Teaching English in Argentina 101

The name “Buenos Aires” conjures up images of fútbol, tango, steak and dulce du leche. Like many of you out there, you may feel bitten by the wanderlust bug and find yourself fantasizing about teaching English in the city known as “The Paris of South America”. But realistically what would it take? Sometimes there's a thick line between dreaming of doing something and actually doing it.

One of the great things about teaching in Argentina is that you don’t actually need a visa. Citizens of most nationalities are able to get a 90-day tourist visa upon arrival, and should you wish to renew it, all you need to do is leave the country for a few hours. This is easy to do from Buenos Aires—Colonia, Uruguay is just a ferry ride away!

One of my favorite aspects of Argentine culture is that they don't give much weight to titles, degrees, or certificates. It certainly doesn't hurt to have a TESL certificate, but there are plenty of institutions and people ready to take you on as long as you can prove you can teach.

YOUR OPTIONS

Your first option is to teach at an institution. This is probably the only option available to you if you're new and have no connections. Some institutions require a TESL certificate while others don’t. Unfortunately, the pay at these institutions is quite minimal for your services (typically 20 pesos/hr) and you'll probably end up doing more work than what you're actually getting paid for. Prep time is usually not included and you aren’t compensated if you have to travel to someone’s home.

PRIVATE LESSONS

Ultimately, teaching private lessons is the best way to line your pockets with a few extra pesos. You can set your own rate and teach out of your own home. Rates for private lessons range from 30-60 pesos/hr. My personal rate is 30 pesos an hour and I've been able to earn a decent amount through private lessons. This income actually turned into my spending money when I visited Montevideo, Uruguay.

Teaching enough private classes to earn a living, however, is very difficult and you could end up working 40-60 hours per week. It's generally a better idea to have other means of income and teach private English lessons casually on the side.

NETWORK TO SUCCEED

The key to teaching English Buenos Aires lies in networking. Great teaching opportunities exist, but if you're serious about making a life here, you'll have to start attending activities and making connections. Eventually you'll meet the right people and find more opportunities.

Don’t forget to bring some resources and English teaching materials from home. There is a lack of good material in Argentina. My favorite teaching tool is an orange book via Barrons languages called “Ingles para Latinos” by William Harvey. It would also be advisable to bring some English-Spanish dictionaries with you. I even found that I could sell some of my books to people for cash!

Since moving here I've witnessed Argentina rapidly change as it welcomes more foreigners than ever coming to teach, study and volunteer. Its people are just starting to recognize the importance of learning English as more public and private schools introduce it into their curriculum. Bottom line: Argentina is now ripe with teaching opportunities and is quickly becoming accustomed to foreigners. The doors to teach English are opening like never before. If you're open, flexible, mindful, creative, resourceful and able to think on your feet, then welcome to life as an English teacher in Buenos Aires!