Job Discussion Forums

[junan]

Hiya

I'm looking for EFL work in Madrid (pref) or Barcelona, adults only. I've done tons of searching on the internet etc...but though I'm finding the odd school advertising, I'm unsure as to how good they are.

I've taught in both Italy and outside of Barca...but that was several years ago and I imagine things have changed somewhat since.

Does anyone have any recommendations for schools? Or ones to avoid? I'm sure this has been discussed before, but it's a ballache to trawl through a ton of threads...so here's your chance to big up your employers...

Thanks for your help in advance

Jo

[sheikh radlinrol]

What on earth does ''big up'' mean? What's the opposite?
Big down???

[workingnomad]

Sounds like some whooping Americanism.

[Moore]

To be honest they're all pretty similar (similarly pretty cr*p to be honest). All the schools here are in such an incredibly competitive market that even if they wish to improve conditions for their teachers they would take a massive hit in their already rather slim profit margins.

You do not get paid holidays, public holidays, nor over summer when there is no work (there are some companies who claim to pay you over Easter and Christmas, but when you work out the hours you do and the rates of pay they pay over the year it works out slightly less than if you were paid a better hourly wage and just saved up a bit every month), but nobody pays over summer here.

Some schools do however make a commendable effort in at least trying to give their workers some sort of extra benefits with frequent office parties, some sort of training, and decent teacher support, but it is not a patch on anything you would find in Asia or Northern Europe.

The best strategy is to apply to as many schools as possible and look for the best offers in terms of hourly rates and as little travelling time as possible. Supplement your income with private students and try to build up a "round" of reliable students at a decent hourly rate by word of mouth.

At the end of the day, teaching in Spain is not about the quality of your job and salary, but of your quality of life: this is a great country, sunny, peaceful and friendly, and the students are talkative and very nice people.

In terms of concrete advice about schools, the best method is to hang out with teachers at expat hangouts when you get here (for example "J and Js" and "Bacchus" English bookshop/bars) and ask people about their schools.

It's very difficult to recommend any particular school though, because, as I said, none of them are really that good: it's just a question of finding the least worst!