Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi, I was just wondering if there is anyone out there who can advise me on something. I want to do a tefl course to enable me to teach in spain, preferably barcelona. the problem is, i have little time as i'm in my 3rd year of university and a tesol course seems far too expensive (found one for £850). how easy would it be to go to spain and teach having no qualifications? i've heard of people doing this but don't know if it's REALLY feasible? or maybe there are other, cheaper courses out there that you have done? any help is good. cheers
james

You definitely need at least a bachelors. I don't know what the market is like in Spain, though I heard it is tough for Americans and many non-EU citizens to work there.

Check the Spain forum in the International Forums here on Dave's and you will find everything you need to know and some extra stuff too you probably could have saved lots of time reading but some guy was just ranting on and on about for no other reason than to just...

The person that answered previously about working in Europe as a whole is right. I have been in spain for a month and have found it almost impossible to find work. Don´t get me wrong there is tons of work available but most private language schools do not want to talk to you unless you have a work permit. In order to get a work permit you need to have a contract but you find yourself unable to do so without a work permit. It´s kind of dumb..... US citizens have it extremely hard. I have an M.A. , B.A., California Teaching credential and TESL/TEFL certification but still can´t find someone to give me work.

The ideal would be to get a contract prior to coming but that is almost impossible as well. I was job hunting while in California through some online newspapers but all they tell you is call us when you are here. You call them once in Spain and then they find out you have no work permit and all you get is a SORRY!....

I wish I had encouraging news for you but I don´t. Sorry

I'm not American and do have an EU passport...

Hi there,

I am a Canadian citizen who holds an EU passport and as such was able to legally work as an ESL Teacher in Barcelona. I did my CELTA course in September as I had previously learned that almost all hiring for new teachrs is done during this month, with all schools beginning new academic terms in October. All of Spain shuts down for August.

I did the CELTA course at IH Barcelona and it was absolutely necessary to be able to find any kind of "normal" or "decent" job. There are a lot of British teachers who are in Spain looking for work in a warmer, more laid-back atmosphere and, as such, there isn't a great demand for teachers on the whole, like there is in places like Korea, Taiwan or Japan.

This fact alone means that CELTA is a necessity. There are many different ESL teaching courses that you can take. However, some schools don't know what TESL or TOESL are and the teaching of these courses isn't too standardized. Everyone will recognize CELTA.

If you have CELTA, a university degree and an EU passport you can apply to any school in Barcelona. My recommendation is to "bite the bullet" and pay the cash for the CELTA course because it will enable you to work for "good" schools like International House and British Council and, as such, you can be assured of getting a contract, at least for part-time work.

I lived in downtown Barcelona and taught in an International House school in a Barcelona suburb called Mataro (30 min by train from downtown).

Spain in general, and Catalunya in particular, is still a fairly socialist country and therefore there are high taxes and employer contributions that need to be paid for ESL teachers on payroll. For this reason, if you are looking for work at some smaller, lesser-known schools you will probably not be offered a contract. No contract, no ability to open a bank account, sign a lease, get a mobile phone contract, etc...

There were a few Americans without EU passports that were in the CELTA course along with me and I have to say that it was really, really, really tough for them. They were relegated to taking private classes here and there, working at some dodgy schools, no contracts, etc...

One of the adminstrators at IH Barcelona gives a "jobs talk" at the end of the CELTA course and her "'advice" to Americans without an EU passport is basically, well...good luck!

If you get a decent grade in the CELTA, have an EU passport and a University degree and you don't show up during months when the school terms have already begun (ie: between the middle of October and end of December; middle of January to June) you can expect to find a job where they will offer you anything from 9 to 15 teaching hours "guaranteed" (this will be what goes on your contract) and the option for more hours once the schools know how many students are going to be registered for classes. For a 21 hour contract you should expect at least 900 euros per month.

If you have anything specific you'd like to ask you can e-mail me at [email protected] and I'd be happy to help.

In short: suck it up and do the CELTA, get your EU passport and bring a copy of your degree with you. Without any of these you will most-likely have a very frustrating time in Barcelona which is too bad, because it is a wonderful place.