10 reasons to teach English in Barcelona

If you are new in Barcelona, have decided that you love it and want to stay forever, the best way to get set up with a regular job and good income is to teach English. Here are a few of the reasons you’ll enjoy it:

1. Your hourly rate is higher than most other English-speaking jobs

Most TEFL-qualified teachers get paid between 15-20€ an hour for academy work, and up to 50€ an hour for private classes. Rates vary on who you’re teaching, how specialised the language is (legal English, financial English etc.) and how many people are in your class. It’s quite rare to teach more than 30 hours a week, but if you’re making more per hour then that translates to working less and having more free time to enjoy this beautiful city!

2. You can set your own schedule

Teaching English in Barcelona usually involves a mixture of teaching in academies and private classes. You can pick classes up at times to suit yourself, and lots of teachers manage to schedule all their teaching hours between Monday and Thursday, giving themselves a three day weekend, which just isn’t an option in other jobs. Friday afternoon at the beach is a reality for lots of English teachers!

3. You won’t be stuck in an office

Travelling around the city between classes is one of the best bits of teaching English. Whether you’re cycling down from Gracia to El Borne in the sun, or walking through the Gótico on your way to a class, or getting off the train in Badalona with a view of the beach, you’ll never suffer from that office claustrophobia again!

4. You’ll meet lots of different people

Sick of being surrounded by other expats? Teaching is a great way to get to know lots of different locals! Lots of English teachers end up being friends with their students – teaching offers a window into Catalan culture, and you’ll find out about lots of traditions, events and cool places you didn’t even know existed!

5. No two days are the same

There’s no such thing as a routine day in the life of a teacher. If you’re someone who craves variety, then it’s ideal for you – you’ll be teaching different people and in different locations every day. Teaching English is a lot of things, but it’s definitely not boring!

6. You’ll learn lots of transferable skills

Once you get your TEFL certificate, you’ll be able to work anywhere in the world. Some people get the teaching bug, but for others it’s a way to enjoy some time abroad before returning home to purse other careers. In any case, teaching English gives you a lot of transferable skills. You develop fantastic communication skills, you become a skilled organiser, and you’ll never be nervous about giving a presentation again!

7. You’ll get the chance to be creative

You’ll be creating your own lesson plans, planning activities to do with your students and being as creative as you like! Creativity is a hallmark of all the best teachers, so if the idea of planning your own workday appeals to you then teaching is a great career choice!

8. Your Spanish will improve

Lots of schools offer their students free or hugely reduced Spanish classes, which you’ll be able to do now that you have more free time! You’ll also be working alongside Spanish teachers and other members of staff, so little by little your Spanish will get better, even if you don’t join a Spanish class.

9. Even though they’re unpaid, the holidays are great

Yes, you will need to be smart about budgeting as the majority of academies don’t give holiday pay – but if you’re someone who’d love more time off, even unpaid, then teaching English is the job for you! You get two weeks at Christmas, a week during Semana Santa and between four and eight weeks off over the summer, as well as all the local bank holidays – a big improvement on the measly four weeks most corporate companies give for holidays!

10. You’ll be making a difference

Working as an English teacher will give you a lot of job satisfaction. Lots of your students will be studying English in order to apply for jobs, get into university or move to an English-speaking country, so the stakes are high for them. Watching them improve week by week and helping them achieve their language goals is incredibly rewarding.

If you’d like to find out more about teaching English in Barcelona, check out TEFL Iberia to get qualified.