ABOUT THE SCHEME
90 day ALL EXPENSES PAID English teaching, learning and enjoying
Iberia Teacher
What is it?
IberiaTeacher is run in partnership by Red Ochre in London, 3Si in Seville, Synopsis Practice in Lisbon, plus partner schools in Spain and Portugal. An IberiaTeacher placement helps you to develop and use your teaching skills in English academies and in the community in Seville, Spain or Lisbon, Portugal.
Why have we set this up?
Cultural understanding and multilinguism
Seville and Lisbon have a significant amount of people who would love to learn English (perhaps from someone like you). At the same time, you can also learn, improve and immerse yourself in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. Whilst in Seville or Lisbon, you'll also receive a lot of lessons too: about yourself and teaching as well as life lessons from the people and the Iberian places where you live, work and hang out. For that reason, we call the scheme, "IberiaTeacher" - you teach and get taught by the place at the same time. Both cities are vibrant and fascinating places to be and so much can change in your life simply from living there for three months.
What's involved?
Here's how it works...
- Placements last 90 days.
- Our last group was Apr 10th-July 8th 2024. There are no planned groups after this following a lack of funding and appetite for working with Europe.
- You will get full expenses paid. That means we pay for your accommodation, flights, bills, 24/7 in country support, flight transfers in Lisbon and Seville AND you get a grant of £130 (€146) per week for your food costs, local travel, to cover your travel insurance and any extras.
- For each group we have spaces for 3 people in Seville and 3 people in Lisbon. So we are currently recruiting for 6 participants for April, 2024. You can apply here.
- Train and teach in well known English academies and schools. OUIEA, Conecta Idiomas, OC Languages, and others in Seville. Or Berlitz, Linguagest or Astoria International School in Lisbon. We will provide you with job descriptions and tell you more about these during interviews.
- Your own room in a flat in central Seville or Lisbon. You’ll share a lounge and kitchen with the two others who are also on IberiaTeacher. That way you'll have peer support and meet other newly qualified teachers like you.
- To help you progress in your teaching, all participants will have LRN Level 3 training in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ELTAB) as part of the programme.
Other benefits of joining us
Teach AND learn a language, be with a group of newly qualified teachers and learn the rhythm of life in Sevilla or Lisboa...
- Rapidly boost your Spanish or Portuguese skills. You'll get one free lesson a week with our qualified language teachers in Seville and Lisbon, plus access to intercambio language exchanges. You do not need any Spanish or Portuguese language skills to join IberiaTeacher.
- Develop your skills and experience. IberiaTeacher is not a training programme or a course. We are focused on 'learning by doing' and on participants contributing to the school wherever they can. Placements will vary but generally you’ll start off with an orientation week, move to shadowing activities before assisting and then running your own classes.
- Be part of a peer learning group. All our academies are different and to give you a flavour of day to day work on IberiaTeacher, you can watch this video of Rhian's day at Lope de Vega in Seville, or read case studies of Usamah, John and Marcos or Amalia at OC Languages. Plus read the testimony below or see our Instagram. For a summary of what it's like on IberiaTeacher see this video by Lewis.
- Continuous in country support from a friendly team who’ve done it. Our partners, 3Si are based in Seville and Synopsis Practice in Lisbon. Both staff teams have taught languages and speak fluent English.
- Preparation training before you go. We'll be running Zoom preparation calls and we'll support you to make sure you have everything in order. With your co-operation., we'll make sure you're ready to roll!
APPLY NOW!
Don't miss out on a chance to learn to teach with Turing funding support
Who can apply?
Please read this carefully
As long as you are a UK or EU citizen based in the UK, whoever you are - you can apply for our scheme.
Our criteria is simply focused on people who are kind and curious, as well as fully committed to English teaching, languages, and to contributing something positive into the mix of the city's life whilst there. IberiaTeacher is for those at the beginning or early stage of their English teaching work so it is not appropriate for people with many years of English teaching experience.
It is highly useful to have gained a TESOL, CELTA or a TEFL within the last couple of years. We will be running some training in the LRN Level 3 Course in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ELTAB). This training will be run in the first week of arrival during our orientation. However, having some existing relevant certification, skills or experience is helpful especially as our participant groups are now smaller (three in each city).
Whilst you will have support in Seville and Lisbon, it is also absolutely vital that you also have your own forms of support (e.g. friends, family, personal habits or skills) and a decent ability to take care of yourself at this time.
We have had IberiaTeacher participants from the UK, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Ireland, Slovakia and Ukraine...and welcome all eligible nationalities. You must be based in the UK however.
No visas are involved in IberiaTeacher. Due to Brexit restrictions, British citizens must not have travelled to the EU (Schengen Zone) in the 90 days previous to departure in order to not break immigration rules. This means you must not have travelled to the EU Schengen Zone after 11th January, 2024 . This can help you to calculate this rule: www.schengenvisainfo.com/visa-calculator/ We ask you to do your own calculations on this however and take responsibility for knowing whether you are within Brexit immigration laws. You cannot join this scheme if you are unable to complete 90 days. For EU citizens - you will have no restrictions.
How to apply
Applications for are now CLOSED. There are no future groups planned following a lack of funding and appetite for working with Europe.
To apply, download an application form and send it along with your CV to the Founder of IberiaTeacher – Martin Cooper: martin@redochre.org.uk
We recommend that you a) make sure your CV is up to date and b) include all work or life roles in your CV. For us there is not such thing as work or life experience that is not "relevant".
We want to make sure we recruit from a rich pool of talent. We are able to make accessibility adaptions at any stage of the process should they be required for good reason. Please get in touch if so.
Martin Cooper
Founder of IberiaTeacher
Martin takes care of business from London and directs the programme. He wishes he could have done something like IberiaTeacher.
Irene Cortijo
Project Co-ordinator, 3Si
Reeny ensures placements and accommodation in Sevilla go well. She is also a translator, voice over artist and fluent in knowing what it's like to move to another place and adapt.
Inês Araújo
Project Co-ordinator, Synopsis
Inês provides super skilled direction, support and insight across programme activities, placements and accommodation. She's also a local Lisbon language teacher. Muito Bom!
Monika Wasik
Project Co-ordinator, Synopsis
Monika supports our Lisbon placements. She also speaks six+ languages and knows all the best places in Lisboa.
Bruno Riobó Budiño
Overview, Synopsis
Bruno handles the overview in Lisboa. He's also a language teacher and fount of knowledge for the scheme in both Sevilla and Lisboa.
Uday Thakkar
Project Support, Red Ochre
Uday is co-founder of Red Ochre and as a Chartered Accountant and social entrepreneur, he takes care of the financial stuff.
Gallery
Latest photos: travel, arrival and review
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Iberia Teacher is a partnership of organisations in the UK, Spain and Portugal led by Red Ochre in London
Turing
Our funders
After the creation of IberiaTeacher via the European Union Erasmus Plus fund, the continuation of this programme is made possible through the generous funding via British taxpayers and the Turing Scheme.
