If you are an English language assistant in Spain, chances are you already know about the pros and cons that come with living the life of an auxiliar de conversación. Though such programmes have many great qualities, they can also have their disadvantages. For instance, applicants do not have total control over their placements. Furthermore, certain rule changes can be a hassle, especially for language assistants who are renewing for a new school year.
This is where EBC’s Road2Spain programme comes in. If you want a hassle-free programme that will allow you to get official TEFL certification, study Spanish in Spain for a year, and travel around Europe, this is the perfect option for you. Read on to find out more!
If you are an English language assistant in Spain, chances are you already know about the pros and cons that come with living the life of an auxiliar de conversación. Though such programmes have many great qualities, they can also have their disadvantages. For instance, applicants do not have total control over their placements. Furthermore, certain rule changes can be a hassle, especially for language assistants who are renewing for a new school year.
This is where EBC’s Road2Spain programme comes in. If you want a hassle-free programme that will allow you to get official TEFL certification, study Spanish in Spain for a year, and travel around Europe, this is the perfect option for you. Read on to find out more!
Language assistants: Pros of being an auxiliar de conversación in Spain
Being an English language assistant in Spain is a life-changing experience for many people. Under such programmes, you play an important role in a bilingual school. You assist teachers by preparing and facilitating English activities so that Spanish students can practise their English language skills.
And, since language and culture go hand-in-hand, as a language assistant, you may also be asked to prepare presentations about your culture. This is a great way to expose Spanish students to diversity, which is something many language assistants are passionate about.
The experience of interacting with students from a different culture and playing a role in helping them learn the English language can be a great experience. Furthermore, getting to live in Spain for a school year is a dream come true. After all, Spain is a beautiful country and the cost of living is relatively cheap.
However, though language assistant programmes have their good points, there are also some disadvantages.
Language assistants: Cons of being an auxiliar de conversación in Spain
For one, language assistants are not licensed English teachers. This is why, essentially, it is not your job to teach as an “auxie”. You are expected to prepare activities and play a more supportive role in the classroom. Though you may be asked to lead certain activities or deliver English presentations, you are not expected to lead the class. In fact, Spanish teachers who are paired with their language assistants are not allowed to leave them alone with students.
Cons of being a language assistant in Spain: No TEFL certification
The role you play as a language assistant is much different from that of an English teacher in a language academy. Despite this truth, it is still a common thing for auxies to try out teaching English for a few additional hours in language academies.
What happens when they do so? For many auxies, teaching at a language academy can be stressful. Especially since the role they play there is totally different from the role they play in their bilingual schools where they are language assistants.
Teaching English at a language academy comes with a lot more responsibility. If you plan to do so, you must get official TEFL certification. After all, you want to do your students justice. Furthermore, you want to be confident in your English teaching skills. You cannot afford to “wing it.” You need to get TEFL certified.
Language assistants: Get official TEFL certification today
Since these language assistant programmes do not come with a TEFL certification course, you cannot rely on your experience as an auxie to make you qualified to teach English. In fact, this is why many language assistants in Spain end up looking for TEFL courses. Somewhere along the way, they realise that if they want to teach English, they need formal training.
And of course, if you are going to pay to get TEFL certification, you want to invest in a certificate that is internationally accepted. The last thing you want is to spend money on a TEFL course just to find out that their English teaching certification is not recognised by the language school you want to work in. So, keep this in mind the next time you see an ad selling a TEFL course for a really cheap price!
With EBC, however, your investment is worth it. The Road2Spain comes with a 4-week Trinity CertTESOL course which you take before you start your Spanish classes in Spain. The CertTESOL is accepted and recognised by the British Council. With this certificate, you’ll be able to work as a certified English teacher anywhere in the world.
Book a call with us today and we’ll get you started.
Cons of being a language assistant in Spain: Last-minute changes
Another disadvantage of being a language assistant in Spain is the last-minute changes certain programmes can have. Rule changes can be a hassle, especially for auxies who are already in Spain.
When it comes to language assistant programme renewals, timing and knowledge of the rules are key. For instance, there is a limit to the number of years auxies can spend in a certain Spanish community under the same programme.
Furthermore, last-minute rule changes can really mess up the plans of language assistants. For instance, recently, a certain language assistant programme announced that current language assistants in the Spanish community of Andalucia who want to do the programme for another year would not be allowed to renew in the same community.
Such rule changes can be unsettling, especially for language assistants who spend a lot of time making preparations for the future. This can also be a source of stress and anxiety, which no one wants to deal with–especially when they are living in a foreign country.
Language assistants: Choose a programme that won’t give you anxiety
However, with the EBC Road2Spain, you can avoid such last-minute hassles and “auxie anxiety.” How? Well, this package is secure. It allows you to choose where you want to live and where you want to work. You even decide when you want to start, giving you more than enough time to prepare your visa paperwork and living accommodations.
Even when it comes to where you work, you will be able to choose which job offer you accept. As an EBC graduate, you will have access to a lifetime and worldwide job placement programme. After your Trinity CertTESOL course, you send us your CV and tell us where you want to be placed. We don’t give you a random placement. With the Road2Spain, you call the shots.
When we send out your CV to our partner language schools in your chosen area, get ready because you will get interviews! With the freedom to select the best option for you, you will feel more secure. Furthermore, you can access the job placement programme even after your time in Spain, making the Road2Spain a programme that will definitely give you a return on your investment.
Language assistants: Organise a timeline that works
To be more specific, it can work like this for you – you spent 2, maybe 3 years in Spain. You loved it, but you want to see the world. You’ve been thinking a lot about Latin America. After all, you now have a good level of Spanish and you want to carry on improving your Spanish. With our Job Placement Service, you can ask us to place you for example in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico or really any other LatAm country you may fancy.
As soon as you tell us where and when you want to work, the job placement service starts and once again we put you in touch with our partner language schools in the city of your choice. It’s that straightforward. A lifetime and worldwide job placement service at your disposal.
So if you want to choose where you live, teach, and learn in Spain, the Road2Spain is the perfect programme for you. Want to make the switch today? Book a call with us and we’ll help you get started!
Why language assistants should enrol in the Road2Spain programme
Though language assistant programmes are a great experience, many of them do not give you the control over where you end up living and teaching. They also do not make you certified English teachers. Furthermore, such programmes can have last-minute changes in their rules, which are a hassle to deal with.
If you’re looking for a programme that will give you the freedom to choose, then EBC has the perfect option for you. The Road2Spain programme will give you a 4-week live-streaming Trinity CertTESOL course, a one-year student visa and a one-year Spanish language programme with a Cervantes Institute accredited school.
It also allows you to choose where you want to live, study Spanish, and teach with your official TEFL certification. And, thanks to the job placement programme in place, it also gives you a safety net you can fall on at any point in your life. Just tell us when, and we will find you an English teaching job anywhere in the world!
The Road2Spain programme is a great option for language assistants in Spain who want something fresh…something secure…something sustainable. After all, you will learn a new language while working as an English teacher in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!
If you are ready to make the switch and say goodbye to stressful, last-minute changes in your plans, book a call with us today, and we’ll help you get started!
