NEW: Certificate in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language

Looking for a way to put your Spanish language skills to good use? Teaching Spanish as a foreign language (la enseñanza del español a hablantes nativos de otras lenguas) could be for you. Our new course Certificado de Profesor de ELE (Español como Lengua Extranjera) is ideal if you (or someone you know) wants to gain an internationally recognised Spanish teaching qualification.

We are proud to say that our language school Oxford House (Oxford TEFL S.L.) is a Center accredited by the Instituto Cervantes for the teaching of Spanish as a second language. Oxford House is the educational center that develops and organizes the ELE Certificate courses. In this center, the modalities face-to-face and online of the courses are also carried out, in addition to the teaching practices.

We are also proud of our recent colaboration with the University of Salamanca, to offer a collection of teacher development courses for Spanish teachers, accredited by International Courses of the University of Salamanca to further develop your skills as an ELE teacher.

The University of Salamanca has more than 800 years of history, and the quality of its courses are recognised worldwide. It is considered one of the best universities of Hispanic Philology in the world. Among the values of the University of Salamanca are quality, universal and multicultural vocation, and teamwork. Oxford House Formación de Profesores shares those same values. These collaborations, along with our vast experience training teachers over the last 25 years, mean that we can guarantee teacher training courses of the highest quality.

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What is ELE?

If you’re a regular visitor to our blog, you may have read a previous post about the various acronyms that exist in the teaching world. Today we have another one for you!

ELE stands for Español como Lengua Extranjera – Spanish as a foreign language. 

Just as TEFL teachers teach English to non-native speakers, ELE teachers give lessons to those who don’t speak Spanish as a first language.

While we’d encourage an aspiring English teacher to consider a CELTA or equivalent course, their Spanish-speaking counterpart will need a high quality Certificado de Profesor de ELE course. 

With 22 million Spanish learners worldwide, the ELE industry is well-developed and diverse. For one, there are learners of all ages, from young children to older adults. Not only that, but their motivations for learning Spanish can also differ greatly.

For instance, some students are moving to or living in a Spanish-speaking country. Others need Spanish for business or travel reasons. Still others want to communicate with extended family or visitors from abroad. Find out more about why now is a great time to gain a certification to teach Spanish as a foreign language.

Where can you teach Spanish as a foreign language?

You can teach Spanish in your own country, abroad or online. This flexibility means that our graduates have a very wide range of employment options to consider.

Looking for adventure? ELE could take you to Beijing, Abu Dhabi or Rio!

Looking for a way to volunteer in a meaningful way? Volunteering as a Spanish teacher could be right up your street.

Want a part-time job to fill your afternoons? Then Spanish teaching might well be for you. In fact, qualified ELE teachers often teach a variety of learners in a range of formats, meaning that their work fits in around other commitments and provides an interesting and varied schedule.

Why gain your qualification to teach Spanish as a foreign language course with us?

We believe that learning to teach is an important and challenging endeavour. This is why we have designed our Certificado de Profesor de ELE courses to be rigorous, practical and enjoyable. We want you to feel as excited about teaching as we do!

“Teaching is essentially a craft, a professional skill acquired mainly with guidance and practice in the classroom. For this reason the qualifications we offer have observed teaching practice as their central focus.”

Duncan Foord, Oxford House Director

Here is a summary of the main benefits of gaining the Certificado de Profesor de ELE qualification with our expert team of tutors:

Receive a recognised ELE teaching qualification and impress employers worldwide

As an established teacher training centre, we have spent many years listening to our trainees carefully. This has helped us understand their goals and how they can reach them. We are committed to innovating and improving our courses based on listening to feedback during and after our courses. This dedication to continuous improvement has led to our school gaining accreditation by the Instituto Cervantes, the only international accreditation in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign langauge.

As a leader in teacher training for English teachers, the Oxford TEFL brand is also well-known worldwide. This recognition gives employers confidence, and helps guarantee that our Certificado de Profesor de ELE graduates are equipped with all the skills they need for teaching Spanish as a foreign langauge effectively.

Receive more training and be better prepared for working as a Spanish teacher

As a participant of our Certificado de Profesor de ELE course, you will receive a total of 160 hours of training. Many other course providers offer far fewer hours of training and much less support from their team of trainers. With us, you will have plenty of time to receive expert training from our tutors and put into practice everything you are learning to help you become a competent, confident teacher of Spanish upon graduation. Employers are sure to take your application more seriously when they see that you have committed to a full-length, comprehensive course in teaching Spanish as a foreign language.

