Living in an English Speaking Country (1)

Those of you who are reading this post may have the strong desire (deseo) to conquer the English language. This may be possible in Spain, but if you want to learn quickly, the best place to acquire (conseguir) a high level of English naturally is in an English speaking country. Today we offer advice (consejo) on how you can take advantage (aprovechar) your time effectively when perfecting your English in such a country.

 

Working Abroad

Living in an English speaking country will probably means you will have to find work unless (a menos que)  you have a lot of savings.(ahorros) For those who are working for an international company, there may be positions advertised within (dentro de) your company. For example, a person who has worked for many years as an accountant (contable) for a multinational company in Spain may have the opportunity of working in a similar position in the UK. The company knows you already, you have the skills (habilidades) in the industry and you are given a challenge (reto) to perfect your English in an English working environment.(atmósfera)

       

 

Other Paid Work

The type of job that you can get depends on the type of training (formación) and qualifications you have already. There are always seasonal (de temporada) jobs in America, Britain and Australia at certain times of the year. For example, many Spanish people with some English may be able to take advantage of Bunacamp or Camp America, where they do various sporting or craft activities (manualidades) for American school children during their summer holidays. In Australia, you may find work on a sheep farm or fruit picking.(recogida de fruta) For both America and Australia you need to get working visas to legally work. There are no working visa requirements in the UK for Spanish nationals, who often work in hotels and restaurants. There are of course many other jobs available (disponibles) and can find the very latest jobs for English speaking countries at:

      

www.jobsabroad.com (Worldwide Jobs)

www.localrecruit.co.uk (UK Jobs)

www.job-hunt.org/jobs (US Jobs)

www.jobsearch.gov.au (Australia Jobs)

 

Voluntary Work

If paid employment is difficult to find, the next best thing is doing voluntary work. These experiences are likely (problable) to be very rewarding (gratificante) as you are not only practising your English, but you are also giving something back to society. Where can you work? Well, it probably best to work with the local community as you have a better chance (oportunidad) of developing relationships with local people. You should also work in something that will give you valuable experience for getting future paid work, giving you more skills and better English. Examples of voluntary work include working in charity shops, (tienda de segunda mano dirigida a causas benéficas) for the Red Cross, raising money (recaudando dinero) for local charities, or getting involved (implicándose) in environmental projects. Here is a useful website for voluntary positions: 

www.volunteerabroad.com/search 

    

 

Finding Work

A good place to find jobs are employment centres, temporary job agencies like Manpower and Adecco, and job advertisements in national and local newspapers. In all these cases, you need to take a proactive approach (enfoque), and be prepared to telephone the company for more information about the job, send off (mandar) an English CV and covering letter (carta de presentación) quickly and do some research on the company. With this strategy you will probably increase your chances of getting the job! Another excellent way of finding work is networking (establecimiento de contactos) with people you know. They may know of positions that occur before they are advertised. With this information, you may be able to get an interview with the company before it is advertised or at least get your CV and covering letter to the human resources department (departamento de Recursos Humanos) before anyone else.