This piece of PR fluff not even trying to pretend to be journalism doesn’t provide any evidence at all for its claim that “there is currently a high demand for English teachers here”, but it is certainly conceivable when even back when I was there the McDonald’s application form had spaces for English level and computer skills. It’s also still possible for beginner teachers to get jobs in Japan after two more or less lost decades of deflation, if with the constantly falling wages that the TEFL in Spain story might be conveniently forgetting to mention.
As usual, I rely on my readers to provide better information than “news” sites do. Any comparisons to other countries very welcome too of course.
A related piece in the earlier days of this slump:
TEFLtastic 
Hi,
I’m teaching in Spain – I’ve just left Madrid to work in Andalucia, near Jaén. Everyone told me I was crazy going to look for work in Andalucia, it being common knowledge that the whole province is unemployed, but in fact I’ve got both a job and a flat lined up.
There is lots of work in Spain both public and private because, as you say, just about every Spanish job requires a certain amount of English. You don’t really need a degree either, although you’ll be considered for better jobs if you have got one. Most schools/academies do want you to have at least two years experience, in fact, in the cities, especially Madrid, the sector is very competitive and there is a lot of in-office work which means lots of travelling on the metro and probably no holiday pay. This is an issue given the large numbers of holidays in Spain.
Side effects of the crisis are that some of your contracts will be fairly unstable as more and more companies cut back on in-office training, public sector pay is falling and prices are rising (except rent, which is fairly cheap in some places). The government has made it easier to sack people with lower severance pay (this is supposed to help fight unemployment???) and workers rights are being eroded.
However, it’s still Spain, there is sun, sea, wine and good food, a relaxed way of life, all the normal Spanish things are the same except that everyone is broke and there are homeless people and beggars on the streets in large numbers. Watch your handbag, but still go!
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Thanks Alix, a nice summary and as I was hoping much better than the “article” I linked to!
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I’ve been in Pamplona for close to 2 years now.
I’ve worked with 2 of the biggest English Teaching companies around and I still managed to get some work from a company in Madrid. I can tell you first hand that there is indeed a demand for English. Sometimes my flatmate (an English teacher as well) has to turn students away. Private classes are nice and you can easily double your salary (or triple) even while working a 24 hour/week.
Even so, companies are pulling out so the English Teaching companies (here known as Academies) are loosing customers. Teachers have been sacked or given fewer hours. This is common, and according to some, it may continue for some time.
I’m also shocked to see more and more Academies here. They’re mushrooming as if there is no crisis. I’ve worked with some even though I’m not a native, never lived in an English speaking country or hold any sort of certification except my University Diploma (majored in English). Problem is that most promise their customers natives (even though some have no experience whatsoever when it comes to teaching) and the customer demands it – which has costed me students in the past.
But a strong level of English is demanded and mine has gotten me lots of work. People here are scared because of the crisis and they want to better their resumes with a good level of English. A lot believe that they’ll keep their jobs if they do so. And with motivation like that of course there’s going to be work for people that can teach.
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Another “article” on the exact same story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/alana-macpherson/spanish-schools-defy-economic-crisis_b_1835638.html
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