It is a fact of life that education can open many doors, and this is true around the world. In fact, a lot of countries place a high emphasis on the value of education, whether that be in the form of conventional education or private lessons.
While not every person can afford to go to those lengths, it does show that there is a global appetite to further educational targets. In particular, recent years have seen a huge surge in the number of citizens globally who are now taking to learning English.
This creates a great opportunity to become a TEFL (or Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher. With that in mind, the following guide shows just how easy it can be to start working as a TEFL professional, in one of the most sought-after places to teach
What Is TEFL?
TEFL is the way in which many learners of English gain and acquire the knowledge and confidence to communicate and interact in the English language, typically through structured English lessons. TEFL teachers for many decades plied their trades only in conventional classroom environments, but recently there has been a massive shift towards teaching TEFL online.
For learners, this has provided the possibility of studying from almost anywhere in the world. For instance, they could be sitting at home in Madrid, or at a cafe in Barcelona, and still be connected with a friendly and knowledgeable TEFL tutor.
What Does A Typical TEFL Lesson Look Like?
For every learner, this answer might look slightly different. For some learners, a good TEFL lesson will focus on the basics of grammar, such as learning how to use the present perfect tense.
In contrast, other pupils prefer to get up to speed on the latest vocabulary trends, in order to make sure they fully understand the newest social media posts or even cultural references brought up in films or television programmes. For still others, just the chance to have an authentic conversation with a helpful and supportive TEFL teacher is what they are after.
In any case, this makes life as a TEFL teacher hugely varied, and at times could help to stave off the monotony that comes with some other jobs. Equally, it is a fantastic way for the TEFL teacher to learn more about the English language itself, by finding out little-known facts or exploring the history behind some well-known phrases or idioms, for example.
Where Is A Good Place To Start Teaching TEFL?
For those new to TEFL teaching, one option after getting a reliable and reputable certification is to do some teach English in Spain work, to find out how it works in reality. Alternatively, for those without a traditional education degree, they can refer to the teaching english online without a degree article from TheTEFL Org to explore their options in teaching English online. Spain is handily placed just a couple of hours’ flight away from the UK, and is easily accessible from other parts of the European mainland too.
For starters, much of the language in Spanish is actually quite similar to English, making this a wonderful starting point for many TEFL lessons. One such rule is the ‘-cion’, so a word like ‘position’ in English is ‘posicion’ in Spanish.
Additionally, being so close to other parts of Europe makes travel easy and affordable, as well as taking up less valuable time. For example, a weekend trip to Portugal, or even as far as Morocco in North Africa, is well within reach.
What Should A TEFL Teacher Know About Working In Spain?
There are many schools and traditional institutions that are on the lookout for an energetic, keen TEFL teacher. This is because there is a large demand at a school age for learning English, as a language for both work and study reasons.
Also, there are also a wide range of academies that are seeking TEFL teachers, though the hours for these positions do tend to be a little different. This is because these learners often have other work or school commitments to work around, but for a TEFL tutor who might wish to visit the Sagrada Familia in the afternoon before a spot of teaching in the evening, this could actually work out rather nicely.
Another factor to bear in mind is that many classes do not run at lunchtimes, especially in smaller towns and villages. This is partly due to the fact that a long lunch is still favoured in many parts of Spain, but also because this is frequently followed by a short siesta.
Contrary to popular belief, not everybody in Spain does take an afternoon nap, but for those who do, a short 20 to 30 break is all that is needed to reset and recharge ahead of a busy afternoon. This can take some adaptation at the beginning, but once the TEFL teacher has made the change, it could definitely be a life-altering process.
What Are Some Good TEFL Topics For Spanish Students?
Of course, Spain is similar to the United Kingdom in that they are also a kingdom, which could certainly be used as a good introduction to a topic on similarities and differences between countries. Beyond that, the weather is always a popular TEFL area, with students often ready and willing to share their knowledge of particular language points connected with this theme.
Furthermore, sport is a fundamental part of life in Spain, with sports such as handball and basketball especially enjoyed by fans across the country. Of course, though, one simply can not consider Spanish sport without talking about football.
Although there are several divisions of teams supported ardently by local fans, the majority of people there are in one of two camps. On the one hand, supporters of FC Barcelona claim the Camp Nou to be the home of football, with tiki-taka revered as the only way to play.
Not everyone is a huge Braca fan, though! For there are also those who adore Real Madrid, showing their devotion and loyalty to the team at every opportunity. Whenever the two teams play, it feels as though everyone in Spain stops what they are doing to watch the match, and the game itself provides talking points for days and weeks afterwards.
So overall, it is easy to see why teaching TEFL in Spain is the right choice for anyone thinking about making their way as a teacher. With so many options available to the new TEFL teacher, now is the time to make the move into the field and take advantage of all that Spain has to offer.