# CELTA vs. TEFL/TESOL...which do I need?



## starzz (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be moving to Spain in about 1.5-2 years and are currently trying to plan ahead. As of right now, we are thinking that we will be moving to Madrid. He is a Spanish citizen and I am a certified Spanish teacher in the USA. I am planning to teach English there in Spain and have been researching about what I need to teach English. I have already explored the "Teaching English" threads and still need one more piece of information.

I see that the CELTA certification is the most widely accepted and recognized certification; however, I already have experience teaching a foreign language. Therefore, in my opinion I really only need to learn how to teach my native language as I can apply the same teaching practices with English that I am already using in my Spanish classes. What I am wondering is, since I am already a certified teacher currently teaching foreign language, would the TEFL/TESOL certification be sufficient or would I still need to get the CELTA certification? CELTA is a lot more expensive than the TEFL/TESOL, but I know it is the most widely accepted. I definitely would like to have the most job opportunities that I can, but I didn't know if being a foreign language teacher changed the necessary requirements for teaching English.

What's your opinion/advice?

Thanks for your help!


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2010)

First off, where will you be moving in Spain? In my experience, people have never even asked for any sort of CELTA/TEFL credentials, but I'm certain that it's different in other regions.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hi - have you read the thread on teaching English in Spain? Quite a lot about qualifications on there, worth ploughing through.

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...iving-spain/26226-teaching-english-spain.html


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

starzz said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> My husband and I will be moving to Spain in about 1.5-2 years and are currently trying to plan ahead. As of right now, we are thinking that we will be moving to Madrid. He is a Spanish citizen and I am a certified Spanish teacher in the USA. I am planning to teach English there in Spain and have been researching about what I need to teach English. I have already explored the "Teaching English" threads and still need one more piece of information.
> 
> ...


In Madrid if you go to any academy, school, university etc worth it's salt they are going to ask you for your qualifications. If they don't, you're probably better off walking straight out of the door. Of course they're going to be interested in experience too.
As far as I understand it TESOL is just more common in the US and CELTA is more European. I don't think the qualification will make much difference as long as you have one. 
What _may _make a difference is your nationality. As we are in Europe there is more interest in employing teachers from the UK. Also the paperwork involved for Americans to get work permits is more complexed and tends to put some employers off. That's not to say that there aren't American teachers here, in fact, at one point I spent 5 years working in an American academy, being the only Brit on a staff of more than 60!!
I can give you the names of two academies that are American if you want to suss out possibilities. Or are you interested in schools, or companies or...
You may be able to carry on teaching Spanish you know, to executives who are transferred here. You'd just have to make sure you use European Spanish and not South American.


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## cgmyr (Apr 15, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> In Madrid if you go to any academy, school, university etc worth it's salt they are going to ask you for your qualifications. If they don't, you're probably better off walking straight out of the door. Of course they're going to be interested in experience too.
> As far as I understand it TESOL is just more common in the US and CELTA is more European. I don't think the qualification will make much difference as long as you have one.
> What _may _make a difference is your nationality. As we are in Europe there is more interest in employing teachers from the UK. Also the paperwork involved for Americans to get work permits is more complexed and tends to put some employers off. That's not to say that there aren't American teachers here, in fact, at one point I spent 5 years working in an American academy, being the only Brit on a staff of more than 60!!
> I can give you the names of two academies that are American if you want to suss out possibilities. Or are you interested in schools, or companies or...
> You may be able to carry on teaching Spanish you know, to executives who are transferred here. You'd just have to make sure you use European Spanish and not South American.


Hi, would you mind telling me the names of the two American academies you mentioned? I'm planning on moving to Madrid in August, and I'm looking for companies to work with. I'm new to Expatforum, so I sent you a friend request in hopes of being able to send you a private message, but I don't see the option.

Thank you so much!
Christina


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

Christina, you have to make 5 posts before you can send private messages. 

I'm not sure the OP is still around as this thread is from 2010 but maybe somone else will be able to help you. 

You could try looking in the FAQ thread, there's a lot of info about teaching in it.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

cgmyr said:


> Hi, would you mind telling me the names of the two American academies you mentioned? I'm planning on moving to Madrid in August, and I'm looking for companies to work with. I'm new to Expatforum, so I sent you a friend request in hopes of being able to send you a private message, but I don't see the option.
> 
> Thank you so much!
> Christina




I don't mean to be prying, but do you have a legal way to get over here? If so, you're golden! If not... things might be tough if you're not some sort of highly skilled worker or independently wealthy (or a retiree, like we've seen in recent threads!)

PeskyWesky can tell you a lot more about the English teaching "scene" in Madrid, but I have to imagine that competition can be tough. 

Best of luck! If you're a college junior or grad, you might want to check out the North American Language and Culture Assistants program. It's an easy way for non-EU citizens to get over here and work. There's at least two related programs in Madrid you could also apply to.


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## cgmyr (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks for the response. I do actually have a legal way to get there, my boyfriend and I have a close friend who runs a program in Madrid who is helping us to get student visas. I am TEFL certified and would like to teach English classes part time, if I can figure out how.

I do know quite a bit about the Language/Cultural assistant program...I actually turned down a position in it a few years ago in order to accept a teaching position in Costa Rica. I thought about applying again, but the application deadline has closed for the upcoming year and as we are planning to move this August, it won't really be helpful at this time.

