If you are thinking about relocating your life to London, one of the best ways that you can start earning an income right away is to teach languages. Many people who are proficient in foreign languages, such as Spanish, Italian, German and French, wonder how to teach in London. One of the best things about this job is that you get paid quite well when you teach languages in the UK. Of course you would get also enjoy the rich culture of the English people and the great countryside. The process of becoming a language teacher is quite straightforward.

The first step is to get a Spanish Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults or what is otherwise known as a CLTA. This requires that you be over 18, that you have the minimum level of required Language (you need to be at least B1 according to the European Framework for Languages or at near native level) and that you can handle class of students. In London the best known provider for the CELTA courses is The International House, you can visit their website for more information.

The second step is to get the CRB certificate that shows that you have no criminal records in order to work with children. The CRB stands for Criminal Records Bureau. This requires that you be at least 16 years old. Your employer is allowed to access these records and to do further for a criminal background so it is very important that you be truthful. If you do have a criminal background, you may not be able to be language trainer but because you are multilingual, there are other jobs that you can do. According to their website, “The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions. It also prevents unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children, through its criminal record checking and barring functions.” This tells you that you may be still be able to work in the UK, only that there are certain groups of people that you cannot work with.

The third thing you should do is to consider enrolling in the government qualified teacher training programs (QTS) promoted by the UK education ministry to start to teach in national schools. The UK is making a concerted effort to improve the quality of higher education. One of the things that they do for teachers is allow them to apply for a loan that allows them further their education in their specific areas. They offer the scholarships based on per-student funding rather than per qualification funding. This greatly improves your chances of qualifying; so long as you can handle a sizeable class, you have every chance of qualifying. They also require that you be more than 24 years old. According to an FAQ in one of their websites, “For the first time Loans will give learners in further education access to financial support for tuition costs similar to that which is available in higher education. This means rather than an individual having to pay for their course upfront they have the option of accessing a Loan, from the Student Loans Company, that they will only start to repay once they have left the course and are earning over £21,000.” This shouldn’t worry you so much though because you are sure to make some good money when you get your teaching job.