I first knew about the programa de auxiliares de conversación (language assistants program) by the Ministry of Education of Spain in late 2018 after continuously searching online how to stay longer in a legal way in Spain.

As you can see, my attachment with Spain has been for years. It all began in college when I took six units of Spanish as a subject in my Journalism course at UST. When I entered the corporate world, I found there are higher paying jobs when you know how to speak and write Spanish in the Philippines. 

With that, I enrolled at Instituto Cervantes de Manila where not only I learned Spanish, but also about Spanish culture and friendships that blossomed out of interest in the language. I landed on different bilingual jobs in the last nine years, such as translating, teaching, reviewing, and hobbies such as weekend tour guiding that along the way, I got to know a lot of Spanish people. From then on, my circle of friends has been composed of Hispanics especially Spaniards.

In 2018, I fell in love with Spain after traveling it for the first time. In 2019, I came back and felt the same love. However, with only a Schengen tourist visa on those two occasions, I find my vacations in Spain very short! 

When I found out that this language assistants program can give me a type D visa and is offered among Filipino citizens with no strict age limit (18-60 years old), I got fully interested about it and so I gave it a try. I tried applying in 2019, but I was days short from the interview period. Only this 2020 I was given the chance.

To be straightforward, the program’s description, requirements, and applications are information heavy to put in one blog entry alone. With this, I plan to write several articles, which I’ll divide per topic, so that I can be as detailed as possible.

Let me begin with telling about the program and the commonly asked questions!

Note: There are several LA programs offered for Spain (ex: Meddeas, BEDA, etc.), which have their own descriptions and processes. Remember that this blog is only for the Ministry of Education’s LA program and so I may not be able to confidently speak about the other programs. 

Basically, the program lets you become an English language teacher assistant in bilingual public schools across Spain. Students are either in primary, high school, or language institutions. A language assistant (LA) has two main roles: 1) to assist the English teacher in improving the student’s English proficiency as a second language and 2) perform cultural exchange by introducing your country through presentation, visual aids, etc. among the students. 

Every year, the Ministry selects applicants from the partner countries, which include citizens of the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, India, and Singapore. A degree in education and/or teaching background aren’t required, but of course it’s a plus. Knowledge of Spanish isn’t required either as LAs are expected to teach in English only, but it’s an advantage since you’ll live in a Spanish-speaking country. 

The program is at least good for one academic year from October-June (duration depends on the region of assignment), and it’s renewable up to a maximum of 3 years. With this, it lets you stay legally in Spain with a valid número de identificación de extranjero (foreigner ID number) and número de identificación de extranjero (foreigner ID card). Also, you get the perks to travel to European Union countries, as if you’re only on domestic travel.

Do I receive money in this program? Yes. There’s a monthly stipend of 1000€ for Madrid and Valencia assignments, 700€ for other regions in Spain. It’s deposited in the LA’s Spanish bank account (which you have to open yourself once in Spain). 

Does the program provide free accommodation or assist you to find one? No. It’s really up to the LA to find an apartment or room for rent. 

Does the program provide flight booking? No. The LA has to book his/her own plane ticket. 

Does the program pay for the visa requirements and the visa fee? No. I'll discuss the visa requirements in the next blog, but some things you have to pay as requirements are: NBI clearance, medical exam, DOH authentication, apostille, and visa fee.

Is it a face-to-face class? Before (i.e. pre-pandemic days), it used to be 100% face-to-face. For the academic year 2020-2021, given the unpredictable times, it was stated in our assignment letter that online teaching is possible depending on the COVID-19 outbreak in the area where the school is at. 

What’s the working hours? The LA is expected to report to the school 16 hours a week, which is equivalent to 4 working days a week (3 days off, hurray!). LAs may be assigned either to one or two schools. In case assigned in two, the LA works for 2 hours per school daily.

What’s good is that you only work 4 hours a day, giving plenty of time to do something else. Legally speaking though, LAs are not allowed to do other jobs while in Spain. However, based on stories by current and past LAs, they can privately tutor students in case the parents are interested to enroll their child in such. It’s paid per hour, and so it serves as an extra income for the LAs since, looking at the monthly stipend, it’s just enough to pay the monthly rent, food, and other necessities in Spain.