Internship Fields
No teaching degree or advanced Spanish needed
Teaching English abroad is one of Adelante’s most requested internship placements, and it’s easy to see why. It combines meaningful work, genuine cultural immersion, direct human connection, and international professional experience into one of the most flexible and accessible programs we offer.
Here’s what makes it stand out: you don’t need a teaching degree or TEFL certification to apply. Thanks to Adelante’s longstanding relationships with language institutes, schools, and community organizations across Spain and Latin America, we can place motivated candidates without formal teaching credentials into real classrooms, institutes, and community settings, with full training provided before you begin. You also don’t need strong Spanish. Teaching English abroad is one of the few Adelante sectors where beginner-level Spanish speakers are welcome.
Placements are available year-round across seven destinations: Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, and Oaxaca. These range from private language institutes and K-12 campuses to community centers, after-school programs, government offices, and artisan workshops. Whatever your background, level of Spanish, or career goals, Adelante has a teaching English placement that fits.
Teaching is one of the most human things you can do. Doing it in another country, in another language, with students who need what you bring makes it one of the most rewarding international experiences. Here is why candidates choose Adelante Abroad’s teaching English internships:
Adelante’s longstanding relationships with partner institutes let us place motivated, personable candidates regardless of formal teaching credentials. Your enthusiasm and commitment matter more than your CV.
This is one of the few Adelante sectors where you do not need strong Spanish to qualify. Your value in these placements is your English fluency and your ability to connect with students.
Whether you are placed at a private language institute or a community center, Adelante ensures you are prepared and supported before your first class. You will not be thrown in the deep end.
These include children in public primary schools and K-12 campuses, adult learners at language institutes, university students at summer camps, artisans learning English to market their crafts, and employees at government human rights offices.
Summer camp placements are especially popular for candidates who want a shorter, high-energy teaching experience between semesters.
TEFL experience abroad signals adaptability, cross-cultural communication, and a genuine ability to connect across differences.
Most Adelante interns receive academic credit through their home university, with full documentation support from our team.
These placements are open to candidates from any field of study. All you need is strong English fluency, enthusiasm for working with people, and curiosity to engage with a different culture and educational environment. No prior teaching experience required.
Teaching English placements at Adelante span a wide range of settings and student types, each offering a meaningfully different experience. Here’s a look at the main tracks:
Placements at private language institutes in Spain and Uruguay put you in front of adult and child learners in structured, small group classes. The students are paying clients, so the organization ensures you are properly trained and prepared before you enter the classroom. These professional placements build real classroom management and ESL instruction skills in a supportive environment.
School-based placements in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Latin America put you in real K-12 classrooms, working with local teachers to support English instruction across age groups. These placements are ideal for candidates considering careers in education or TEFL, and offer a fascinating look at how schools operate in a different cultural and linguistic context.
Community center placements, especially in Montevideo, Uruguay, offer a different teaching experience: less structured, more adaptive, and deeply community-rooted. Often, groups of learners form a class around the intern and the time they share, making your presence central to the program. Training is provided, but flexibility, creativity, and warmth are what make these placements come alive.
Summer camp placements are available for candidates seeking a shorter, high-energy teaching experience with children or university students. These fun, dynamic roles combine English teaching with activity leadership, cultural exchange, and the unique community summer programs create.
Oaxaca offers the most distinctive and varied teaching English placements in Adelante’s portfolio. Interns can be placed in public primary schools, government human rights offices teaching employees, low-risk boys’ juvenile hall programs, government social assistance offices running academic and cultural activities for local youth, and, most uniquely, teaching English to artisans who create Oaxacan wood carvings and helping them market their work. These transformative placements combine language teaching with community development, cultural preservation, and social impact in one of Mexico’s most extraordinary cities.
Destinations
Spain
Madrid's size and strong demand for English instruction make it a top TEFL destination in Spain. Interns are placed across language institutes, K-12 schools, and corporate programs, gaining exposure to diverse learners in one of Europe's most dynamic capitals.
