Teach English in Ecuador

Paid in the Cities, Volunteer Elsewhere

By Philippe Leduc

When I arrived in Quito in January, I walked into the South American Spanish Institute to find out about English teaching possibilities. Within 90 minutes, I had taken a grammar test and the director of the Institute had offered me a job. I started the following Monday.

In Quito alone, some 50 colleges and institutes offer English classes (see sidebar for recommendations). The two other big cities of Ecuador, Guayaquil and Cuenca, also have institutes. And if you are looking for a more exotic experience, it’s easy to volunteer teach--in exchange for room and board--in one of the hundreds of jungle villages in the eastern Amazon provinces of Napo, Sucumbios, or Pastaza.

The Visa. You will probably be told at the Ecuadorian embassy that a work visa is required for teaching English and this can only be obtained with a work contract sent to you from Ecuador before leaving. I tried this in vain for three months before giving up. I have not met any foreigner who has a work visa, and I have not been asked about it by any potential employer in the many schools I’ve visited. The 90-day visitor’s visa is more than adequate and it’s free. A three-month extension costs $2.

Requirements and Pay. Few institutes require any teaching qualifications, but some give priority to TEFL or TESL (or other) certificate holders and pay these teachers a little more. Colegios (high schools, not listed in the sidebar, except for Academia Cotopaxi) require either teaching qualifications and/or experience. The only institute that does not hire inexperienced applicants is the British Council, which requires two years of teaching experience. A few other institutes, such as the Experiment and Lingua Franca, pay qualified teachers more than their non-qualified ones. For those without teaching qualifications, knowledge of English is usually assessed with a grammar test.

The average hourly wage is 15,000 sucres ($3). This is good by Ecuadorian standards--a cook, waiter, or cleaning person earns 50 cents per hour. However, qualified teachers can find jobs paying between 25,000 and 50,000 sucres ($5-$10). Some institutions deduct 8 percent in taxes, as required by Ecuadorian law.

Length of Employment. The minimum commitment an institute will ask for is six weeks; the average is a few months, or even a year in the case of colegios. The school year is from October to July in Quito, and from March to November on the coast. Most foreigners prefer to teach in an institute, where they’re not required to sign a contract.

PHILIPPE LEDUC writes from Quito, Ecuador.