My first step

[wendycole]

Hello my name is Wendy i am starting my journey to teaching english in argentina. I welcome and advice!
Thanks!

 

[wendycole]

*Argentina

 

[T'Brigadier]

The only advise that I can give you its,,,, make sure that your spanish its good enough!... cause if it doesnt... you gonna have serious troubles... you may fell free to add me on your MSN if you would like to practice your spanish: [email protected] ( im not mexican )
Regards

 

[steveinbsas]

Perhaps Wendy and T'Brigadier can teach each other.

 

[va2ba]

Have a lot of money saved up to live on for at least a few months. It will take a long time to build up a client base to work with. With the way the economy is going, people are spending less on these type of things, so it may be harder to find people to teach.

And yes, you must have a good foundation in Spanish unless you only plan on teaching advanced students.

 

[jayjane]

I second that. Bring enough savings to basically cover you for several months and cover a plane ticket home. Most people that come down here to do this leave very quickly.

Search around this site. Most people will tell you it is very low-paying and there are a ton of disadvantages. Bad schedules, a lot of traveling, fighting for your correct pay, etc. If you are looking to make some money, go somewhere else. But hey, don´t listen to the warnings. Come and try it out. Just bring lots of money with you and have an escape plan.

 

[cbalanoff]

get business cards made when you get here and also put up fliers, great way to get private students, give some cards to friends and tell them if they know anyone who needs a teacher to please pass it to them. Working for institutes can be a good supplement, but if you want to do well, private is the way to go. A way to cut down on travel time and costs is to have students come to your apartment, that way you can schedule them back to back and make the most out of your work day.

 

[DontMindMe]

And yes, you must have a good foundation in Spanish unless you only plan on teaching advanced students.

This is 100% inaccurate. Any half decent TEFL course will teach you that you are doing a disservice to your students every time you speak to them in their native language. It is possible to teach complete beginners here without uttering a word of Spanish. I've done it frequently. It is challenging, but it is absolutely possible.

To prove that it is indeed possible, my TEFL instructor taught our class a beginner's Norwegian lesson speaking nothing but Norwegian. It took acting, pantomime and chalkboard illustrations, all planned out in advance to a T, but by the time the immaculately executed lesson was over, we could introduce ourselves, ask how the other person was doing, etc. It blew me away.

I would recommend building a solid Spanish foundation for getting around town and avoiding being screwed over again and again, but there are plenty of people who come here to teach not knowing much more than "hola."

 

[sesamosinsal]

I think this depends on learning styles. I was taught Spanish in both Spanish and English, starting around 13 years of age. I speak Spanish nearly flawlessly. Many Argentines initially think I am Argentine; Chileans/Colombians/Ecuadorians/etc., just assume that I am; and foreigners from non Spanish-speaking countries are confused as heck when I tell them I'm not from here. I'm not trying to gloat, but I am just saying that having concepts and grammar explained to me in my native language (as well as immersion) has really helped me to speak the language the way I do.