and my ideas and my husbands family and their ideas. (You should have heard the conversation we had about them wanting to arrange to ask for my hand!) But I'm in love so it all seems like it would be worth it. We have 3 other teachers who have their kids here, but they are also products of mixed couples. The only "All American" kid we've had was 14 and homeschooled by his dad who was a stay at home dad.

They thing I'm most enthusiatic about concerning having a baby here is that I've come to know that you don't need all that baby stuff you see young couples charting around in the US. I don't think I could afford to have a baby in the US--What with the medical costs AND buying all that stuff.