Teaching English in Barcelona

The prospective EFL teacher can find a wide variety of employment opportunities teaching English in Barcelona. There are several hundred language academies and schools in the metropolitan area ranging from local branches of all the main international language school companies to one owner concerns.

In 2008, entry level wages at these schools were reported to be between 10 and 16 Euros. A full time load of classes ranges between approximately 18 and 25 class hours per week. This does not include time spent preparing for classes, marking students’ work, etc. The amount of time spent here will depend on your previous experience, class size and the school’s requirements.

Another popular job opportunity teaching English in Barcelona is in a company setting. Sometimes the company will specifically request you to teach business English, but more usually it is general English, so you don’t necessarily have to have experience in business or in teaching business English to get hired.

Barcelona English Class Sizes and Students

Class size will vary considerably from one student (often the boss) to larger groups. Classes are most often scheduled around work hours – early in the morning, at lunch or after work. This can create a more scattered schedule for you, with gaps during the day and may involve traveling to different sites, though Barcelona’s public transportation is reliable and inexpensive.

Your schedule is also more likely to change at times. The main advantage to this type of employment is that it pays better per hour than teaching in a school, which can make up for the previously mentioned disadvantages as well as the fact that you are less likely to have contact with other English speaking colleagues on the job.

Private Teaching Opportunities

Teaching private lessons is another viable option, which also pays better than working in a school, but involves more self-motivation to find the business and can also be more isolating, as in the case of working in a company setting.

People often find teaching Barcelona students gratifying, because they are motivated to learn. The majority of the population is already bilingual with Spanish and Catalan, so multilingualism is highly valued. Picking up a third and fourth language is not at all unusual for a citizen of Barcelona, and English is the most common of languages to be chosen for this.

When School’s Recruit English Teachers in Barcelona

By far, the best time of year to look for work teaching in Barcelona is September and October, after the summer. Many people sign up for classes at schools and on the job at this time. January can be a time when relatively more jobs can be found, as people try to adhere to their New Year’s resolutions to learn English. During the summer months, especially July and August, there is much less work, but for the motivated and especially for those with connections and knowledge of the job market, Barcelona is big enough to offer some English teaching jobs year round.

Having a valid work permit is essential for finding “over the table” jobs. This means, in most cases, being a European Union citizen, however it’s not unheard of for North Americans, for instance, to do quite well on private student’s alone.