What’s it like to teach English in Spain?

Steffanie Zazulak
a teacher stood with two students sat a desk
Reading time: 2 minutes

Tim Marsh has been teaching English since 1985 and has taught over 3,500 students, with ages ranging from six to 65. He is therefore well placed to describe teaching English as a “difficult and demanding” job, as well as to share the five lessons he’s learned during his impressive time in his career…

1. Know your stuff

“The Spanish expect paid professionals to know everything about their expertise but there are few teachers of the English language who do know everything. We should prepare lessons adequately when teaching aspects we’re not entirely confident about.

Many CELTA tutors say that if you are asked a question that you cannot answer confidently, you shouldn’t panic but instead inform the student that you will check and give them the detailed answer at the following lesson. This may be useful when you first start out, but it shouldn’t happen frequently, as your honesty will not always be appreciated!”

2. Expect the unexpected

“Teaching English is very rewarding and can be full of surprises. As a result, it’s not a good idea to try to follow a rigid teaching plan. Write a plan that’s flexible enough to allow for a good dose of spontaneity to enter into proceedings. I can honestly say that not one single day is the same as another.

If a Spaniard is not in the mood for working on a particular skill, as will happen from time to time, then be prepared to change that lesson at the drop of a hat. It’s always a good idea to keep four or five ‘favourite’ lessons filed within easy reach for just such occasions – preferably skills lessons that can be easily adapted to the theme that you are currently working on.

Whatever you had planned for this week can always be done next week. The customer is always right and, when living in Spain, big lunches, high temperatures, Barcelona against Real Madrid and the after-match party can bring about very unexpected lessons!”

3. Stick to what you’re being paid to do

“The Spanish are extremely friendly people who love to talk and are happy to share – sometimes in great detail – the problems in their working and even private lives. In an effort to establish friendly relationships, they often create an intimacy: what is referred to in Spanish as ‘confianza’.

This is much the same kind of trust and confidence that we have with our doctors or lawyers, so, unless you’re careful, you can find yourself doubling as teacher and therapist, which will alter the dynamic of the classroom.

A teacher of English teaches English. Stick to what you know, stick to what you’re being paid to do and create a professional framework in which to do your best as a teacher and not as a therapist.”

4. Do not offer guarantees

“The busiest time of the year is often during the summer, when language schools begin to fill up as state-school exam results come in. Parents enroll their children on intensive or exam revision courses so that they can take their resits in September.

English courses are often expensive and parents will expect a guarantee that their child will pass the school English exam at the end of the summer. Never offer a guarantee! There are usually a number of reasons why the child has failed in the first place and it is better to lose a client than to make promises you can’t keep.”

5. Have a good pair of shoes

“Many years ago, the famous soprano Rita Hunter was asked what she considered to be the most important requirement when singing opera. She answered, “A good pair of shoes.” She went on to say that when she was appearing in a Wagner opera that started at 5.30 pm and didn’t finish until 11 pm, the most important thing to look after was her feet.

I’ve always tried to avoid institutions that insist on a uniform or on wearing a shirt and tie. Students often feel uncomfortable in a classroom where the teacher is formally dressed. I have always found the working environment much more relaxed when dressed in a similar way to my students. This and the fact that in Spain the temperature can hit the 30s in June and stay there into September mean that I dress casually, often in shorts. And I always wear a good pair of shoes.”

Explore our professional development

Read our blog posts 'Career moves for enthusiastic teachers' and 'The importance of teachers' professional development'.

More blogs from app

  • Students in uniform sat at tables in a classroom with a teacher at the front talking to them all.

    Bridging the gap: How to equip English learners with workplace-ready language skills

    By Samantha Ball
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Educators worldwide are faced with a vital challenge: closing the language education gap between traditional schooling and the practical language requirements of the modern workplace. With English established as the language of international business and in light of our ground-breaking new research, the need for education to address this disparity has never been more critical.

    In this blog post, we'll explore why teaching English through a lens of real-world application is necessary, what our research shows about the current gap in language education, and some ideas for how English teachers can integrate employability-focused lessons into their own English teaching curriculum.

  • A group of business people talking together

    Future of global workforce decoded: A app and People Matters study

    By Samantha Ball
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Companies today face a renewed skills challenge. One that goes beyond the traditional skilling agenda that helps employees keep up with the ever-evolving nature of technology. But rather one that prioritizes soft skills and seeks to leverage the right tools and modalities to address change.

    The app and People Matt­ers study, Future of Global Workforce Decoded, echoes the growing importance of having the right skilling pedagogies in place to build communication and collaboration within globally distributed teams. Download the full report here or keep reading this summary.

    The study surveyed around 70 business and talent leaders across India to assess how they see the future of global workforces evolve and unpacked trends on how companies are driving productivity.

