Teaching English in Spain - TEFL Planet 🌐

Spain Overview

Main Cities/Areas	Salary range (USD/month)
Madrid, Murcia, Basque Country, Canary Islands	$1000 – $1500

A very popular as a TEFL destination, especially with Americans looking for a less stressful lifestyle, Spain is actually a very mixed bag.

Some teachers speak of great weather, lovely beaches, nice people and a reasonable salary. Others complain of exploitation by language schools, atrocious wages, hopelessly disorganized employers, and nationalism. Therefore you need to be really, really careful which company you decide to work for.

Whatever you do, you are not likely to have much spare cash at the end of the month and for anyone wishing to stay for a long period, it would be a much better idea to set up your own language center. Needless to say, this takes time and contacts and is only really applicable to EU citizens or those married to Spaniards. Accommodation costs are high in Madrid and Barcelona and you may be asked to pay up to three months of rent as a deposit.

For those wishing to test the water, it’s a good idea to teach at a summer camp in Spain for 2 or 3 months. However, you should expect long hours and mediocre pay.

Typical Requirments

Degree?	TEFL Certification?	Experience?
Yes	Yes	No

Before signing a contract, ask to speak to both past and present employees for their opinions of the language center or school. There are lots of crucial questions to ask at the interview. Will you be paid for traveling time when working in other areas of town? Will you have to endure split shifts? Are free Spanish lessons part of the agreement?

Consider becoming a self-employed tutor so that you can work when you like and potentially earn a much higher salary.

Learn some Spanish before you arrive. This will make day-to-day life much, much easier and it is almost essential for private English lessons.

As with most countries in Europe, it is a lot easier for EU nationals to find work as the paperwork required is significantly less than when applying to employ non-EU nationals. Most employers will not be keen to go through the arduous process of sponsoring an ESL teacher from outside the EU. Therefore teachers from outside the EU tend to work on Tourist Visas. This is common but be aware that it is technically illegal. Another option for those from either Canada or New Zealand is the Working Holiday Visa. Unfortunately, Americans and Australians are not presently eligible for this. Americans can sometimes work on a Student Visa.

Accommodation, food, and transport are very high. The cost of living has risen sharply in recent years but unfortunately, the average TEFL wage has remained pretty much the same. Expect to have to supplement your regular hours with extra classes.

Employers generally pay your income tax for you and as usual, you should expect to be paid on a monthly basis. Many EU nationals (particularly British and Irish) decide to become self-employed tutors as the profit margins and flexibility can be attractive when compared to working for a typical language center.