Job Discussion Forums

paula83 · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 9 Location: USA

I am completing my TESOL cert. course this month and am interested in a few countries to teach for 6 months - a year. I am considering Mexico because then I can learn Spanish and also gain teaching experience.

Does anyone have good recommendations of schools where they have had good, positive experiences?

Salary?

The jobs I have found so far are stating $3.00/hr. Is this average for teaching in Mexico?

Is previous experience teaching required or will my B.A. waive that for me?

Thank you in advance.

MO39 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 1:12 am Post subject:

Where in the world (I mean in Mexico, of course) did you find a school that was paying only $3.00 an hour? Shocked

I would say that for on-site classes, the minimum should be 50 to 70 pesos an hour, with higher salaries being offered for business and private classes which involve traveling around the city you're living in.

sweeney66 · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 147 Location: "home"

Many "patito" schools do pay their local teachers 30. I know this because some of my students are high school English teachers and place in lower intermediate level where I teach. I don't know how they live on that. 120-150 is normal for a "classy" elementary or high school or a language school. I bet the schools offering 30 would be shocked if a native speaker applied!

MO39 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 3:30 am Post subject:

In Mexico City, language institutes offer around 120 to 170 pesos an hour for company and private classes, which require you to travel about the city. They pay less for classes given on the school's premises.

El Gallo · Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 318

Check out the reputation of a private school you are referred to through your own investigation. Some TEFL companies get a commission for referring teachers to a school so there could be a conflict of interest. Some private schools are not a pleasant experience for foreign teachers.

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

MO39 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:05 pm Post subject:

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

I take your point, but I think it isn't a matter of being paid more for company classes, rather being paid less for in-house classes, if that makes sense! I understand that schools charge less for these classes to the client, but I think the difference has to be absorbed in the pricing and pay structure. If a teacher is worth, say, $150 ph, I think it is an insult to that same teacher to be told that he is only worth $70 for another class. Imagine you have been travelling all day giving classes and your last one is in the school. You are tired and you don't feel too motivated, and then you tell yourself that you are going to be doing this one at half the rate of your true worth!

MO39 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:30 pm Post subject:

notamiss · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:36 pm Post subject:

No personal experience in this area, but others have said that the time and concentration required to teach English leaves little time for learning Spanish. In other words, don't count on being able to learn Spanish and teach English at the same time.

Opinions from those who've been there? Some of the forum members here learned all their Spanish since arriving in Mexico to teach English... how was it for you?

MO39 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:58 pm Post subject:

If you arrive in Mexico with zero or very low-level Spanish, then teaching English will interfere with learning Spanish for at least two reasons. One is what notamiss mentions, that teaching will take up most of your time and energy, especially if you're a novice, as the OP will be. Another thing to consider is that you'll be speaking English most of the day, to your students, to other teachers, so your chances of really immersing yourself in Spanish are greatly diminished.

dixie · Joined: 23 Apr 2006 Posts: 644 Location: D.F

I am a prime example of low Spanish abilities, despite living here for two year. I teach/work in English all day, then go home and speak English. Hanging out with other foreigners, or with Mexicans who speak English is a great way to improve your English, but not your Spanish. Currently I am taking a Spanish course, and I am also making more of an effort with my Mexican (English speaking) friends to speak in Spanish.

Also, don�t allow Mexicans to use you for free English practice. Even if you meet someone on the street, and they know a little English, try to speak to them in Spanish.

It can be surprising how easy it is to not speak Spanish. You really do need to make the effort, daily.

MO39 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:20 pm Post subject:

Dixie, thanks for sharing your experiences. Everything you've said is oh so true. I had a different experience from yours. The first time I came to Mexico, it was to take summer courses at the UNAM, not to teach English, so I was able to improve my speaking and listening skills a lot over the course of the summer. I was a Spanish major in college, but that was back in the Dark Ages of foreign language teaching - and learning - so I arrived with lots of grammar and vocabulary in my head and could read Spanish and Latin Amercan literature and even write papers on it, but couldn't ask where the bathroom was in a restaurant! Though I did hang out with other foreign (and English-speaking) students, I lived with a Mexican family and spoke only Spanish with them. I also made a few Mexican friends, and, luckily, none of them wanted to practice their English with me, since they were busy learning French.

dixie · Joined: 23 Apr 2006 Posts: 644 Location: D.F

guatetaliana · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject:

Ditto to what the other posters have said about learning Spanish.

You find that as an English teacher, not only are you spending so much of your day teaching English, but then you also become extra aware of your need to master it in all its grammatical and orthographic glory. Suddenly English owns you.

My husband and I arrived to Mexico already fluent in Spanish since childhood, but we realize that since arriving to teach in Mexico, we speak less of it than we ever did anywhere else. Now it's all we use with each other, and even with the dog! Kind of scary.

The same for friends teaching English in other countries. Several friends of mine teach in Spain and Italy. They arrived two years ago with little knowledge of the local language, and to this day, still struggle. They complain of purposely rooming with Spaniards/Italians to learn the language, only to find themselves becoming unpaid resident English teachers!

Starting as a Spanish-language beginner in Mexico would probably be exhausting if you intend to pick up the language. However, if you come with a conversational level of Spanish, being in Mexico would probably serve to polish your Spanish through immersion and daily interaction.