adaminsantiago

I have a degree in French and Spanish Studies from a London university and live in Spain.
I want to be a teacher in an Official Language School (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas).
My degree, a Joint Honours Degree, is not recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Education. The process, called "homologación", took well over a year (maybe even two) after sending endless documentation but many of the modules I'd studied at university were not recognised here, plus I would have had to study several modules in a Spanish university to have a "grado" (degree) recognised in the Spanish system.
I'm aware there are Spanish online universities offering Masters in Teacher Training (Master en Profesorado) which don't require you to have an officially recognised/accredited/"homologated" degree provided you hold a degree passed in an EU country.
Nevertheless, to work in an Official Language School after studying the Masters (currently one year) you need to study "Oposiciones" (Public Examinations) for a further year.
NOBODY nor ANY OFFICIAL WEBSITE can give me a straight answer as to whether or not I need an officially recognised degree in Spain to do them. I've heard it is highly likely that even with the Master's in Teacher Training they will still turn you away if you don't have the officially recognised degree.

If this is the case, I may well have to study a degree in the Spanish Open University, doing an English degree for example, for four years in order to do the Master's and the Oposiciones and ultimately get a job in an Official Language School when one arises.

Please help!

bakedbean

Hello,and welcome to the forum

I've shifted your post over to the Spain section from the Welcome Inn as your questions are quite specific to Spain. Hope you get some helpful answers

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

LibertyE

Just out of curiosity, why are you dead set on an escuela oficial? They have quite a bad reputation for churning out cheap and cheerful courses to the masses and have lots of disgruntled students.

I have no idea what the teachers earn but being a government job I can't imagine its that much.

Retired in Euskadi

"They have quite a bad reputation for churning out cheap and cheerful courses to the masses"

Not here in the Basque country they don't. I attended for a year, for Basque classes and for 2 years in Bilbao for advanced Spanish. Teachers were excellent, good audio-visual methods and for €75/year @ twice a week great value for money.
Obviously they are heavily subsidised by the Basque government.

Don't know about their reputation elsewhere in Spain.

PS "adaminsantiago": I was offered a teaching post with no Spanish equivalent qualification for English classes (I got a TEFL qualification in 1972 from Manchester University!!). I declined the offer as I'm retired and prefer to be my own boss.

tabbicat

It's a long time ago and my memory is hazy, but I remember going through the process of trying to get my degree from the UK "homologado" in Barcelona. I had to do an exam through the Escuela Oficial called Certificado de Aptitud. It was easy to pass the exam, I can't remember if I had to do the course leading up to it or not. Others I know who also did this have been able to get work at the Escuela Oficial teaching English on summer courses.

Not sure if there is much work there the rest of the year as most EOI teachers in Barcelona are Catalans, who have oposiciones. Non-Catalans without oposiciones that I know of, who regularly work for EOI in summer, started as they had friends who already worked there, as so often happens in Spain.