hello- i have read most of the posts that showed up on your search engine when i typed in �teaching english�. First i would like to say THANK YOU all for this wonderful site it is so useful. my neck and eyes are sore but i have learnt alot. one thing i learnt is that i am here at the wrong time to start teaching english. i think Chica mentioned the best time was sept/oct and that there is little work in summer. with this in mind i need to get my skates on right?
i do not have TEFL but i am english. i don�t have experience teaching/performing or anything really apart from taking a degree and a few odd jobs. i have given a few lessons (read 4) to people in my piso and they scared me a bit. (not the people the lessons) . i am reading a grammar book right now (��grammar in steps��)but i still felt out of my depth when the more advanced girl asked me questions. i like speaking in public but i prefer it when i really know what im talking about. (does ��um�� count as english vocabulary cos i think they learned by repetition).
Right my question is: should i dive in and start looking for a job now, do a TEFL/CELTA (would prefer to wait till summer) or carry on with my (free) practice classes to flatmates (SLOW progress)? i want to teach english well but from what people have said to me and from this site i gather that the best way to learn is on the job. How many of you guys just jumped in and with what previous experience. was it good or did you crash? i am worried that if i start to teach before i am ready i will lose my job and/or get a reputation as a crap teacher. thankyou in advance for any advice
�being a good person is more important than having a good job (hopefully)� (anon)
Posts: 3 | Location: london england (madrid) | Registered: 26 January 2004
hi zac, welcome to the board. i am not the best person to tell you about the teaching field here as it has been many years since i gave my last class but i will do my best to help. Chica is the real pro so she (or other english teaching professionals) should correct me here if i put the foot in the mouth.
yes, sept./oct. is by far the best time to look for work in that field. a not so close second choice for the job search would be jan. (after the holidays here which run through jan. 6th).
you must have read on the other english teaching threads that the tefl/celta will most likely build your confidence as a teacher so if you can, it may be a good idea since you have told us that you are a bit scared and out of your league.
i began teaching english when i arrived here nearly 8 years ago but did not just jump in. i had my certification for secondary eduaction in new york state and had been a high school spanish teacher and college teaching assistant for a few years. my problem was that while i loved teaching spanish, i did not like teaching english at all.
i did the english teaching/translating thing for about a year but have since moved on.
all i will say is that if you really want to teach english here, do it right and give it your all it will show in your lessons and in your career.
I say if you have enough money saved up to support yourself in Madrid for 6 months to a year while things pick up jump right in with no fears. Just put together a CV that looks good on paper including a passport size photo in the upper right hand corner, come to Madrid and start ringing people for interviews. See how at: How to find English Teaching Work/Hours in Madrid The best months to come here to interview and get jobs are September through November and then some in February/March. April and may are difficult because of the Semana Santa break, but you can pick up some classes as other English teachers start to leave Spain or change jobs from May to the end of June. July and August are traditionally slow as most people are on vacation and do not gear up for the new year until mid Spetember. Rocco.
originally posted by FoxTrot: [qb] Are these dates just for language schools - or could someone find an agency to do private teaching lessons?[/qb]
Most of the dates listed above are for all work in Spain in general, but more specifically for language academies and / or agencies. You can find private lessons in all shapes and sizes year round only the volume tends to dip in July and Agust as more people are on vacation. Many agencies will offer their existing staff of teachers private lessons on the side once they get to know them better.
quote:
originally posted by FoxTrot: [qb]There are soooo many links on madridinsider it's hard to tell if they are for institutes or privates. More info much appreciated. [/qb]
Most of the contacts listed are for language academies, consultants or other agencies who will hire you to teach one on one or small groups Business English. They sometimes also offer private lessons as they come in, but all really need to meet you face to face first before they start offering you more specialized classes.
thankyou for the advice, encouragement and links especially links, i don�t know what i would have done without that list of agencies etc.
there really are a lot of people to phone so i guess i had better get started. if, as you say, it takes a few months to get a decent number of classes, i should have lots of time to prepare each lesson at the beginning.
on a connected theme that came up when i was talking to someone who used to teach english here: i was wondering what your approaches were to the inevitable sitation of a student asking a question you just cant answer. My friend joked that you quickly learn ways of getting around the subject. ��I want to cover that in more depth later", for instance, or `� lets get this straight first and i promise we will cover that later�. This seems fine on paper or as a joke, but my experience of being taught spanish tells me that when you are learning you need the teacher at your disposal: its all very well following the teachers path but failing to understand something be because you need something that wasn�t in the lesson plan explaining is very frustrating.
i had one teacher who always blew me off the subject and just let the exercises to the teaching for her. It took me a week to realise that she just didnt know how to explain the material. i changed classes the next week but i felt sorry for my fellow students who hadn�t experienced the joys of other, much better spanish teachers.
it seems much more honest and natural to me to just say- ��i dont know but i will find out for you��. However this carries the risk that the class as a whole will lose confidence in you. i saw this happen to a teacher at school and it wasn�t pretty. She really had nothing to fall back on without the illusion (?) of superior understanding.
i�m just interested if any of you guys and girls out there with lots of expericence have come to any conclusions on this subject. how much bullshit do you really need untill you know what you are talking about inside out. Obviousely it is not a substitute for real knowledge and experience, but is is a good idea full stop? differences with teaching adults/kids etc.
also if you do think you need �bullshit� do any of you know any good stock phrases that have dug you out of trouble in the past.
