Living in Spain - the good things!
#616
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Joined: Dec 2006
Location: Living in a good place
Posts: 8,824
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
Yes that's what I was getting at! A TEFL alone is a bit like toilet paper. Will get you about 10-15 euro per hour for about 10 hours per week and some of that time is split shifts. Know someone who does it. No contract, holiday pay..nada
#617
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Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Valencian Province
Posts: 346
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
Friends of mine with TEFL were directors of Madrid Language schools and also taught at the film studios and ran weekend courses for bankers. I did my Tesol by Eurolink to Sheffield and had to post all my exam papers there for marking. There were three levels and I did the teacher's one which was level 2 which took me six months working three hours a day every afternoon and I achieved the second highest result. I have never met anyone who did it by internet. I only did the course so as not to feel like a fraud as I had been teaching privately for several years.
#618
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
Friends of mine with TEFL were directors of Madrid Language schools and also taught at the film studios and ran weekend courses for bankers. I did my Tesol by Eurolink to Sheffield and had to post all my exam papers there for marking. There were three levels and I did the teacher's one which was level 2 which took me six months working three hours a day every afternoon and I achieved the second highest result. I have never met anyone who did it by internet. I only did the course so as not to feel like a fraud as I had been teaching privately for several years.
#619
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 25
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
i taught english in marid in 1967/9. no such thing as tefol then....but it was fun.
#620
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
Friends of mine with TEFL were directors of Madrid Language schools and also taught at the film studios and ran weekend courses for bankers. I did my Tesol by Eurolink to Sheffield and had to post all my exam papers there for marking. There were three levels and I did the teacher's one which was level 2 which took me six months working three hours a day every afternoon and I achieved the second highest result. I have never met anyone who did it by internet. I only did the course so as not to feel like a fraud as I had been teaching privately for several years.
here's just one http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-cours...-tefl-courses/
I in fact do know a couple of people who have done a TEFL online & actually got teaching jobs on the back of it
neither had any previous teaching experience & freely admitted that as soon as they stood in front of a group of kids they were terrified & only lasted a couple of weeks - it was much harder & more stressful than they expected
no way am I advocating an online qualification as a standalone - although as an extra string to an already experienced teachers bow I can see that it would be useful
tbh I can't actually see the difference between studying and getting a qualification online & by post - online is just faster
#621
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Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Valencian Province
Posts: 346
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
[QUOTE=lynnxa;8874268]google gives lots of options
here's just one http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-cours...-tefl-courses/
I in fact do know a couple of people who have done a TEFL online & actually got teaching jobs on the back of it
neither had any previous teaching experience & freely admitted that as soon as they stood in front of a group of kids they were terrified & only lasted a couple of weeks - it was much harder & more stressful than they expected
I have only had a computer for the last 4 years and am totally hopeless. it would have taken me a year if I'd had to type everything use graphics. write a thesis and several essays. The course was heavily based on phonetics which I wouldn't know how to type and hours of listening to tapes. We had to design teaching games and produce material. It was a very difficult course but taught me discipline and perseverence. I had been a lecturer in the civil Service teaching work skills and communication skills for several years on initial and middle management courses so the classroom held no fears for me.
here's just one http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-cours...-tefl-courses/
I in fact do know a couple of people who have done a TEFL online & actually got teaching jobs on the back of it
neither had any previous teaching experience & freely admitted that as soon as they stood in front of a group of kids they were terrified & only lasted a couple of weeks - it was much harder & more stressful than they expected
I have only had a computer for the last 4 years and am totally hopeless. it would have taken me a year if I'd had to type everything use graphics. write a thesis and several essays. The course was heavily based on phonetics which I wouldn't know how to type and hours of listening to tapes. We had to design teaching games and produce material. It was a very difficult course but taught me discipline and perseverence. I had been a lecturer in the civil Service teaching work skills and communication skills for several years on initial and middle management courses so the classroom held no fears for me.