Spain
Barcelona's global reputation attracts motivated students and professionals seeking English for career advancement. Interns teach across language institutes and schools in a city whose culture, energy, and coastline make it as rewarding outside the classroom as in.
Spain
Seville delivers an immersive, authentically Spanish experience with smaller classes and closer community ties. School and language institute placements suit interns who want to feel genuinely connected to the place they're teaching in.
Latin America
Uruguay offers some of Adelante's most immersive, people-centered placements, from structured small groups at language institutes to community centers where the program forms entirely around you.
Latin America
Chile offers teaching placements in language institutes and community settings across Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, combining meaningful English instruction work with life in two of South America's most beautiful and culturally rich coastal cities.
Latin America
Ecuador's placements span language programs, after-school settings, and youth organizations across Quito and Ambato, combining genuine teaching experience with a deeply immersive Andean cultural experience.
Latin America
Oaxaca stands out for its uniquely impactful placements, from schools and government programs to teaching artisans and supporting their craft. If you want to teach English and truly make a difference, Oaxaca is the place.
Programs
Barcelona
Intern in Barcelona with housing, placement, and language classes included. Guaranteed placements across 30+ fields, programs starting monthly.
Madrid
Intern in Madrid with housing, placement, and language classes included. Guaranteed placements across 30+ fields, programs starting monthly.
Seville
Intern in Seville with housing, placement, and language classes included. Guaranteed placements across 30+ fields, programs starting monthly.
Viña del Mar – Valparaíso
Intern in Chile with housing, placement, and language classes included. Guaranteed placements across 30+ fields, programs starting monthly.
Quito – Ambato
Intern in Ecuador with housing, placement, and language classes included. Guaranteed placements across multiple fields; programs start monthly.
Montevideo – Punta del Este
Intern in Uruguay with housing, placement, and language classes included. Build your resume while living in Montevideo or Punta del Este.
Oaxaca
Volunteer or intern in Oaxaca, Mexico across a range of fields. Affordable programs with housing included and flexible durations from 2 to 6+ months.
Spain, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Mexico
Intern abroad as a beginner Spanish speaker in sectors like Teaching English and Social Media. Housing included in the program cost!
What’s included
Both our Internship Abroad and Study Abroad Programs are among the most affordable you’ll find. Explore a new country and gain meaningful internship experience that makes a difference, without being limited by your budget.
Enjoy your own private room in a shared city-center apartment, conveniently located near your placement, local life, and weekend adventures.
You’ll receive a signed contract from your host organization before you arrive. We have placed 100% of our candidates in one of their requested fields and stand behind that with a guarantee.
Your Adelante director builds your placement around your background, interests, Spanish proficiency level, and areas of interest. No cookie-cutter placements.
We help you identify and articulate the skills you’ve built abroad, an essential step in translating impactful international work into language that resonates on your resume, in interviews, and on graduate school applications.
Nearly every Adelante intern who needed academic credit has received it. We provide full documentation and can work with your home institution to meet their requirements.
How to apply
Fill out our simple online application. There is no fee to apply, and it takes only a few minutes to get started.
Eligible candidates receive a link to schedule a free, first assessment interview by phone or Google Meet.
We’ll learn about your background, areas of interest, Spanish level, and goals so we can start building the right placement for you.
In real time or within 1–2 business days, you will receive your interview results by email. Successful candidates receive an acceptance letter with clear next steps.
Confirm your spot within one week of acceptance with a $325 confirmation fee. This means there is no tire-kicking, and you are committed to going abroad. A second interview and full placement details follow soon after.
Once confirmed, you will receive a comprehensive Pre-Departure Information Packet with everything you need to prepare for your time abroad, including visa guidance if required, along with cultural prep.
Reviews
Read what past interns, students and volunteers say about their time abroad with Adelante.