Teach real ELE students and become a confident teacher by the time you have graduated

We believe that you ‘learn by doing‘. For this reason, your 10 hours of teaching practice and 12 hours of teacher or peer observations will be integrated throughout the course. This means you can apply what you are learning straight away and fine-tune your skills over the duration of the course.

It seems like common sense that this is necessary for anyone who’s serious about becoming a Spanish teacher, but it’s astonishing how many course providers offer little or no hands-on classroom experience. Imagine the stress of turning up for your first day of paid teaching without ever having delivered a class before – no thanks!

Study online or face to face, full-time or part-time, to suit your schedule

Oxford House (of which Oxford TEFL is part) has been providing language classes and teacher training for nearly a quarter of a century. During this time, we have trained over 5000 teachers now working worldwide. With a wide range of teacher training courses on offer, we have experience of working with trainees from diverse backgrounds and based in countries in every corner of the world.

We understand that you may need to gain your qualification fast, or combine it with other commitments. That’s why we offer a variety of modalities and schedules to most time zones. Regardless of whether you choose to take the Certificado de Profesor de ELE course online or in Barcelona, full-time or part-time, we ensure that you receive the same in-depth training and level of support (more on this below) as our other course formats.

Reach your goals by receiving guidance from our carefully selected ELE tutors

As well as our own highly qualified and experienced team of tutors, we have collaborated with some of the foremost experts in the industry to bring you the best of what the ELE community has to offer.

Specialists in areas such as Teaching Spanish Online, Teaching Spanish to Young Learners, Teaching Spanish Pronunciation and Teaching Business Spanish have provided in-depth training videos to help you hone in on your area of interest. We are collaborating with only the best ELE tutors for every element of the course. For a taster of what our collaborators have to offer, check out our blog (in Spanish).

Receive assistance finding ELE teaching work and take the next step to a rewarding career

Thinking of teaching Spanish online from home? Interested in moving to another country to work in a langage school? Or perhaps you’d like to start your own teaching ELE business? We offer all our graduates a dedicated careers session and 12 months (360 hours) of free online or face-to-face (in Barcelona) English classes to help you enhance your CV and gain the communication skills you may need to start a career abroad.

Our practical resources will support you in finding the right job upon graduation – another feature that makes us stand out from other providers. As you will see, there are many locations around the world with high demand for Spanish teachers, including China, Hong Kong, Spain, the United States, Brazil and many other countries in South America. Find out more about how we can help you find a great job working as a Spanish as a foreign language teacher here.

And our graduates are already recommending us

These features and many more mean that in the last 12 months our graduates have given us a 9.54 recommendation rating and a 9.14 value for money rating. Around 95% of our trainees pass the course due to the unique level of support we offer and the highly practical way we guide you towards your qualification to teach Spanish as a foreign language. Read why our graduates recomend the course. Would you like to join our community of highly satisfied graduates?

Is teaching Spanish as a foreign language for you? Things that are required

Applicants for the Certificado de Profesor de ELE course must:

• Be over the age of 18
• Have at least a C1 level of Spanish (in the case that Spanish is not your first language)
• Have a laptop or computer with a good internet connection
• Possess some basic technology skills (eg. saving and sharing files, preparing a powerpoint presentation)

Things you don’t need to worry about

Firstly, remember that there is no upper age limit for the course. Of course some aspiring teachers are younger people looking to start their working lives, but ELE teaching can be a great second career for professionals who are looking for a change. It can also make an excellent retirement job, or be a supplement to your existing employment. There are ELE teachers of all ages, each bringing their unique experience and perspective. This is part of what makes the industry so fresh and exciting.

No native speaker? Keep in mind that potential Spanish teachers do not need to be native speakers, and needn’t have an official Spanish certification. You need to have at least a C1 level of Spanish. Our experienced Admissions Team will assess your level of Spanish during the application process, which is also a great opportunity for you to ask any questions and find out more about what to expect.

No degree? Don’t have any teaching experience? No need to worry! Our Certificado de Profesor de ELE course and expert team of tutors will provide you with all the skills you need to start a new career as a Spanish as a foreign language teacher.

Already have some ELE teaching experience? This course could be for you too! Our Certificado de Profesor de ELE course is also suitable for more experienced Spanish teachers who would like to develop or freshen up their skills and demonstrate to potential employers that they are taking professional development seriously. Being in possession of a recognised teaching certificate really gives our graduates the edge over less qualified applicants, and also helps them to attract a higher salary.

What is the format of the course?