#622
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
I have only had a computer for the last 4 years and am totally hopeless. it would have taken me a year if I'd had to type everything use graphics. write a thesis and several essays. The course was heavily based on phonetics which I wouldn't know how to type and hours of listening to tapes. We had to design teaching games and produce material. It was a very difficult course but taught me discipline and perseverence. I had been a lecturer in the civil Service teaching work skills and communication skills for several years on initial and middle management courses so the classroom held no fears for me.
#623
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
One other important point we've not mentioned here, is that learning the Spanish language is essential. Not all prospective private clients will already have a grasp of English; some (particularly parents) will only be comfortable speaking to you in Spanish as they weigh up whether or not you'll be a good teacher for their child. Moreover, you won't be seen as a competent languages teacher if you are perceived to be unable to learn Spanish.
#624
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Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Valencian Province
Posts: 346
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
One other important point we've not mentioned here, is that learning the Spanish language is essential. Not all prospective private clients will already have a grasp of English; some (particularly parents) will only be comfortable speaking to you in Spanish as they weigh up whether or not you'll be a good teacher for their child. Moreover, you won't be seen as a competent languages teacher if you are perceived to be unable to learn Spanish.
#625
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
One other important point we've not mentioned here, is that learning the Spanish language is essential. Not all prospective private clients will already have a grasp of English; some (particularly parents) will only be comfortable speaking to you in Spanish as they weigh up whether or not you'll be a good teacher for their child. Moreover, you won't be seen as a competent languages teacher if you are perceived to be unable to learn Spanish.
private clients will certainly need you to have a grasp of Spanish - or else how will you communicate initially as you say
at the academy I worked for I wouldn't have got the job without Spanish - all communications were done in Spanish, both within the school & the termly reports for parents
I actually had a strange situation once where the parents of some kids complained that I was speaking English in the lesson (I was teaching English!), and expected the kids to speak to me in English too - it seems their previous teacher had always only spoken to them in Spanish & they just did the written exercises in English!!
it's also the way they teach English in Spanish state schools
after a chat the parents they agreed to try it my way for a while - & after a few weeks they decided that it was working
I did of course speak to them in Spanish if absolutely necessary - but that became less often as time went on
maybe I should mention that these particular kids had been studying English at that academy for 2 years before I took the class over - and for about 4 years at school
#626
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Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Valencian Province
Posts: 346
Re: Living in Spain - the good things!
yes, although I don't actually think that you need to know Spanish in order to teach English to Spanish speakers - or French to teach the French, or Chinese to teach the Chinese for that matter!!
private clients will certainly need you to have a grasp of Spanish - or else how will you communicate initially as you say
at the academy I worked for I wouldn't have got the job without Spanish - all communications were done in Spanish, both within the school & the termly reports for parents
I actually had a strange situation once where the parents of some kids complained that I was speaking English in the lesson (I was teaching English!), and expected the kids to speak to me in English too - it seems their previous teacher had always only spoken to them in Spanish & they just did the written exercises in English!!
it's also the way they teach English in Spanish state schools
after a chat the parents they agreed to try it my way for a while - & after a few weeks they decided that it was working
I did of course speak to them in Spanish if absolutely necessary - but that became less often as time went on
maybe I should mention that these particular kids had been studying English at that academy for 2 years before I took the class over - and for about 4 years at school
private clients will certainly need you to have a grasp of Spanish - or else how will you communicate initially as you say
at the academy I worked for I wouldn't have got the job without Spanish - all communications were done in Spanish, both within the school & the termly reports for parents
I actually had a strange situation once where the parents of some kids complained that I was speaking English in the lesson (I was teaching English!), and expected the kids to speak to me in English too - it seems their previous teacher had always only spoken to them in Spanish & they just did the written exercises in English!!
it's also the way they teach English in Spanish state schools
after a chat the parents they agreed to try it my way for a while - & after a few weeks they decided that it was working
I did of course speak to them in Spanish if absolutely necessary - but that became less often as time went on
maybe I should mention that these particular kids had been studying English at that academy for 2 years before I took the class over - and for about 4 years at school
If you taught English to foreigners in England you could have up to 10 different nationalities in your class and are expected to only speak in English. That is a real nightmare and why I don't believe in tne TEFL/TESOL system but give it lip serviuce when required.