Job Discussion Forums

[marcos s]

I have just got a CELTA and I have started to apply for jobs in Spain. Most of the ads on TEFL.com say something like: 'teaching children, teenagers and adults' - some mention kids as young as 3!
Do people have experiences of teaching primary kids with no prior experience - I can imagine there being lots of problems, especially since my spanish is minimal.
I would prefer to teach adults, but due to my lack of experience I think I may have to compromise and take a job which teaches all ages - or am I looking in the wrong place?

[spiral78]

The general wisdom is that it's best to do your job hunt in person, rather than long-distance.

While many people feel more secure having a job lined up before they travel, it can be much more practical to take the plunge and go on out.

The thing is that the job market in places like Spain is weighted in favor of the schools, there being a strong supply of newbie teachers who want work in these desirable locations. Because of this, it's very often (not 100%, but often) schools with less-than-sterling reputations locally that are advertising positions on the net.

In a case like yours, where you'd prefer to avoid teaching young children (you have my empathy, there), you are more likely to land something that will work well for you if you are there on the ground, CV in hand, speaking to the directors in person.

There's tons of work in Spain with businesspeople - you need not feel that you won't find work if you prefer not to teach tots.

One possible avenue to take is to line up short-term accomodation in the city of your choice. There are plenty of apartments for rent via internet - they are often located in touristy areas and are too expensive for long-term living, but for a couple of weeks to get you started, this can be a reasonable option.

Fly on over (it's not drastically expensive from the UK) and spend a couple of weeks finding something that will suit you.

[mdk]

There's a lot of difference between a 3 year old and a five year old.

3 year old's don't even know they speak Spanish yet, so if you have experience with a room full of them you may be able to make out OK.

Just out of curiousity, why would you go out to Spain without serviceable Spanish? I mean you would at least want to walk into a cafe and order a meal in the language and ask simple directions, I would think. Are things in England so desperate that you are willing to forego this?

I don't mean to be flippant (well, totally not ) but I have met a number of your countrymen in Europe teaching English who are almost totally innocent of the local language. I've also met Americans like that, but usually there was a woman involved then. Do they not have any jobs available in the UK while you hang out with Spaniards and polish up your Spanglish?

[spiral78]

Being a good EFL teacher is not predicated on one's knowledge of the first language of his/her students.

I have taught in the Czech Rep and Netherlands, where I DO speak the local language. However, I've also been an effective teacher in Russia, and Luxembourg, and have taught immigrants in Canada in classrooms where as many as 12 different mother tongues were represented.

This is the reality in a very substantial percentage of the EFL/ESL teaching world.

Some working knowledge of Spanish is a great advantage in terms of daily living, but you do not need it to be an effective teacher.

[sheikh radlinrol]

[mdk]

Wait a minute. Don't get me wrong. Sure you can do it. You can probably learn to ride a unicycle, but why would you want to when it is obviously easier to do it the other way.

As to having a Spanish wife, that's probably better than all the lessons you could have. That's how I pumped up my Russian as a matter of fact.

I didn't specifically refer to the issue of teaching ESL sans benefit of the local language. I have a great respect for the vociferous defense people who teach ESL without use of L1 put up - in Englishl.

I don't want to go there as the question is self-evident. People who believe that they can teach something like the third conditional better without use of L1 are welcome to walk across the water to some place else and leave me alone in my ignorance.

[spiral78]

mdk, if I recall, you said you taught EFL in Russia for six months, after obtaining a basic entry-level certification. Further, if I am correct, you wrote that the school that employed you was not a good fit for your ideas about teaching methods.

If I'm correct, your experience and qualifications are relatively limited in comparison to most regular posters on the forum, in terms of teaching approaches and methodologies.

In this case, perhaps you're not the most authoritative person to comment upon teaching methodologies.

I'd be happy to suggest a few relevant books, if you'd like to expand your working knowledge in the field. Lightbown and Spada, in particular, address the issues you're discussing in a very readable manner - and the book's relatively new, so you'll have the benefit of the body of research over the past ten years in the field, which has been extensive.

Brown, D. (1994) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Hall, D. and A. Hewings (2001) Innovation in English Language Teaching. New York, Routledge.
Lightbown, P. and N. Spada (2003) How Languages are Learned. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
McDonough, J. and C. Shaw (1993) Materials and Methods in ELT Malden, Ma: Blackwell
Richards, J. and T. Rodgers (2001) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Maybe others have favorite books they could recommend as well.

[sheikh radlinrol]

[sheikh radlinrol]