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Ask for help > Job opportunities for non-native English teachers in Spain
Job opportunities for non-native English teachers in Spain
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marta_marta
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Job opportunities for non-native English teachers in Spain
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Dear teachers from Spain,
I wonder how difficult it is for a non-native English teacher to find a job in Span. Is it possible? What qualifications does one need? I would be grateful if you could give me some tips?
Best regards,
Marta
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23 Jul 2010
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rosalia
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Dear Marta,
These are not good times in Spain. Unemployement is high, and I �m afraid you could only work in private schools or teaching English in what we call academies, which are well known for not paying very much. Anyway, there are many sites with tips and advice for foreigners teaching english in Spain.
Good luck.
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23 Jul 2010
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marta_marta
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I see. I �ld also like to know if schools employ non-native and not Spanish teachers. I guess it must be more difficult if you �re not British/American/Canadian, etc.
Thank you Rosalia for your answer.
Best regards,
Marta
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23 Jul 2010
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lshorton99
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Most decent academies in Spain don �t employ non-native speakers as full time teachers - sometimes they get work as substitutes or for tutoring but that �s about it. Although many non-natives are excellent teachers with a better grasp of the English language than us natives, most academies want to advertise that all their teachers are natives.
To work as a teacher in a Spanish school you need to have oposiciones - civil service exams. It �s very difficult for anyone who �s not Spanish to get a job teaching in a regular school - even native speakers generally don �t get those jobs unless they have passed those exams, which very few take.
To work in the private sector you would at least need a degree and TEFL qualification such as the CELTA. You might well also be asked for further qualifications in linguistics if you are a non-native, such as a masters.
British and Irish teachers have the most luck in Spain, working in the private sector. For other native speakers it can be difficult because of visa problems - most of my American/Canadian/Australia etc friends don �t work here legally. You have to be a member of the EU to get your residency and social security etc.
Sorry not to be more positive but to be honest, I suspect you would have a hard time finding work as an English teacher here in Spain.
Lindsey
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23 Jul 2010
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marta_marta
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Thank you so much Lindsey for your exhaustive reply.
In Poland the situation is pretty much the same. Although natives from all English-speaking countries are welcome. I think it �s unfair that non-native teachers are a bit underestimated. IMHO Polish teachers are very well educated and do their job as well as native speakers.
Have a nice weekend,
Marta
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23 Jul 2010
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lshorton99
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Marta
I totally agree with you. I �ve worked with good and bad native and non-native teachers. But this is a sad example of what I mean:
I have a Polish colleague who was contracted to work as a substitute for our company. The best substitute we �ve had, in my opinion. I �m sure you know as a teacher, that being off work sick can often be more stressful knowing that some idiot is going to cover your classes and do nothing but watch videos and play games. This woman was the perfect substitute - she did what you asked and she taught it well. In her second year with the company, a teacher was off for a few months. It was decided that my Polish colleague (lets call her �X �) would become the teacher for the whole year and the teacher was put on substitution when she eventually returned. X ended up teaching the classes for about seven months. At the end of the year we all have a review when we discuss our options for the next year. X wanted to be a teacher rather than a substitute and, despite having done the job for the best part of the year, was told she could only return to the company as a substitute.
My company is a nice company with good working conditions and an excellent reputation. It �s been the best job I �ve ever had. If it �s like that in a good, nice supportive company can you imagine what it �s like everywhere else?
You might have some luck with small academies who are desperate for staff but the pay won �t be great - barely enough to live, I imagine.
If anyone has examples of where this is not the case, i �d love to hear them but in Spain, in my experience, English teachers either have to be natives or Spanish in schools. A native English speaker with absolutely no qualifications or experience stands a better chance of getting a job teaching English than a non-native speaker with lots of qualifications and experience!
Lindsey
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23 Jul 2010
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dawnmain
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It depends on where you want to work and where you are from. I (English) have lived in Salamanca, Madrid city, in a village on the outskirts of Madrid and currently in Vigo. In the city it is more difficult for non-natives as there are lots of natives but in smaller towns it �s different. And I suspect the problem really is for Spanish teachers, Northern and eastern European teachers can get work if they look the part, I am working with a Swede now, blond hair, blue eyes, excellent English accent, no teaching qualifications and she hasn �t had any problems finding work over the past two years in Madrid, Valladolid and Vigo. In Vigo there arent a lot of native teachers so most language schools have to employ some Spanish people.
I think that if you are good you will find work. At lot of academies advertise jobs on internet. But wages are rubbish and hours are long. Most academy teachers have to work till 10pm when they first start, often starting at 8am. I make a good living self-employed.
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24 Jul 2010
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