TEACHING IN SPAIN: WHAT\'S IT REALLY LIKE?

TEACHING IN SPAIN: WHAT\'S IT REALLY LIKE?

27-05-2008

The most important consideration to take into account is that unemployment just doesn’t exist for teachers of English in Madrid.

The Demand for English

In Spain in general, demand for English continues to grow and this is more than substantiated by an investigation that was commissioned by the British Council which predicted that demand won’t peak until the year 2025.

With nearly 500 academies in Madrid and nearly 300 in Barcelona offering all types of work, teachers can get a full time contract within 2 days of landing. In fact the demand for English is outstripping the supply of teachers who are therefore in the very fortunate position of being able to choose which school to work for and even which classes they want to take.

Can any type of teacher get work in Spain?

Non E.U. teachers are able to find work although more and more schools are no longer hiring non-legals due to the increasingly heavy fines now imposed by the government.

Similarly, teachers without a TEFL qualification are also being accepted by some schools but this is very risky as more and more schools are refusing to lower standards despite the pressure of uncovered classes. If you don’t have a TEFL course you simply won’t get into the schools that take language teaching seriously and who often don’t the have teacher training and support systems in place you might be looking for.

As with everything, do your research and ask probing questions of the school or TEFL centre you are applying to. By far the best tactic is to ask for contacts of teachers who have already worked there before.

Lifestyle in Madrid

Unfortunately Madrid isn’t as cheap as it used to be, so you really need to come with a little bit of money to fall back for your first couple of months.
Most teachers share a flat and you can expect to pay around 400€ a month for this. An individual apartment will cost you around 650€ a month. Bear in mind that you often need to give one months rent as a deposit.

Salaries can vary enormously depending on how many hours you are teaching. Flexibility is a big advantage of TEFL teaching. In many schools which operate with hourly contracts you can teach as many or as few hours as you want. So you could earn from 1000-1200€ net to nearly 2000€ if you’re a more experienced teacher.

Madrid really is a city that never sleeps so if you like the bustle then living in the centre is definitely for you. You can do virtually anything at any time of the day, and although it’s a capital city it’s quite cosy as the distances are not great. You can also hop on a bus and be out in the country within 45 minutes as well

Public transport is very efficient and most importantly, very cheap. Eating out is getting more expensive but if you know where to go you can eat out very cheaply as well. Lunch is the most important meal of the day for the Spaniards and 3 course set meals called “un menu” with a WHOLE bottle of wine are available from 8.50€. Would you believe that in general, a glass of wine in a bar is still often cheaper than a coca cola!

And of course, what often swings it for most people is the weather. It really is nice to work in a country where summer is summer and a planned trip to the open air pool (of which there are hundreds in the centre of Madrid) will never be jeopardised by grey clouds.

In summary, if you are an E.U. qualified teacher thinking of moving to Madrid, work and sunshine is guaranteed and you are pretty well assured of a busy social life without necessarily having to spend a fortune.

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