Thanks for the help!!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

cgmyr said:


> Thanks for the response. I do actually have a legal way to get there, my boyfriend and I have a close friend who runs a program in Madrid who is helping us to get student visas. I am TEFL certified and would like to teach English classes part time, if I can figure out how.
> 
> I do know quite a bit about the Language/Cultural assistant program...I actually turned down a position in it a few years ago in order to accept a teaching position in Costa Rica. I thought about applying again, but the application deadline has closed for the upcoming year and as we are planning to move this August, it won't really be helpful at this time.
> 
> Thanks for the help!!


As Brocher says, the PM function only kicks in some time after 5 posts, so I'll post the info about the academies here bearing in mind that both places _*only*_ hire qualified, experienced teachers who are legally living in Spain.

First is Atlantic Group 
Teaching
(Also hire other nationalities)

International Institute
.: International Institute :.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> Best of luck! If you're a college junior or grad, you might want to check out the North American Language and Culture Assistants program. It's an easy way for non-EU citizens to get over here and work. There's at least two related programs in Madrid you could also apply to.


The hiring of native speakers, not necessarily in this programme is causing huge discontent, resulting in some of these native teachers leaving and I believe strikes next week in the Madrid area. Some of the reasons are
These teachers are not required to sit the public exams that the Spanish English teachers are.
They are not required to speak Spanish (therefore cannot carry out other duties like write reports , attend school meetings etc)
There are Spanish teachers of English who are unemployed, some of which certainly have a good level and good accent.
The Spanish teachers of English have to organise the activities that are done by these teachers and they are therefore creating an extra workload.


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## cgmyr (Apr 15, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> The hiring of native speakers, not necessarily in this programme is causing huge discontent, resulting in some of these native teachers leaving and I believe strikes next week in the Madrid area. Some of the reasons are
> These teachers are not required to sit the public exams that the Spanish English teachers are.
> They are not required to speak Spanish (therefore cannot carry out other duties like write reports , attend school meetings etc)
> There are Spanish teachers of English who are unemployed, some of which certainly have a good level and good accent.
> The Spanish teachers of English have to organise the activities that are done by these teachers and they are therefore creating an extra workload.


Wow, that's really interesting and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to respond with this information; it's good to be aware of the situation before going over there.

Thank you!!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

cgmyr said:


> Wow, that's really interesting and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to respond with this information; it's good to be aware of the situation before going over there.
> 
> Thank you!!


Sorry, I've just realised that my info doesn't quite coincide with what elenetxu was talking about. She's referring to _teaching assistants_ and I'm referring to some people who have been hired as _teachers_ in the state school system, although there have been some "problems" with the teaching assistants too in the Madrid area.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> The hiring of native speakers, not necessarily in this programme is causing huge discontent, resulting in some of these native teachers leaving and I believe strikes next week in the Madrid area. Some of the reasons are
> These teachers are not required to sit the public exams that the Spanish English teachers are.
> They are not required to speak Spanish (therefore cannot carry out other duties like write reports , attend school meetings etc)
> There are Spanish teachers of English who are unemployed, some of which certainly have a good level and good accent.
> The Spanish teachers of English have to organise the activities that are done by these teachers and they are therefore creating an extra workload.


I know. 

I don't know how I feel about it. 
It wasn't fair that I was getting paid more than my husband last year. He passed opos, I passed an interview (to be fair, the visiting teachers to the US do the same.) However, I was required to fulfill the requirements of any other Spanish teacher. 

I was at a union meeting one day and the rep, ignorant to the fact that I was in attendance, started to rant about the foreigners "taking our jobs." That really hurt. 

Depending on the program, the Spanish teachers of English SHOULDN'T have to organize the activities... Part of a language assistant's job is to create and execute the lesson plan. The level of teacher involvement is up to the teacher. Legally, they should be in the classroom in the event anything happens. 

All that being said, I know Madrid has been doing some funny things in terms of teacher hiring. I will admit I don't quite know what's going on there since I have never worked in Madrid.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

cgmyr said:


> Wow, that's really interesting and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to respond with this information; it's good to be aware of the situation before going over there.
> 
> Thank you!!




I worked in Spanish public schools during the last four years. 
Last year was the only one where people started to be openly make comments against the various programs that bring foreigners to the local schools, "taking away jobs."


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> I know.
> 
> I don't know how I feel about it.
> It wasn't fair that I was getting paid more than my husband last year. He passed opos, I passed an interview (to be fair, the visiting teachers to the US do the same.) However, I was required to fulfill the requirements of any other Spanish teacher.
> ...


Well, I think it's fair to say that neither passing the public exam nor hiring a teacher on an interview when no one else in the school is hired that way, is "fair" or professional, or even the best way to contract teachers.
In no way do I mean to criticise you elenetxu, and I hope you realise that. It's just a really stupid system if it can even be called a system

The info I have about the teacher prepping for the assistant comes from a dear friend of mine who is an English teacher in a state secondary school. She was never consulted or even informed about the fact that she would be working with an assistant. He arrived in February. Why Feb. nobody knows. She's quite happy to have him in the class, but he is incapable of preparing anything. Example - He didn't know what to put in the following sentence. John is a farmer. ____ farm is in the East of England (It wasn't that exact sentence, but along those lines), so she prepares stuff for him to do and her workload has therefore increased. It seems he's not a language student, and when I last saw her she didn't think he was studying teaching, but maybe he is, just not EFL.
She also thought he was possibly being paid without a nómina, although I do find that difficult to believe...


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