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How Easy is it to Teach English in Madrid?I was shocked and disturbed to read the Spain portion of an online article by Susan Griffith on TransitionsAbroad.com about teaching English in Europe. She claims that demand for English teachers in Spain "has peaked and the boom in English is over." She goes on to insinuate that one needs a work permit to find well-paid teaching work in Spain and that an EFL teacher new to Spain will have trouble finding hours unless they're willing to teach children and have a good level of Spanish. Perhaps these things are true for other parts of Spain, but I can assure my readers that all these assertions are absolutely contrary to my experiences here in Madrid. First of all, demand for English teachers in Madrid continues to be high. Not a single English teacher I know has fewer hours than he or she wants to work (unless they've ruined their reputation by being flaky or showing up drunk to class), and some have more than they want because they have a hard time saying no to the hoards of agencies and schools that call them, desperate to find people to teach their classes. Second, although no one would outright condone working without a permit, it is not at all uncommon for non-EU citizens to do so, and it is not at all difficult for someone without a work permit to find teaching hours. While it is true that certain language schools and agencies only hire teachers with permits, there are many more agencies and schools that don't care whether you have a permit or not. The fact is that there is far more demand than the legal teachers can fill. It is also untrue that the hourly wage for a new teacher with a work permit is generally greater than the hourly wage for a new teacher without one. The going hourly rate for a new teacher, with or without a permit, is between €15 and €18 an hour. There are some agencies that offer as little as €13 or as much as €25, but €15-18 is the average in my experience. What makes more of a difference in the ease of finding well-paid work in Madrid is not whether you have a work permit but whether you have a TEFL certificate. There are loads of teachers here who have certificates, so it's more challenging (though not impossible) to find work with agencies or academies if you don't have one. Griffith also says that one needs to be willing to teach children, but for every ad I see for a children's class I see five or more for teaching adults in companies. Furthermore, I know an EFL teacher that teaches children at a school whose command of Spanish is fairly basic, so if you are interested in teaching children you needn't let your level of Spanish keep you from it. The reality is that finding work teaching EFL in Madrid is not difficult, whether you are an EU citizen or not, whether you know no Spanish or you're fluent. The only thing I would recommend is that you get a TEFL certificate; while it's possible to find work without one, you'll have many more options and it'll be much easier to find work if you have one. Sione Aeschliman For more on what it's like to live and teach EFL in Madrid, visit my blog. |