�being a good person is more important than having a good job (hopefully)� (anon)
Posts: 3 | Location: london england (madrid) | Registered: 26 January 2004
... it seems much more honest and natural to me to just say- ��i dont know but i will find out for you��. However this carries the risk that the class as a whole will lose confidence in you.
you can do this once in a while and it is my experience that the students will understand but if one finds themself doing it often, then odds are they really do lack preparation and knowledge needed to be teaching the material.
you are not expected to know all the answers, even if you are the teacher.
also, if it is a big class and someone asks a question you can't answer, try saying "does anyone know...." to the whole class, one of the other students might just know the answer and get you out of that fix
Being serious though, it's confidence you need. Preparation for classes is the key. If you've prepared thoroughly enough, those questions will not come as surprises. After a while you get to know most of it inside out.
Good luck
Spanish Inquisition
Posts: 97 | Location: South UK / Athens | Registered: 11 January 2004
i�m just interested if any of you guys and girls out there with lots of expericence have come to any conclusions on this subject. how much bullshit do you really need untill you know what you are talking about inside out.
Bullshitting is NOT a good idea here, for a myriad of reasons. Without getting on my "professional soap box" let�s just say that if there is anything that Spaniards know about English here in Spain, it�s the grammar rules. It�s hard to BS around that, particularly if you are teaching adults. One of my students is the HR director for a multinational here in Madrid. She constantly complains to me that people (English teachers) must think that they are stupid and not know when they are being bullshitted. They aren�t and they do. BS too much and you will soon find yourself without classes.
The most professional thing that you can do, when posed with a question that you cannot answer is to simply admit it and then tell the class you will research and discuss the question in doubt in the next class. And then, after promising to do so, make sure that you do. When I am challenged with something, I will research it and often email the students that very same day with the answer.
You don�t lose your credibility by admitting when you don�t know the answer. You lose your credibility by bullshitting an answer and everyone knows it�s BS.
My advice (take it or leave it) is to get a quick online TEFL Cert., visit as many TEFL websites as you can and download every lesson plan you find.
Get a feel for how it works :cheers:
The Headway books are used alot in Europe - get them. Read ahead of each class so if a bright student asks a question, you know how to answer it and also tell the rest of the class that it will be covered soon.
You could always get a teaching gig in South Korea for a year to learn 'on the job' and earn a very good wage (hence my laughing response to the bullshit)
If you seriously want to teach in Europe, get a TEFL Cert. I taught all over Asia without one, but still had to get it for the EU gigs.
PM me if you want more detailed information.
Oh, and stop being afraid. Cheer up and use the internet to your advantage - there is soooooo much information out there for you. Grab every opportunity you can and never look back :cheers:
Spanish Inquisition
Posts: 97 | Location: South UK / Athens | Registered: 11 January 2004
Hey zac... FoxTrot is right, there are a ton of resources on the internet.
There are downloadable lesson plans, ideas for activities and other helpful teaching hints. Google should be your best friend...just do a search on key words and you will come up with more websites and information than you will have time to read!
Headway, as FT mentioned is used a lot here in Spain. It�s a good, basic multi-level course that is best if supplemented by additional material. Make your classes come alive and relevant to your students...don�t just drill the grammar rules, show them in use in real-life English.
I love using pop music/songs as a way to demonstrate grammar structure. The teens, especially, enjoy it too...particularly when they actually know what it is that they are singing and they sing it correctly! So yes, teach the grammar, but then follow it up with a song that supports that grammar point. For example... are you teaching the verb "to be"? Use the song Luka by Suzanne Vega. It�s all about the verb to be and self-introduction. Are you teaching numbers/time? Use the song Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets. These are songs that most everyone has heard at some point in their life and it becomes instantly relevant for them.
I would like to thank all of you as well for all the advice I have read on this site. It is very helpful. I thought this was a good topic to reply to because I am going to move to Spain in July. I have already signed up for the ITC course starting in August and I am a bit scared of the unknown as well. A friend of mine taught English in Madrid back in 1997. She told me that back then, English teaching jobs were very easy to come by. Can you give me an idea of what the market is like now? Also, I am American. I have heard that Spain has revised their immigration laws recently. Do you know how this will effect Non-EU people trying to get jobs? Will the academies stop hiring Americans without work permits? Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated. thanks!
Posts: 3 | Location: Denver, CO USA | Registered: 30 December 2003
wow! thanks for the response :cheers: , there is a lot to absorb here.
jer thanks for the tip i will definately try the asking the class thing. Arms folded right?
chica your advice on getting back to the students with a response immediatly i really liked. ��trust�� right? thats waht occured to me while reading it.
i have no doubt that my first few lessons will be fun, beautifully prepared, full of trust and respect and comeplety free of bullshit. Ojala! Great advice though thankyou i think you put me on the right mental track chica.
thankyou foxtrot for the advice on books etc. lesson plans is what i need i think to get my head round what is involved with giving a clear lesson. the internet? useful? i never would have believed it! i�m still worried about the whole tefl thing especially after your comments, but then i think i have made my decision to just dive in until the summer so i guess i had better just shut up and get on with it.
cheers :cheers:
�being a good person is more important than having a good job (hopefully)� (anon)
Posts: 3 | Location: london england (madrid) | Registered: 26 January 2004
. i am reading a grammar book right now (��grammar in steps��)but i still felt out of my depth when the more advanced girl asked me questions. i like speaking in public but i prefer it when i really know what im talking about. (does ��um�� count as english vocabulary cos i think they learned by repetition). 
it will show in your lessons and in your career.
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
i changed classes the next week but i felt sorry for my fellow students who hadn�t experienced the joys of other, much better spanish teachers. 
