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?

[Joeys ESL Room]

This is a concern that a lot of people have. Teaching kids is a lot easier than teaching adults so it can be picked up in a shorter period of time. The trick to teaching kids is more about getting and keeping their attention, as opposed to adults where the trick is to make them try and retain what you teach them (their biggest complaint is not learning fast enough).

As for not knowing the language -this is a good thing. If the students know that you can speak or even understand their language, they will fall back on it anytime they experience difficulty in the classroom - this is what you want to avoid. Even after you pick up a little bit of the lanugage after you are there, don't let on that you know it or you will find yourself with a Spanish-speaking English class!

[sistaray]

yes

[jonniboy]

[naturegirl321]

MOst places prefer that you only speak English. So if you don-t speak Spanish, don-t worry. If you teach kids, go for the younger ones, like kindergarten. They pick up the language quickly. Just remember to change activities quickly and you shouldn-t mind making a fool of yourself. Just have fun.