Well, there are plenty of people that live in Santiago that don’t speak Spanish. For the most part you will be able to pick up things very quickly as it is a Romance language (Latin based). It’s recommended that you get a phrase book and try and practice basic things. Try and find a native speaker to practice your accent if at all possible.

If you do speak Spanish, prepare yourself. Chilean Spanish is full of slang and words that you will find are not used in any other Latin American country. Combine that with a manner of speaking in which letters are dropped and you will wonder if Chileans are even speaking Spanish. After the initial adjustment period, you will find that once you can speak Chilean Spanish, you can speak Spanish with anyone. For the most part, you will find it difficult to find locales in which English is widely spoken unless you are in Providencia or Las Condes. You may find that even though someone understands English, they might not like to speak it. Chileans are very proud and rather than speak English and be wrong they would rather not speak.
 

Chile’s spectacular Pacific coastline and Andean highlands make it a very impressive backdrop for a teaching job.  The country is known for its warm and friendly people and its European atmosphere.  It is also known for its thriving indigenous traditions and incredible, breathtaking national parks that draw adventurous spirits from around the world.

The students range dramatically in their ability to speak English based on their socio-economical status.  In the public schools the English proficiency is rudimentary and the resources are limited.

The Ministry of Education is working on developing curriculum and programs to support the initiative to increase the national level of English but these steps are in their infancy.

If you're interested in teaching in Chile I highly recommend taking a TESL/TEFL course to prepare yourself.

My school is great. There are usually about 40 children in a class. I'm in an all girls' school which I really enjoy. A friend of mine is in a school that is co-ed.

I can’t even express to you how loving the children are. They are really interested in learning English or about culture from English speaking countries. I’m teaching 3rd grade through 10th grade and I’m doing kindergarten once a week.

click image to enlarge

Virtually all teachers who arrive in Chile arrive with a tourist visa and then the school initiates the process to convert the tourist visa immediately after the teacher arrives at the school.

When you are clearing customs as you arrive in Chile many teachers don't mention that they are arriving to work and many chose to save their contract electronically instead of bringing a physical copy of it just in case they get a very grumpy customs officer.

There are loads of reasons to teach in Chile:

• Chile has the most diverse climate of any single country in the world.
• The people are wonderfully accommodating.
• Exposure to Latin American culture.
• Learn Spanish, if you can speak and understand Spanish here in Chile, you can speak Spanish anywhere, cachay? (pronounced catch- meaning “Get it?” or “Understand?”)
• Travel, from the Lakes Region and Patagonia in the south, or San Pedro de Atacama in the North

The airport in Santiago is very nice and finding buses is not difficult even without speaking Spanish. The ride to Vina del Mar is about 1 1/2 hours and the station is downtown near city buses. The only problem with city buses and city maps in Chile is that there is no schedule or street legends. Getting around is difficult at first but you get the hang of it after a couple of weeks.

Students are very pleasant and respectful. Housing is pretty cheap compared to the USA but they do not have central heat or air conditioning. Everyone uses portable heaters. Also, the south of Chile is cold, north is warm. Even in summer it gets cold in the Santiago area so bring layers of clothing.