Spanish as a Foreign Language Teachers

Spanish is a language that is gaining more and more importance. We are not only speaking about the cultural sphere, but also in the scientific and even socio-politic fields. This is one of the reasons why becoming a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language is starting to be an option of work for many people.

But let’s be honest: being a Spanish culture lover or knowing the language is not enough; other aptitudes are necessary. Because being a Spanish teacher demands a lot of responsibility and qualification.

This being said (with no intention of demoralizing the reader) and if you may be interested and determined to disseminate our language and culture throughout the globe, we recommend that your training is conducted by the most prestigious institution of the Spanish culture promotion: the Cervantes Institute.

This institution trains future professionals of Spanish as a foreign language at their Alcalá de Henares office each year: their education Master offers a competent and effective program that runs throughout a year, or two years if you want to study it at the Menéndez Pelayo International University (Santander).

In case you are interested and you are not Spanish, you just have to go to any Spanish consulate or embassy; in their offices you will find information about this training process.

About the work as a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language, the usual way of access to it is obtaining a teacher job at the Cervantes Institute. The requirements for this first option are a degree in Spanish Philology and some previous experience as a Spanish teacher. Remember too that the Cervantes Institute values as a positive factor the knowledge of the culture of the country you wish to work in (the Cervantes Institute has many offices in many countries all over the world).

Other options would be obtaining a teaching post at the Spanish for foreigners departments at the Official Language Schools that depend on the Education Office of the Autonomous Communities. The official announcements for these posts are published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) of Spain.

Another interesting alternative is working as a teacher for one of the 360 private education centres present in more than 100 towns that offer Spanish courses for foreigners. The Cervantes Institute has a database with the contact information of all these centres that can be consulted by anyone interested.

From here, we encourage all of you who might be interested to enquire about all the possibilities that becoming a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language offers you: a good option for those who love our culture.