# ''Eeep' decision to move to Madrid= potential panic overdrive



## nimue_3 (Jun 17, 2010)

Hi, 

My partner and I have decided to move to Madrid in about 8 months. My partner is Spanish and I am English. Initially we will be living in the city centre with his parents.

Teaching English seems the best job option for me. I have both a Masters (in Philosophy) and a BA degree in English Literature. However I do not have TEFL or any experiance of working in schools. Does anyone have any thoughts, tips or advice -is it better to do a teaching course in Spain? will my MA/BA help in any way? How imperative is it to be fluent in Spanish?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

nimue_3 said:


> Hi,
> 
> My partner and I have decided to move to Madrid in about 8 months. My partner is Spanish and I am English. Initially we will be living in the city centre with his parents.
> 
> Teaching English seems the best job option for me. I have both a Masters (in Philosophy) and a BA degree in English Literature. However I do not have TEFL or any experiance of working in schools. Does anyone have any thoughts, tips or advice -is it better to do a teaching course in Spain? will my MA/BA help in any way? How imperative is it to be fluent in Spanish?


Hi,
Your questions may be answered by looking around the info that's already on the forum, but I'll have a go at answering things here briefly...
First point - if you get here in 8 months time you only have 4 "real" working months left. Academies and schools usually employ from Sept/ Oct till end of June. It might be more feasible to get a job starting in Jan (apply Nov/ Dec). However, in Madrid you'll probably be able to pick up private classes at any time. Enough to make a living though???
2nd - Qualifications - If you're going to be teaching and hope to do a good job and be employed in a decent place it's always best to have a teaching qualification. A well thought out course will give you lots of info about how to teach, plan, analyse language, resources available etc. whether you do it in Spain or the UK depends on you really.
*
The following is an uninformed opinion ie I don't really know, but I think...*The masters might do more harm than good depending on where you're applying. It could be seen as a sign that you expect a certain wage level, which almost certainly won't be forthcoming as a mere TEFL teacher.

It is NOT necessary to be fluent in Spanish at all - however some people may stipulate that that's what they want. Others prefer you not to speak any Spanish in class, and some schools semi forbid it!!

Have a look at the _*Teaching English*_ stickie at the top of the Spain page, and wait for more people to write their opinions here.

Have fun looking around!


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## nimue_3 (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks...your advice is much appreciated


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## Guilly (Jun 21, 2010)

*TEFL in Spain*



nimue_3 said:


> Hi,
> 
> My partner and I have decided to move to Madrid in about 8 months. My partner is Spanish and I am English. Initially we will be living in the city centre with his parents.
> 
> Teaching English seems the best job option for me. I have both a Masters (in Philosophy) and a BA degree in English Literature. However I do not have TEFL or any experiance of working in schools. Does anyone have any thoughts, tips or advice -is it better to do a teaching course in Spain? will my MA/BA help in any way? How imperative is it to be fluent in Spanish?


Hi,

I currently run an EFL department in London - hiring and firing and training teachers- I've worked in Spain before and I'm moving to Barcelona in September wiith my Catalan partner.
I'd really recommend getting a TEFl qualification. You could do the course here in the UK or in Madrid when you get there- I'd opt for this as it'll get you out of the in-laws' house and meeting people in Madrid.
Look out for the 2 main courses: Cambridge CELTA or Trinity TESOL. I can't employ people in the UK without one of these certificates and you may find you'll need to return to the UK for 6 weeks every summer to do a summer course as work dries up in Spain between May and October. I imagine academies in Spain are less fussy, though the most reputable will also ask for these qualifications.

The CELTA and TESOL also equip you to teach groups of foreigners Your masters shows your knowledge of English lliterature but not your ability to teach the language to a group of non-native speakers. You'll get loads of tips on how to liven up classes and keep kids and teens entertained ( a big part of any teachers timetable in Spain)

Oh and you really don't need to be fluent in Spanish. I had very little when i first worked in Spain and had a greeat time.

Good luck


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