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shesinspain-blog · 6 years

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F A Q / Make Moves, Bby

Inspired by this fantastic post from Christina Bates, I answered my most frequently asked questions about teaching English in Barcelona. These are all from my experience and don’t carry weight to be generalizations.

I’d like to call this post “no one will do it for you, but you can do it yourself.” Moving here is totally possible, and it may feel super overwhelming but step-by-step you will make it happen. And what better city than Barcelona?!

What did you do before teaching English in Barcelona?

I was 22 in Columbus, Ohio, finishing my Bachelor’s in Visual Communication Design. After I earned my degree in May, I worked at the taco hut for the summer, and moved here in August.

Why did you make the jump?

It was a long time coming for me. I was very fortunate to study abroad in Rome in 2015, and through 5 short weeks I fell in love with Mediterranean culture, the eternal city, and so much more. I’m obsessed with design, so I was torn for my post-grad plans. As much as I wanted to start my career, especially in a big city like Chicago or NYC, I couldn’t shake my desire to move internationally again. I did a lot of stupid simple google searches like “How to move abroad american” and “teaching english overseas.” I got this great book about how to teach overseas. Once I was certain it was a real possibility for me, I made moves to learn what to do, how to do it, and when. Choosing this path as my means to live abroad meant selecting my own housing, determining my own timeline here, and the option to say no to work I didn’t like, which gave me more mental security than some other (totally valid!) ways of being an expat. Like aupairing, for instance.

Why did you choose Barcelona?

For a person who’s constantly following her feelings, my decision for Barcelona was largely pragmatic. I know no languages besides English. I wanted to live somewhere where I could learn fast, or at least read street signs and subway maps. Barcelona’s climate range is not extreme, so I could pack less. It’s centrally located in Europe; traveling from here is easy and cheap. Then there’s the TEFL opportunities. International TEFL Academy recommended it as one of the top locations for teaching abroad. There’s a high market of under-the-table employment, so I didn’t have to spend money on a work or student visa. There is a huge international community. Barcelona has a large population, so schools and private students are everywhere. Reading guidebooks and blogs before I came here really gave me no cultural expectations for this city. I’ve gone from knowing nothing about this city to declaring it the best city on earth. Tapas, sunshine and beach hangs really do that to you ;)

Why did you choose to get TEFL certified?

Like I said, there are lots of avenues to live overseas. I personally know people who have used the sites AuPairWorld and Workaway and Bunac. I’m considering these for future endeavors. However, TEFL certification allowed me control over my work schedule in a way other jobs did not. Knowing English already made me feel confident about the career change, and I really like my independence. Being able to separate work and fun has been important to me.

Are you on a visa?

I am on a tourist visa, which is the visa Americans have to enter the Schengen zone for 90 days. Catherine Bates has more information about getting a Spanish visa, and you can find a lot of info about visa requirements (for work or students) around the internet.

Do you need to speak Spanish?

No, especially not in Barcelona. It’s so international here. Oftentimes when speaking with strangers, I will start in Spanish and they respond to me in English anyway. Employees at train stations, grocery stores and movie theaters have all been kind and tolerant when I resort to English. However, why not learn it?! Spanish is awesome. I’ve been learning poco a poco here, and being able to communicate in multiple languages is more than a resume-skill; it’s exciting and beautiful and so alive. When I moved here the Catalan and Spanish languages were really exhausting for me, so learning something before you go (“I would like, please, thank you, and sorry”) can help you adapt better and sooner.

How do you communicate if your students do not speak English?

It’s almost exactly like language classes in high school / university! Immersion works. With my younger students, we do less sentences and more just vocab words, letter sounds and simple sentence structures. My tutoring students are A2 and C1 level, so it’s fine to do immersion conversations. The A2 students I use more structure for, so that they have the tools to communicate, and they’re not just thrown in the deep end.

How did you find housing?

Housing is crazy. But it’s crazy everywhere, right?! The way it works in Barcelona is basically same day / same week turnaround. People post an empty room and have it filled within 7 days. In this sense, it’s nice, because you wait until you land to start looking. You see the apartment and meet the roommates in person. I booked an Airbnb for my first month (Aug 29 - Oct 1) and looked with apps that are popular here, like Idealista, Badi and Facebook. Like I said, it was highly competitive for renters in September - this is one of the most popular times for students and workers to start a contract. Here is where not knowing Spanish was a major pitfall for me, as fluent speakers commonly wanted to speak Spanish at home.

With this kind of turnaround, most apartments did not even get posted until the last week or two of September. Oftentimes when it felt like I was running out of options, 15 more places would get posted on September 24 or something (available for October). But you can do it! I have yet to hear of someone returning home because they literally had no options.

How did you find a job? What is the ESL market like? Any tips?

I’m kind of outside the bubble here! I work for VIP KID, which means I work 20 hours a week from home, online. I teach students ages 5-12 in China for half hour classes. So I am not really employed at a school here! I do private tutoring which offers me spending money - it’s really nice to have Euro in hand for weekends, markets, and splitting the bill at a restaurant. I found these opportunities on TusClasesParticulares, which also posts school jobs. I originally got VIP KID as a “side hustle,” and a way to make money until I found a teaching job here. But I never really pursued working at academies - choosing my own schedule and not commuting, etc, were perks of VIP KID. Once I had one job I turned more to the apartment hunt and other things I had to figure out here. A few of my friends are employed by after school programs here, and the TEFL certification has helped all of us have confidence and land jobs.

