What is the necessary training to be an English teacher?
What is the necessary training to be an English teacher?
In matter, everything evolves from time to time, but the essential remains intact. There is no doubt that to begin, you must have a good – if not excellent – level of English from the beginning of school training.
In general, we get good marks in the subjects that we like and, reciprocally, we value the subjects in which we excel …
Therefore, it seems unlikely that anyone could think of the possibility of teaching the English language without speaking a single word!
But, we prefer to put the cards on the table, so as not to feed false hopes … It will not be the training in physics or geography that makes the difference!
Become a teacher! A bilingual professional experience, a stay abroad or a training through the UNED: different ideas to prepare!
After passing the baccalaureate and selectivity, the best thing is to study English at the Faculty: the Degree in Teaching Specialty of Foreign Language (English), the Degree in English Studies or in Translation and Interpretation. You can also opt for an internship in the United Kingdom, or even teaching ELE (Spanish as a Foreign Language) in a country where the main language is English (United States, Canada, Australia, India …).
Obtaining a university degree will be enough to study the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training for Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, Professional Training and Language Teaching . It is the normal way to become an English teacher (it is not the case of Compulsory Primary Education where this master would not be necessary), and another essential requirement, mainly to be able to teach in public establishments, is to overcome the dreaded oppositions .
There are different academies and study centers where you can prepare the oppositions if you think that you alone will not be able to achieve it.
The test is divided into two parts and the call for each Autonomous Community will specify the characteristics of the tests in this phase of the process.
The first test of the opposition phase will have as its object the demonstration of the specific knowledge of the teaching specialty to which one is opting, and consists of two parts that will be evaluated jointly:
Part A: A practical test that allows to verify that the candidates have the scientific training and the mastery of the technical skills corresponding to the specialty for which they are chosen. Each Autonomous Community specifies the characteristics of this test in its call. It is usually a practical case that describes a school situation related to the specialty for the opponent to organize the educational response based on the specific characteristics and circumstances that arise. Sometimes they are short questions about different aspects of the teaching-learning process. In Madrid, this part is subdivided in turn into two tests, the first of them of general culture common to all specialties, and the second would be the practical course.
Part B: Development in writing of a topic chosen by the applicant from a number of topics, drawn at random by the court, proportional to the total number of topics on the agenda of each specialty chosen.
The second test of the opposition phase will have as its objective the verification of the pedagogical aptitude of the applicant and his mastery of the techniques necessary for the teaching exercise, and will consist of: the presentation and oral defense of a didactic program, and the preparation and oral presentation of a didactic unit.
Prior to the oral defense of your didactic program, you have a maximum of one hour to prepare the didactic unit, in a classroom, without the possibility of connecting with the outside world.
For the defense of your programming and the oral presentation of the didactic unit, you have a maximum of one hour and at the end of the presentation, the Court may ask you as many questions or issues as it deems necessary in relation to the content of your intervention. What is the necessary training to be an English teacher?
In the call for opposition of each of the Autonomous Communities you will find all the necessary information regarding the mode of registration and payment of fees, composition and functions of the courts, agendas, scoring system for each of the tests, etc.What is the necessary training to be an English teacher?