Teaching English in Spain: a guide on how and why do it

Have you ever wanted to make a positive impact while you travel? Teaching a foreign language abroad is an incredible way to give back to the local community, hone your professional skills, connect with people of all ages and backgrounds, and have an in-depth understanding of a foreign language and culture.

This article will focus on teaching English in Spain. As a gorgeous Mediterranean country in Europe, Spain is a very popular travel destination. 

Spanish is also one of the most widely used languages around the world, so Spain is a convenient place to live and work while traveling, especially if you have any Spanish language skills.

So if you’re interested in teaching English abroad, and Spain sounds like the perfect destination for you, then hopefully this article will help you plan your experience!

We will cover the logistics of teaching jobs in Spain, as well as how to find them and how much they pay. We will cover some of the most popular companies to use for teaching English abroad, and we’ll discuss how Worldpackers can help you save money and gain experience on your teaching journey.

You may also consider teaching English in Portugal and teaching English in Italy.

How to find English teaching jobs in Spain?

These days, you can find any English teaching jobs in Spain online. There are many reputable online platforms and companies that make it easy to search and apply for teaching jobs all from the comfort of your home.

First, consider which type of experience you would like to have. You can work as an English teacher in Spain either by finding a paid job or through volunteering.

If you want a paid job, you can go through any reputable company that specializes in teaching English as a foreign language. Simply visit the website and browse through it to see what their program offers. There are some great ones to choose from, including:

• International TEFL Academy
  
• CIEE
  
• Go Overseas
  
• Auxiliares de Conversación Program
  
• UCETAM
  
• BEDA
  
• ConversaSpain
  

The other way to teach English in Spain is through volunteering. This is the type of experience you can find through Worldpackers. 

Instead of being paid for teaching, your teaching hours will earn you free accommodation. So it’s a work exchange: you won’t make money, but your living costs will be significantly lower.

Some examples of Worldpackers experiences where you can teach English in Spain include:

• Navarra Spain: Teach for at least 3 months and help in a local school 3 days per week 
  
• Chiva, Spain: Help out on a family farm by teaching English to the kids 
  
• Gava, Spain: Spend at least 3 months volunteering in a local school and helping the kids with English and activities 
  
• Madrid, Spain: Stay with a local family in their home in exchange for teaching the kids English 
  

To try teaching English in Spain through one of these volunteer positions, simply sign up for Worldpackers and send a message to the host to discuss your plans. Once they approve you for volunteering, you can organize your travel.

More on teaching abroad on this article about teaching English in Thailand.

How much can you earn teaching English in Spain?

The pay for teaching English in Spain varies depending on the program and where you would like to teach. For example, sometimes teaching English in big cities like Madrid pays more than teaching in smaller towns.

But every program is different, so definitely do some research.

However, the average pay for teaching English in Spain is around 15-20 Euros per hour. English teachers in Spain generally work around 20 hours per week, and the monthly pay usually ranges between 700 and 1400 Euros per month. But the overall average pay for English teaching jobs in Spain is around 1000 Euros per month.

If you start your teaching journey by volunteering with Worldpackers, you won’t get paid but you won’t have to pay for accommodation. You’ll sometimes get free meals and other perks as well, like laundry or tours. So your living expenses will be close to nothing.

Either way, the pay is worth it for the impact you are having on the local kids and the education systems!

What's the average cost of living in Spain?

If you are doing a paid job through one of the programs listed above, you also have to pay for your own accommodation, food, and other living expenses. The cost of living in Spain is quite cheap, so 1000 Euros a month should be enough to sustain you while you live overseas.

Rent in Spain differs based on region, and you’ll find much cheaper rent if you find a shared flat as opposed to your own private flat.

For example, Valencia is a gorgeous Spanish city but it’s on the expensive side. Rent can cost around 350 Euros a month for a shared flat, or 700 Euros a month for your own place. 

Monthly rent in Madrid can get up to 1200 Euros a month for your own place, or 400 Euros a month for a shared place.

Murcia is a smaller and less touristy area of Spain. Rent can cost around 150-200 Euros a month for a shared place, or 400-500 Euros a month for your own place.

Public transport and food from the local market or supermarket are very cheap in Spain as well. You can easily live on 600 Euros a month if you choose to share accommodation with others. So you can live comfortably on 1000 Euros a month from teaching English if you budget well.

How To Save Money In Spain Using Worldpackers

A great way to save money in Spain is doing a Worldpackers work exchange. You will get free accommodation, and most volunteer jobs are only around 20 hours of work per week.

If you really want to teach English in Spain on a budget, you can do any work exchange and also find a paid teaching job to work for the other 20 hours per week. Your accommodation is already covered, and you can earn money in your free time.

Especially if you want to live and teach in an expensive city like Madrid, you can earn free accommodation through Worldpackers and save more of your teaching income.

Here are some examples of work exchanges in Spain where you can earn free accommodation and try some teaching gigs in your free time.

Madrid: This hostel in downtown requires volunteers to work 25 hours per week with reception, cleaning, and party promotion. You’ll be right in the heart of Madrid, so you can quickly get to a teaching job in your free days.  

Malaga: This position requires 20 hours of work per week where you will help a local family take care of their daughter. They want English speakers, so you can bring the daughter to school and help her with English and have plenty of free time to teach a paid job. 

Alicante: Work for a start-up and help out with content creation, writing, videography, and other tasks for around 20 hours per week. Alicante is a small city on the beach, so you can walk everywhere and find a paid teaching job nearby. 

Granada: This hostel requires volunteers to help with cooking and cleaning for 4-hour shifts per day, 5 days a week. You can pick if you want to work morning or evening, and have plenty of free time to teach each day as well.

What type of visa do I need to teach English in Spain?

Most paid English teaching jobs in Spain require a student visa. This is the easiest and most common type of visa to obtain for teaching in Spain. Most English teaching programs will help you get a student visa for your teaching job.

You can also get a work visa or a working holiday visa, depending on your nationality. Visas can be pretty specific, so make sure you do lots of research to find the right visa for you.

When volunteering with Worldpackers, you aren’t getting paid so you only need a tourist visa to teach English in Spain. Spain is part of the Schengen Agreement, so you just need a Schengen Visa to stay in Spain for up to 90 days.

But take your nationality into consideration for your visa research. For example, US citizens don’t need any visa to visit Spain for up to 90 days. So if you’re just volunteering with Worldpackers for under 90 days, you don’t need any visa to teach in Spain!

• Also, take a look at: Farm life in Spain: farmhouses with free stay

What qualifications do I need?

When considering what qualifications you need for teaching English in Spain, every program is different. Most paid jobs require a TEFL certification, but not all of them do. Most teaching jobs also do not require a university degree.

Many programs offer different types of teaching experiences as well. Long-term teaching jobs usually require TEFL certifications, but shorter jobs don’t always. You have to decide which program you want to do and then check the requirements for that specific job.

Teaching English in Spain with Worldpackers usually doesn’t require any certifications. Because you are just volunteering, most hosts are happy to take people in who don’t have certifications.

So this is a great way to test out English teaching and see if it’s the right job for you. You can try it with no experience or qualifications, and decide later if it’s something you want to pursue as a career.

Did you like these ideas? Subscribe to the Worldpackers Community for free and start saving your favorite volunteer positions until you are ready to get verified.