Can you make enough money teaching in BCN to live comfortably and pay off student loans, travel, etc.?

This is what ITA calls a “break-even” location, not a “potential to save” location. I completely agree. While my income has been enough to support my lifestyle, pay my rent and pay one student loan monthly, I am still very much below the poverty line. You won’t be making a big-bucks salary here in any field - it’s just the way this city is. I’ve been able to do a couple 3 day vacations. I’m getting my 8 cavities filled (kill me!). Overall, I haven’t been scared of supporting myself, but my savings aren’t something to write home about. For financial purposes, you can make between $16 and $22/hr with VIP KID (before taxes). In 2018, I would say a fair price for a room in Barcelona is between 375E and 500E. I used the city to city comparison website to see how my spending habits in Columbus would pan out in Barcelona. Some people ONLY support themselves with VIP KID - some people ONLY support themselves with private tutoring. You will find your own balance of work to be able to afford what you want to do here.

How can I prepare before the big move?

Learn Spanish! See your friends! Join Facebook Expat communities (one of the best aspects of being an ITA student / alumni). Try to find resources that will help you lesson plan later on, so that you can hit the ground running. Join libraries and set up the ebooks, so that you have access to English books for free. Do all the beaurocratic things, like telling your bank about the move, getting whatsapp, and figure out what to do with your cell phone. Also, get a credit card! So many people advised me against this, but I have no international fees and pay it off with my American bank. It’s perfect. And DON’T FORGET A WINTER COAT. I used mine a lot, surprisingly!

How much should I save?

You’ll probably have three months between landing and receiving your first paycheck. Budget for 3 months of no income - eating takeout, buying groceries, getting a metro card. Extending your Airbnb you stupidly booked until only the 28th of September and not actually October 1. Your phone may break. You may get locked out. Emergencies happen, and having wiggle room helps you make smart decisions instead of desperate ones. I came here with $2500 and a blank credit card. I think more in the $4-5K range would help you breathe during all the searches. You can do it with less. But more money is like buying time.

How do you become a TEFL teacher and is it as amazing as it sounds?

For me, I pursued the International TEFL Academy online program. It was a great way for me to get certified while being at University, and saved me the cost of housing / etc that I would spend taking an in-person class. The online course was ten weeks, including quizzes and projects (mostly, writing lesson plans). After this, I contacted Ohio State’s American Language Program to pursue my in-person practicum. This meant working with our University’s instructors across Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced English courses for adults. The entire staff was incredibly helpful with this experience, and I met a buddy doing the same thing! We met during our internships and wrote lesson plans together, sometimes teaching joint lessons. Obviously, programs and TEFL Certifications vary with requirements, length and learning, but make sure yours is accredited so that it holds up internationally. My first lesson I was terrified! But I was lucky with my practicum too, because the teachers helped me ease in from leading a 15 minute activity to doing a full hour lesson plan solo. I don’t lesson plan with VIP KID (it’s done for you), but I do for my private lessons, and I just try to get them talking confidently as much as possible. Yesterday, we played HedBanz and we all had a blast.

What does a typical schedule look like and do you have time to do other things?

I wake up around 9am and do my thang until I teach 12-4. I have to write feedback for VIP KID, which generally takes a half hour. Lesson planning for my private students is probably 2h/wk of my time. This means most days I’m free around 4-5pm! I feel like I have so much time. Some days I can meet friends, sketch in the city and try a new recipe for dinner. Especially without commuting (besides 30m each way to my tutoring students), I have been able to own my time a lot here.

Do you need a degree?

ITA says Spain does not “require” this but it definitely helps. It is required for VIP KID. Other countries with less supply of American teachers, or different values for them, may be more lenient with this. For example, Japan may reimburse you with your flight, provide housing AND pay $2K/mo. Every market is different.

What happens when your tourist visa expires?

For the most part, nothing. Leaving the Schengen zone is the time where people may fine you or ban you from Europe. If you’re staying in Spain, your day-to-day lifestyle will likely not bring you within range of immigration control. Despite the “border-free” Schengen policy, some places like Paris will still make you go through customs in the airport and re-check your passport. For this reason, it is best to be smart about when and where you cross country borders. A few different sources have more information on this.

What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced?

I just wrote about this recently! Frustration with myself for not learning Spanish sooner. Homesick days (which are infrequent but can hit ya hard). Apartment hunting in September, but not so much in April. It is easy to live in the expat bubble here, so I would say it is challenging to meet and befriend local Spaniards. (Again, would help if I knew Spanish.) VIP KID has been amazing, but the first few months were unsteady with pay, which I didn’t account for in my moving budget. Winter is hard - even though it’s only 50 degrees here, it was still emotionally difficult. Finally, I really miss my design community and working in the field I’m so passionate about.

Final thoughts…would you change anything?

I don’t regret anything in my life, because even mistakes have lessons. Coming here with more money would have given me greater security in the beginning, but I’m scrappy and I persisted; when that happened I found out how strong I can be. Being in Barcelona has been a dream come true for me. I’ve made friends from all over the world, learned some Spanish, and have learned a lot about myself. It’s hard to say because my time here is still not over! I’m excited to keep learning about my values, who I am and what I want in my life. The culture here is AMAZING. People really value and enjoy their lives here. Get out here and dive in headfirst (preferably into some patatas bravas).

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