El Camino College
Teaching English · Barcelona, Spain
Spending time in Barcelona has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. From the very beginning, everything was well-aligned to make my stay comfortable, productive, and memorable. My housing was conveniently located just a short walk away from both my internship…
Spending time in Barcelona has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. From the very beginning, everything was well-aligned to make my stay comfortable, productive, and memorable. My housing was conveniently located just a short walk away from both my internship placement and my Spanish language school, which made my daily routine smooth and stress-free. Not having to commute long distances gave me more time and energy to fully engage with everything the city had to offer.
My internship experience was particularly impactful. I was placed in a professional and welcoming environment where I was given real responsibilities, not just busywork. I felt like a valued part of the team, and I learned so much about the industry, local work culture, and how to collaborate across languages and cultures. It was challenging in the best way—pushing me to grow both professionally and personally. In addition to my internship, I took Spanish classes which were incredibly helpful. The teachers were engaging and patient, and the classes were well-structured to improve both conversational and grammatical skills. Being immersed in the language every day also helped reinforce what I was learning in class.
One of the unexpected highlights of my time in Barcelona was the people I met. I made great friends from all over the world—some through my internship, others at the language school, and many more through social events in the city. Barcelona has such an international, vibrant feel that it was easy to connect with people who were also here to learn, work, and explore.
All in all, my time in Barcelona was a perfect blend of professional development, language learning, and cultural immersion. I came here hoping to gain experience and improve my Spanish, but I left with so much more—new friends, unforgettable memories, and a deeper appreciation for the city and its people.
Spelman College
Teaching English · Chile
I was an English-teaching intern in Viña Del Mar, Chile for a month. The city was an amazing and beautiful place to be and I felt quite safe. It was relatively expensive to live during the month I was there as my roommate and I had to provide our own food and transportation…
I was an English-teaching intern in Viña Del Mar, Chile for a month. The city was an amazing and beautiful place to be and I felt quite safe. It was relatively expensive to live during the month I was there as my roommate and I had to provide our own food and transportation. However, the work that we were during was great. I had never taught English before until this internship, and I learned a lot about myself; how well I work in a position of authority, and my planning skills. The program had a lack of guidelines on what we were supposed to be teaching, and although that was a challenge, it provided us with the opportunity to create an entirely new lesson plan that catered to the needs of the students. We taught four amazing adults who were eager to learn from us and it felt great! I’d encourage future interns to take as many weekend outings as they can in Chile. The city has so many amazing activities and sights that will keep you busy in between your working hours. The only downside of the program was that I had to find my own transportation back to the airport at the end of the program which was expensive and difficult to navigate. But my experience in teaching in Chile outweighed any cons that arose!
Queen Mary University of London
Teaching English · Madrid, Spain
Coming to Madrid for 3 months was the best decision I ever made. I did an internship that involved teaching Spanish children English. I have made friends with people from around the world and have greatly improved my Spanish. This was my first time living by myself, and I can…
Coming to Madrid for 3 months was the best decision I ever made. I did an internship that involved teaching Spanish children English. I have made friends with people from around the world and have greatly improved my Spanish. This was my first time living by myself, and I can safely say that it has prepared me for university and for future life. I loved living in and experiencing the culture of Spain!
Adelante Abroad has earned the trust of thousands of candidates worldwide through 25 years of guaranteed placements and life-changing experiences. Since 1999, we’ve specialized in providing affordable, customized internship and study abroad programs across Spain, Latin America, and Scotland, and we’re not a large, impersonal agency. We’re a team of seasoned travelers and international education professionals who’ve lived abroad ourselves and know what it takes to make your experience a success.
Every program is built around you: your goals, your values, your background. With in-country directors operating full-time in every city where we have programs, you’re never on your own. No matter where in the world you are.
You don't need a teaching degree. You don't need advanced Spanish. You just need the desire to connect, the courage to show up, and the willingness to let a classroom full of curious students teach you as much as you teach them. A teaching English internship abroad with Adelante gives you full training, a guaranteed placement, affordable city-center housing, and the support of a team that's been doing this since 1999. The classroom is ready for you. Apply Now!
