by Charles Domingue

Created on: September 19, 2010

Because I have been living in Spain since 2000, mostly working as a teacher of English as a foreign language, people often ask me about how to become a 'maestro de inglés' here. Some are interested in doing this as a career, or a career change, while others are thinking about doing it as a way to support themselves while living in Spain for a year or two. Of course, many of the questions I get are from fellow North Americans, and often included are inquiries about the process for work permits. Below is a summary of the information I believe it is important to know about teaching English in Spain.

First of all, teaching English is work - and not easy work either - and it requires at least some basic training. I mention this because I constantly come across people who think that simply because they are native speakers they should be able to get jobs teaching English in a foreign country, and that all they will have to do is talk with people. In reality, one must learn not only how to plan lessons, control classrooms, and how to actually teach the language, one must also be familiar with the rules of English: grammar, spelling, style and usage. While there are some so-called "schools" that will hire people with no training, they usually aren't the most reputable, nor the best paying ones - and I feel sorry for their students. One exception to this may be schools that hire untrained people and then provide some sort of on-the-job training. I don't believe there are very many opportunities like that in Spain.

The point is, as with any profession, it is important to get the proper education. If your aim is to teach in a public / private school or university, then you need to get a university degree and the proper certification that will allow you to do that. If you have a university degree in some other field, and are interested in teaching in a language academy (called "academia de idiomas" in Spanish), or for a language training consultancy (which sends teachers into businesses to teach employees on-site), then there are many good short-term TEFL / TESOL / TESL certificate courses that provide training to prepare you for an entry level position in one of these types of schools. These training courses are very intensive and usually run over a 4 to 6 week period.

Some of the best courses are the Trinity TESOL, the CELTA TESOL, and the the SIT TESOL. These are offered in locations across the globe. While some people take their certification course in an

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