Everything Spain Magazine 09/2004


Teacher's Pet

Words by Christopher Nye, pictures by Pictures Colour Library and Cactus Language.
Article reproduced courtesy of Everything Spain Magazine.

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Thinking of moving to Spain? Then a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification could be very useful to you whether you use it as your main income, as a pension-booster or as a way of meeting Spaniards. Here's how...

For those who remember ITV sitcoms of the 1970s, Mind Your Language was a particular highlight. It featured a bright-as-a-button young fellow named Jeremy Brown instructing a disparate bunch of racial stereotypes in the ways of English language and customs, while scary college principal Miss Courtney kept catching him in embarrassing situations with the attractive Swedish pupil. Ho ho. Although dismissed as too politically incorrect for the UK those days, repeats of the show are still popular abroad, and a particular favourite of President Arap Moi of Kenya, apparently. More pertinently, Mind Your Language is also the abiding impression that many of us have about the job of an English language teacher.

TEFL is such a huge business because of the attractions of the arrangement from all sides. So many people want to learn English that the market is huge. We shouldn't be overly flattered by that; it is the language of America, Australia, international travel and globalisation just as much as the language of Shakespeare, but from the teacher's point of view, the benefits are enormous. The job provides a ready way of breaking into another culture with the minimum of risk. The great barrier to getting a job abroad, not speaking the local language, now becomes a selling point as pupils are guaranteed to be totally immersed in English, since it is the language that the teacher speaks!

For some, TEFL is a gap year opportunity, for others a career break, for others, a full-time occupation. Increasingly though, as so many British head south to Spain, either to set up new lives or to retire, it is an option being considered by people as a way of either earning a living or supplementing a pension. Says Richard Bradford, head of teacher training at leading TEFL institution, Cactus Language, based in Brighton: "The qualifications to teach English are used by recent graduates, career-hoppers and people at (pre-)retirement age as a means of carving out a new life."

Spain is by far the most popular venue for his UK clients, he adds: "Many choose to take the qualification itself in Spain. We send trainees to Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca and Cadiz to follow an intensive four-week course, before sourcing work locally. Many supplement the course with a couple of weeks of Spanish too, just to help them integrate and give them a couple of weeks' post-course transition time, where they can stay in with a Spanish host family and brush up their Spanish whilst securing that first TEFL job."

For the older generation, the benefits of teaching English are obvious; it's certainly quieter than bartending on the Barcelona club scene and more sedate than waitressing in Magaluf. Moreover, age can be viewed as a sign of patience, wisdom, stability and maturity, especially in a country like Spain which respects its older citizens more than we do in the UK. Says Bradford: "The over forties may well be looking to use the qualification to teach on a part-time basis, or simply to ensure they have the opportunity to meet Spaniards whilst living there, and not falling into the trap of only getting to know fellow expatriates."

The intensity of the course can be a struggle for those unused to studying, but reports from colleges suggest that older student teachers prepare better, take it all much more seriously, and actually read the reading list before starting the course! Older teachers can also offer the benefit of a career before teaching, enabling them to specialise in, for example, business, law or finance.

Whatever the field, the job opportunities are excellent and the training short. There are several options for courses to qualify as a TEFL teacher (also known as TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, or ESL - English as a Second Language). The most widely recognised qualifications are the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (Cambridge CELTA) and the Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Trinity Cert TESOL). Both of these require about 120 hours' classroom time, plus an awful lot of home study and teaching practice preparation time. They can be done full-time over four weeks, or part time. Many colleges also offer the option of distance learning, though these omit the all-important teaching practice element and may not be recognised by potential employers.

So how much does it cost to train up as a TEFL teacher? Price variations can be affected by location, the prestige value of the school, or you may be able to grab a late-cancellation deal. Cactus Languages organise entry to courses throughout the UK. They charge £835 for the four-week full-time Cambridge CELTA course at their college in Brighton.

International House London is the headquarter of the International Organisation, a network of over 120 schools in 38 countries and they charge £1,110 in central London, and £1,320 for the part-time option. You could also do the course abroad, for roughly the same fee, plus your living expenses. The Cactus course in Madrid costs £880, but they help to arrange accommodation, and in a shared house you would expect to pay a further £235 for the month.

So what kind of qualities are schools teaching TEFL looking for in a prospective teacher? Normal entry qualifications are the same as for a degree, ie a couple of A-levels, though they needn't necessarily be in languages. In reality, much lower qualifications may be acceptable so long as applicants can demonstrate firstly the ability and commitment to complete the course, and secondly, the qualities required of a great teacher.

According to Bradford: "Technically, anyone with a native level of English can become a TEFL teacher. Having an empathy with your students and a real understanding of English are important. When you apply to take a course, you might be asked to explain the difference between the words 'meaning' and 'significance' or between the phrases 'She reads The Telegraph' and 'She is reading The Telegraph'. The job also requires a fair amount of dynamism, although seeing your students progress is in itself a rewarding experience."

Once on the course, the workload can be a shock. Student teachers can expect to work nine to five at the college, plus about three or four hours each evening, and weekends! The process should be fun though, says Richard Bradford: "Weekly teaching practice is underpinned with lively lectures, discussions, observation and activities, and covers skills areas such as language awareness (grammar), linguistics, phonetics, foreign language acquisition, teaching materials, classroom management and lesson planning." Exams are by continuous assessment, and around 95 per cent of students pass.

With the diploma safely passed, the world is your ostra (oyster). Most courses, and hence, most teaching positions, begin in September, but there are also summer schools from June, and the chance of replacing a teacher mid-term. Of course, there is no necessity to join a school, teachers can simply rent a flat in Spain, put some notices up in local shops or newspapers offering private tuition and off they go.

However nobody expects to get rich teaching English, but there are plenty of good jobs in Spain for those who like the freedom and flexibility that TEFL offers. A trawl through some of the many positions advertised on www.tefl.com reveals a basic wage of around £4 to £10 per hour, and teachers generally work a paid 25-hour week, leaving aside time for lesson planning. That makes £650 per month. Clearly, that's not very much, but living costs are much lower in Spain, and the minimum wage is only around £350 per month. The alternative of cutting out the middle man and offering private tuition means higher cash per hour, up to £20, but less reliability as pupils fail to turn up for lessons, or drift off mid-term.

So what kind of people are teaching? According to tefl.com's database of thousands of CVs, there is an even male:female split and an average age of 31 years. Most are from the UK. Spain is by far the most popular choice for teaching in, and 70 per cent of teachers are employed, many of the rest self-employed. Famous ex-TEFL teachers include JK Rowling who used to teach English in Portugal.

It's clear then that TEFL is a qualification well worth getting for anyone beginning a new life in Spain whether you just want a ready income, a way of boosting your pension or a way of staying busy and making friends. But do remember, if your pupil just can't grasp the difference between a modal auxiliary verb and their elbow, mind your language!

Read some real TEFL stories here:

:: Home thoughts from...

:: Madrid - Peter Stone

:: Palma de Mallorca - Fiona Thwaites

:: Cádiz - James Parker

Or read the section: Language matters - information on TEFL certificates.