    The new skilling agenda: communication and collaboration

    The app Power Skills report contextualized this need for skilling by identifying communication and collaboration as pivotal soft skills required to build a capable workforce across India and APAC. For companies hoping to accelerate growth through a productive global workforce, the need for developing these soft skills rises exponentially.

    For around 56% of leaders interviewed, the right learning certification and skill building programs enabled them to improve business performance. This was closely followed by creating the right employee experience and increasing inclusivity.

    The rise of skilling and certification needs echoes a business concern common to companies with global workforces: to accelerate growth and leverage post-pandemic consumer behavior shifts to build more profitable business processes. Focusing on building communication and collaboration is central to this.

    Previous studies noted that communication and collaboration remained vital soft skills for companies across APAC to develop. And with good reason. With its impact felt across different aspects of an employee's journey, the focus on building communication and collaboration is imperative.

    Around 60% of companies reported that communication and collaboration helped them:

    • Improve employee performance
    • Increase engagement levels
    • Increase cross-functional work
    • Improve retention

    Building the right skilling pedagogies

    When it comes to top talent challenges among global workforces, the lack of communication and collaboration as an essential part of teams remains an important challenge. Over 45% of companies today state this as a pivotal barrier. Another 47% of companies stated the difficulty in reskilling remains concerning.

    The solution: new, more relevant learning pedagogies that address the skilling needs.

    The right pedagogies also help raise performance and drive workforce productivity.

    Besides focusing on developing managers to lead global teams, for over 58% of companies, providing bespoke learning opportunities is key to their ability to solve future uncertainty and raise employee productivity.

    This need to adopt bett­er skilling methods is driven by many who find themselves in uncertain waters. The study found that over 77% of companies identified skill gaps bett­er and provided more relevant learning opportunities as a top learning priority.

    Having the right learning pedagogies that enable tracking and impactful, new-age interventions targeted to improve communication skills is the need of the hour. The study found that the ability to work cohesively in a global work sett­ing depended crucially on how easily different teams can communicate with each other.

    Assessments and hiring for success

    To ensure the success of learning tools and goals related to communication and collaboration, companies also need to consider another key component of their talent management process: whom they hire.

    As recruitment becomes a key HR function, companies with globally distributed and diverse workforces today need to hire individuals who fit their culture and can upskill quickly. Therefore, it's no surprise that the top hiring priorities for companies in the coming year are:

    1. Assessing candidates’ ability to learn new skills
    2. Assessments to gauge job and culture fit
    3. Better engagement and experience

    While building the right communication skills focuses on enabling learners to gauge the nuances of a global work sett­ing and enhance their proficiency in the language, how companies hire proves to be equally important.

    Platforms such as Versant by app prove vital tools for assessing job fit and communication skills, enabling companies with global workforces to hire those who meet their requirements. While new-age learning techniques help address gaps and spur productivity by enhancing communication and collaboration skills, ensuring the right candidates are hired greatly improves the ROI and impact of such skilling programs.

    Driving skills forward to help recruit, develop and retain talent

    The future of global workforces is increasingly dependent on how successfully they can communicate and collaborate with each other. While once considered skills that were good to have, they have risen to the forefront of business demand.

    There is a clear demand for bett­er assessment and learning tools that enable companies to hire and train bett­er. Companies with a global workforce today require personalized learning programs that leverage the latest tech solutions like generative AI, immersive learning, and greater ROI and impact tracking. The diversity of a global workforce throws up newer challenges, and as companies expand, having the right tools – that address both hiring and learning needs – can greatly improve how HR leaders create impact.

    With varying expectations and aspirations, aligning company needs with those of the employee is critical for success.

    Those who focus on building the right communication and collaboration capabilities within their global workforces today stand bett­er prepared to tackle business challenges and drive productivity.

    Investing in the right learning pedagogies and addressing communication concerns thus have a direct impact on how productive global workforces are. The new skilling agenda of focusing on communication and collaboration is today driven by a need to channel diverse workforces to tackle business uncertainty.

    A defining factor of how companies ensure a productive future is by building the right hiring and learning capabilities that address the new skilling agenda.

    To find out more about this study, download the full report here.

    app works with over 2,000 leading enterprises around the world, helping them to diagnose skills gaps, identify learning pathways and interventions, and mobilize their workforces through verifiable skill credentials.

  • A business woman stood at a desk with a computer with two colleagues sat at the desk

    8 ways language training can transform your business

    By Samantha Ball
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Around 20%of the , making it an integral component in global business operations. But the question remains for business leaders and HR professionals: how can language learning, specifically, business English courses, drive your organization forward?Here are 8 ways language training can impact your business.