Teach In Spain Program

Job Description

While teaching in Spain, you’ll serve as a Language and Culture Assistant (Auxiliares de Conversación) in a public school in the region of Madrid.  The primary responsibility of Language and Culture Assistants is to help students develop their English language skills.  You’ll do this by organizing discussions and activities in English that relate to the topics students are learning in their classes.

Language and Culture Assistants are also responsible for facilitating cultural exchange and teaching students about other cultures.  You’ll have the chance to share the cultural traditions and holidays that are important to you.  For example, you might organize fun activities related to Halloween.

You will assist local, lead teachers and will collaborate with them to design activities in English that support their lesson plans.  Exact responsibilities can vary, but you will not be responsible for grading or the independent supervision of students.

Learn More About Teaching in Spain With CIEE

Compensation 

CIEE Language and Culture Assistants in Madrid receive a monthly stipend of 1,000 Euros. For most participants, this is adequate to afford a comfortable lifestyle. If you’re careful with spending, you’ll have some money for fun and to explore Spain and other European countries. Your income will go further outside of city centers where the cost of shared accommodations, food, transportation, entertainment, etc., are lower. We will provide you with advice on how to find an affordable apartment and how to best plan your budget each month. 

Most program participants also teach private English classes, either through their school or independently. CIEE can help here, too, with advice on how to advertise and find private lessons when you get to Spain. 

CIEE participants have paid holidays around Christmas and Easter. Exact dates will be confirmed when the school calendars are approved in September. There is usually a two week break around Christmas. Participants also have Holy Week off, which is the week before Easter. Official provincial calendars are available in September.

Schools

CIEE teachers are placed at public schools participating in a governmental bilingual initiative, including kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. Most schools are outside Madrid's city center, in the Community of Madrid's other cities and small towns.  If you are placed in a small town, it is possible to live in the city center and commute to your school by public transit. For our main start date in the Fall, location and age-group preferences are considered by CIEE, but we are not able to guarantee specific placement preferences. Our January start date has a smaller number of positions. This means it's not practical to consider placement preferences, so applicants must be flexible and ready to be placed anywhere in the Madrid region.

Workload

As a Language and Culture Assistant in Madrid you’ll teach 16 classroom hours per week and have a 4 day work week.  In addition to your classroom hours, you may be required to spend a few hours attending planning or professional development sessions each week.  Many Language and Culture Assistants also enjoy participating in sports clubs or other extracurricular activities at their schools. You’ll enjoy 3-day weekends with either Monday or Friday off so you’ll have plenty of time to travel, learn Spanish, or participate in local clubs and organizations. For teaching assistants, the fall semester runs from early October to just before Christmas, and the spring semester runs from early January until late June.