Employee Q & A: Private Language Academy Position in Chile
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I’m Will, and I’m currently living and teaching in Santiago, Chile. After spending two years working as an auxiliar de conversación in Madrid, Spain, I wanted to continue living and teaching abroad in a Spanish-speaking country but was ready for a new experience, and the opportunity in Santiago through CIEE TEFL was a perfect way to do exactly that.
The CIEE TEFL 150-Hour Certificate course
Why did you choose to get TEFL certified through CIEE TEFL?
I already had some history with CIEE as I had done my first year in Madrid through their Teach in Spain program, so I knew they were a reputable organization with helpful and friendly staff. In addition, I was very intrigued by their TEFL Job Placement opportunities, particularly the one in Santiago.
Please describe your experience in the course.
Overall, the course was a great experience; although it was entirely online, it still felt very personalized, and there were many opportunities to engage with my teacher as well as my classmates. It was enough work to feel immersive but still allowed for enough extra time to make it work with a full-time job at the same time.
Has the course been helpful in your current teaching position?
More than any specific skills that I learned, I feel like the course helped with my overall mindset as a teacher. I had a couple of years of experience as a teaching assistant already, but the course prepared me well to be the head teacher and made me think about my students and their particular learning styles in a different way.
The Hiring Process
Please describe how your experience was throughout the hiring process and leading up to your departure for Chile?
CIEE TEFL set me up with the interview with my employer before I had even started the course, which I very much appreciated. Everything went smoothly, the only bump in the road is the extremely lengthy visa process. I had been told by my employer that the average wait time for a work visa for Chile was a couple of months, but in reality it is a minimum of six months and can take up to one year. So, I would definitely recommend starting the process far in advance of when you actually want to go.
Arrival in Country
Please describe how your experience right as you arrived (what kind of support did you receive from our partners, anything that surprised you, things folks should have in mind/expect within the first 2 weeks of arriving)
Before arriving, my employer gave me lots of information about what areas of the city would be good to look for housing, what a good price would be, and what websites I could use to look for listings. I had already booked an Airbnb for the first month, which I think is a good idea so that you have plenty of time for your housing search. In the end, it took me about two weeks to get my apartment, but it was great to have housing for the first month to not feel pressured with that.
The Job Placement
Please describe your teaching position (what age are your students, are you a lead teacher or do you work with co-teachers, how many students do you have in your classroom/ how many students do you teach each week, do you have small groups/private classes, etc.)
I teach English to adults in both individual and small group classes. The average age of my students is around 30 years old, but they can be anywhere from 20 to 50 with levels ranging from A1 to C1. I have seven total classes, each meeting twice a week for an hour and a half each session. All of the classes are remote and are taught on Zoom.
Please describe a typical workday.
Since the students are working adults, most of the classes are in the morning and the evening, so I normally have the middle of the day free to plan lessons and catch up on other work. This is also great for traveling, as you can have the whole day free to explore.
What are your favorite parts/perks of your job placement?
Santiago is a beautiful city, and I work from home with an incredible view out my window of the snow-capped Andes. The opportunities to travel in Chile and throughout South America are amazing, and the fact that the job is remote allows me to take full advantage of this. In addition, I really enjoy working with adults––they are very open and willing to talk about themselves and their lives, and sometimes classes can feel more like talking with a friend than like work.
How was your overall experience with support you’ve received from our partners?
The staff at the company are very nice and helpful with any questions/problems you have before you arrive and once you get here, as well. They really care about their teachers and are a great employer for sure.
Living Abroad
Housing- what does your housing situation look like? Do you live alone or do you have roommates? If housing is not provided by your employer, how was the housing search? How much (approximately) do you have to pay for rent?
I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my girlfriend, who is also an English teacher with my employer and a CIEE TEFL alumna. The housing search was not difficult, we made appointments online to visit apartments and looked for about two weeks before deciding to sign for our current one. We pay $490,000 CLP for rent each month, plus around $100,000 CLP in utilities.
Language Barrier- How has your experience been with navigating the language barrier? What things have you done to learn the language (if any)? What tools can you recommend to help other folks navigate the language barrier?
I speak Spanish fluently and had lived in Spain for two years before coming here, so there was not much of a language barrier to be honest. It is true that Chileans speak a unique variety of Spanish, but they normally take it easy on foreigners and speak a more standard Spanish with us. Dynamic offers free beginner and intermediate level Spanish classes to their teachers, but I haven’t used them as they are below my level.
Personal Safety- do you feel safe in Chile? Any personal safety concerns?
I definitely feel safe in Santiago, despite the locals’ exaggerated claims about how unsafe the city has become in the last few years. I definitely pay more attention to my surroundings after dark than I did in Madrid, but nothing different than I do at home in the US––I would say it feels as safe or more safe than a big city in America.
Opportunities for travel – How is the work-life balance in your job placement? Are there good opportunities to travel and explore? What trips/travel excursions have you done so far/planning to do?
There are amazing opportunities to travel in Chile and around South America as a whole. The fact that the job is almost entirely remote and that you can choose which classes to take on according to your own schedule makes it very easy to travel, and the salary (with some savings) is definitely enough to afford it. Highlights in Chile include Patagonia and the Atacama Desert, but there is plenty more to see in between.
I would definitely recommend the CIEE TEFL course to anyone looking to move abroad and teach English. Santiago is a fantastic destination for both living and traveling, so I would recommend it for anyone with at least intermediate Spanish skills. I have only been here for a few months so far so I haven’t thought much about my future plans; for now I am just happy to be here and enjoying the experience as much as I can.