Reasons to Teach English Online While Traveling in Spain

Collaborative Feature

Thinking of Spain might evoke images – perhaps memories – of idyllic sandy beaches, glorious sunshine and charming buildings. But Spain is also synonymous with culture, art, great food, and vibrant nightlife – or movida, as the locals call it. If you’ve ever been to this magical country, you know that the friendly and kind nature of its population will make you feel right at home during your Spanish holiday.

Can you call Spain home?

On your return home, you’ll wonder what’s stopping you from packing up your life and moving there – after all, who wouldn’t fall in love with a country like Spain? Of course, living in a foreign country and visiting it for a holiday are two completely different experiences, but around 6 million of British expats are happy to call Spain their home away from home.

While Spain is a very popular retirement destination among international residents, it is also on the bucket list of many who are looking to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL) abroad. This is hardly surprising, as this country offers an excellent healthcare system, an efficient network of public transport, and low-cost living conditions – variable depending on where you are based.

Teach in Spain

Joining the pool of TEFL teachers in Spain is a great way to experience the local culture and visit the country, but a stable job in a ‘brick and mortar’ language school or academy won’t give you enough time or flexibility to enjoy a nomadic lifestyle; it can quickly transform your foreign adventure into a familiar routine abroad. To avoid this problem, many TEFL teachers are focusing on an online teaching career.

In recent years, most of the global population has become familiar with online learning. Teaching English online can give you the freedom to choose how many lessons you want to teach per week, when and – most importantly – where from. You could be teaching your very first lesson of the day from the comfort of a hotel room in Barcelona and your evening class from a bed & breakfast in Bilbao. To many, this may sound too good to be true, but some careful planning and specific research can help in getting their teach English in Spain dream made a reality.

There are three important factors that you should consider when teaching online while traveling abroad:

Get the right equipment to suit your needs

Your equipment for teaching English online doesn’t need to be fancy and expensive. You will need a reliable laptop with a good camera and microphone. In addition, a pen drive can be handy to save ready-to-use lessons when your original plan doesn’t pan out. If you tend to follow your heart without much planning when you travel, consider investing in a good-quality headset to block out the background noise.

Choose your accommodation keeping your lessons in mind

Speaking of noise, remember that you will need a quiet space to deliver your lessons. Avoid hostels: although they’re cheap, they don’t offer any privacy and are usually very busy and noisy. As well as noise levels, check the reliability and speed of the internet connection at the premises before you confirm your booking.

Compare teaching platforms to find the one for you

There are many different established online language schools that work through their own learning platforms. However, while their common objective is to enable language learning without barriers, the way in which they achieve this varies greatly. Check their requirements and terms & conditions to make sure they are right for you, such as qualifications, rates of pay, and level of commitment required.

In a nutshell

Spain is a wonderful country to explore for its history, culture, and glorious landscape. If you are planning to fund your travels across this fascinating country by teaching English as a foreign language, remember to choose your IT equipment carefully, book accommodations that allow you to deliver your lessons in a quiet environment, and compare online teaching platforms before committing. Let your Spanish adventure begin!

Sources:

https://www.expatica.com/es/working/finding-a-job/teach-english-in-spain-716889/

https://www.internationalcitizens.com/living-abroad/spain.php#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20Spaniards%20are%20friendly,with%20kids%20of%20all%20ages.