We offer four ways to gain the Certificado de Profesor de ELE qualification:

As mentioned above, our many years of experience in teacher training have taught us that flexibility is important to our trainees. For this reason, we have created four different options to ensure that there is a course to suit everyone. Choose from:

4-week intensive 100% Online ELE course

This is a great choice if you want to get qualified quickly but prefer to study from the comfort of home. Create a comfortable home study station, make your favourite coffee during breaks, cut down on travel costs – this option has a lot to offer.

12-week part-time 100% Online ELE course

This option also allows you to study from home, but provides increased flexibility. Already working? Have a busy family life? Prefer to have more time to consolidate your learning? This is the format for you.

4-week intensive ELE course in Barcelona

Do you live in beautiful Barcelona? Or do you want to study here and explore the city? This might be the choice for you. The course is full-time so you can gain your qualification quickly and your studies will take place in our modern school with all the facilities and resources you could wish for.

12-week part-time intensive ELE course in Barcelona

If you’re living in Barcelona and have other commitments, you could consider the part-time choice. You’ll still have all the advantages of taking the course in our central language school, but your studies can fit in around work, other studies, or your family, for example.

Which course format is best?

Regardless of the format you choose, we guarantee that you will receive the same level of high-quality tuition and support. Over many years of experience, we have become adept at providing our trainees with everything they need to succeed, be that in-person or online. The decision of which course to go for simply depends on your own goals, circumstances and preferences – there really is something for everyone.

Course structure for Certificado de Profesor de ELE

We have designed our courses in a logical, intuitive way to ensure that it is easy to follow. Regardless of the format you choose, our Certificado de Profesor de ELE course will include the following:

• 160 hours of training.
• 100 hours of Online Moodle training: you can do this at a time to suit you (approximately 9 or 25 hours per week depending on whether you choose part-time or full-time).
• 10 hours observing real ELE classes with teachers or peers.
• 12 hours of observed teaching practice with real adult learners.
• 5 support sessions with our expert tutors.
• 6 hours of lesson planning sessions with a coursemate and your tutor.
• 6 hours of lesson evaluation sessions with your tutor.
• 20 hours of independent study: this is approximate, and can be completed at your convenience during the course.

What can I expect to learn?

If this all sounds good so far, you’re probably wondering about the course content. What’s actually taught? Well, as we have seen, the course is very thorough. This means that you will study all the key aspects of Spanish teaching and so that you are prepared to enter the job market straight away. Here’s an overview of what’s included:

• Language teaching/ learning and methodology
• Teaching Skills
• Preparing and conducting classes
• Teaching Young Learners
• Lesson planning
• Teaching grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation
• Classroom management
• Teaching Spanish Online
• Knowledge, skills and practical tools necessary to organize and teach ELE
• Teaching Business Spanish
• Elements of reflection necessary for the organization, preparation and delivery of content in the ELE classroom
• Teaching Teens
• Finding work

What career support is available?

Having taken our 160-hour Certificado de Profesor de ELE course with observed teaching practice, you will already be at an advantage to many other job applicants. However, the support and care we offer to our trainees does not end there. We also offer a range of resources to support our graduates in their job hunt. These include the following:

• A list of useful links. These include job hunting sites and online platforms which make an excellent starting point for those setting out on the job hunt.
• A list of contact institutions. These are selected ELE schools and academies in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and also online. All are actively providing in-person and/ or online Spanish classes and the list will help you to focus your search within your chosen country or region.
• A live careers session. This will answer some of the most common questions regarding the Teaching ELE job hunt, and give you the chance to ask our experts for any advice you might need.
• An exclusive video by experienced ELE teacher and trainer Elena Prieto. She will guide you through the process of finding work online, focusing on promotion, pricing, technology and more.
• A letter of recommendation provided upon request.
• A Certificado de Profesor de ELE with teaching practice provided by Oxford House, a language school accredited by the Instituto Cervantes for teaching Spanish as a second language.

Find out more about working as a Spanish as a foreign language teacher.

Would you like to find out more about what you will learn on the Certificado de Profesor de ELE course?

We have recorded a comprehensive video where we tell you everything you will learn on the course. Watch the video now!

Still have questions?

Watch our FAQs video (in Spanish) with one of our tutors, Regina Cárdenas.

What next?

Hopefully by now it’s clear that Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE) is a great way to achieve your career goals, travel the world, earn an extra income, or simply to embark upon a new challenge.

If you’d like to talk to our team about how to get started, you can email Martina at [email protected]. Naturally we speak both Spanish and English, and we will be more than happy to get you started on your Spanish teaching journey. ¡Ánimo!

Do you have an advanced level of Spanish? Take the next step to becoming a qualified Spanish as a foreign language teacher by visiting our website certificadoele.com or applying here.