Teach English in Granada, Spain

It is no secret the quaint cobblestone streets of Granada, Spain are a desirable place to teach English abroad. The cool evenings, the Spanish language, and lets not forget the endless tapas can make Granada your next home away from home.

A small city, Granada is home to 250,000 people but is not short on character. Sitting at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the city is alive with color and opportunities of travel. Amazing food, people, and bars, Granada is a great place to live and the rest of Spain is just a train ride away, waiting to be explored on the weekends while teaching English in Spain.

It is said to be one of the most beautiful sights to watch the sunset over Granada from one of the many viewpoints on the hills of the Sierra Nevada. After a long day of teaching, this city will captivate you with all of its historical beauty. So grab a bottle of wine, papers to grade, a typical Spanish snack, and watch the sun drop down behind Granada.

There are many different ways to become employed teaching English in Granada. The most popular and most effective way to secure a teaching position is to enroll in a TEFL certification course in Granada, Spain. This allows you to obtain your teaching certification while getting to know the city all at the same time. Providing housing, assistance in job interviews, and resume coaching, these types of programs have a high success rate.

Because Spain has one of the lowest percentages of English speakers, The Ministry of Education has created a government program to raise the 22% English speaking rate. The government will assist in all paperwork and placement and certification, if required, all throughout Spain, including Granada.

If you already have your teaching certification you can also search online job forums specifically for English Teachers. Though there won’t be a ton of opportunities listed (especially for non-EU citizens), they’re worth checking at least. If you can, try to secure a few interviews before hoping the plane to Granada, and hashing out all of the visa details before hand.

With that said, if you end up finding a job in Spain while in Spain, you may have to return to your home country to apply for work visa.

When’s the best time to apply for jobs?

The best times to apply for all of these programs are at the end of the major school session and the beginning of the next school session. Typically, September to October and November to December are the best months to send in applications. Remember, a certification course in Granada will last roughly four weeks, when picking the program that is best for you.

What qualifications do you need?

Spain has a large demand for English teachers. The country has one of the lowest percentages of English speakers and that number seems to be stationary. If interested in teaching English abroad, most schools only require a university degree and to be a native English Speaker.

That being said, it is beneficial for salary and job security to have a 120-hour teaching English as a second language certification. This course can be taken online, or in a classroom in Granada and it includes in-class experience.

This is the buzz-kill of moving to a foreign country. A visa is required for trips lasting longer than 90 days in the Schengen countries.

If you're choosing the in-country certification route the program will make sure you are brought over on a student visa which allows you to work up to 30 hours a week. This is the most common and easiest to obtain.

Receiving a work visa is very rare and difficult for non-European Union residents. It takes much longer to get and endless amounts of paperwork and a sponsorship from a company. For this reason, the Ministry of Education’s program tends to be the most popular way for North Americans to teach in Spain -- though there’s no guarantee that you’ll end up specifically in Granada.

Granada is a historical city filled with culture and stories of the past. From Roman ruins to the Moorish presence; Granada is packed with things to do and see. So when you aren’t working on grading, lesson plans or teaching, you can head to a café, tapas bar, or catch a flamenco show.

Most teaching opportunities are in public schools. However, there are multiple English teaching positions available so there are a lot of opportunities to meet new, both English and Spanish speaking, friends.

On average, a teacher in a public school will work around 16 hours per week (this doesn’t include lesson planning time).

An English teacher in Granada can teach anywhere from primary school students around 6-years-old all the way up to university level students depending on what you choose.

Because of the need for English teachers in Granada, and Spain as well, the Ministry of Education has a grant of 1,000 Euro per month in exchange for 16 hours per week of work.

As previously stated, there are numerous ways to get involved and earn a little extra money, including private tutoring jobs. A lot of English teachers make around 15 Euro an hour in private tutoring in Granada.

In comparison to Madrid and Barcelona, Granada is considerably smaller in size and in cost of living. One month in Granada will cost you around 630 Euro for utilities and apartment.

This is a frightening number when looking at salary, however, your money will go a lot farther in the grocery store than you think, all of the necessities like milk, sugar, orange juice will add up to just under 30 Euro and a meal out on the town is around 8 Euro.

Everything in the city center is within walking distance so to save a couple Euro walk instead of taking the bus. Consider getting a three-bedroom apartment, which drops your cost from around 500 Euro to 400, Euro split three ways. Also, listen to the locals or teachers who have been there a little longer, they will know all cheapest tapas restaurants, bars, and weekend deals.

Contributed by Brittany Gibson