It is said that Spain and Portugal hvae the lowest number of English speakers in Europe. Speaking Spanish is essential to survive here.
The Spanish who do speak English often have problems with pronunciation. Many cannot make the ´sh´sound or the ´j´sound. The ´zh´sound is also another one. These sounds don´t exist in Spanish.
Whatsmore, some students have problems sounding some vowels. I recently had a student who couldn´t say the word ´sheet´without saying ´shit.´ After 15 minutes of trying to get him to make the ee sound, the guy just simply went back to saying ´shit.´
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Monday, 5 November 2007
Teaching in Madrid
Spain is one of the most popular places in Europe to teach. According to tefl.com over 26% of jobseekers who have their CVs posted on their website is looking for a position there. Apparently, there are now more people entering Spain than leaving the country.
Why?
1. It probably hasthe best weather in Europe. Everyone wants a place in the sun.
2. Many people have a romanticised vision of the country. People have an image of the country being laid-back and relaxed.
3. The language is easier than Korean, Japanese, Slovak or Polish.
4. There is a large ex-pat community here. Apparently, according to the last count, 1,000,000 Britons live here. There are also a fair number of Germans, Canadians and Americans.
5. Thanks to low-cost airlines, it is cheap, quick and accessible to get here.
6. Spain is not too much of a culture shock.
Spain has always had many English language schools. Most of them are relatively dodgy outfits, which have a high turnover of teachers. Due to the demand of people wanting to live in Spain, they can keep wages relatively low. The current average wage in Spain is 1000 Euros a month for a teacher. This is only just enough to survive.
In Madrid, the salary is not much better, despite the additional costs.
Why?
1. It probably hasthe best weather in Europe. Everyone wants a place in the sun.
2. Many people have a romanticised vision of the country. People have an image of the country being laid-back and relaxed.
3. The language is easier than Korean, Japanese, Slovak or Polish.
4. There is a large ex-pat community here. Apparently, according to the last count, 1,000,000 Britons live here. There are also a fair number of Germans, Canadians and Americans.
5. Thanks to low-cost airlines, it is cheap, quick and accessible to get here.
6. Spain is not too much of a culture shock.
Spain has always had many English language schools. Most of them are relatively dodgy outfits, which have a high turnover of teachers. Due to the demand of people wanting to live in Spain, they can keep wages relatively low. The current average wage in Spain is 1000 Euros a month for a teacher. This is only just enough to survive.
In Madrid, the salary is not much better, despite the additional costs.
Saturday, 3 November 2007
Autumn in Madrid
It´s November and the clocks have finally gone back. It now gets light at 7.49 in the morning and the sun sets at 18.15. This isn´t as half as depressing as the UK when the clocks go back. What´s more, it is still relatively hot here with daytime temperatures of +20.
I thought I´d take advantage of the warm weather to take some pictures of Madrid´s finest landmarks such as this one: the Temple de Deboda, which was kindly donated to Franco´s government of the 1960s by the Egyptians. Apparently this building is over 2000 years old.
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