Although an official announcement hasn’t been made. Small pieces of the auxiliar de conversacion program have fallen bit by bit which can help us make our own conclusions.
If you’d like to keep up-to-date on what’s happening, you can join
My Auxiliary Facebook group.
The Future (or End) of the NALCAP program
Private Programs Connected with the Public System
As mentioned in previous posts, some private auxiliary programs simply allocate positions from the ministry. Examples include CIEE, RVF International, and ConversaSpain. If the greater public program is cancelled, those programs would be cancelled as well. As of April 16th, both of those programs have been cancelled.
April 8th – ConversaSpain: CANCELLED
April 16th – CIEE auxiliar program: CANCELLED
April 21st – RVF International: CANCELLED
At this point, the vast majority of public school placements that have historically made up the national auxiliar program are no longer moving forward for this cycle. As a result, the program is unlikely to operate in any form similar to what has been offered in previous years, and at best would be significantly reduced and inconsistent.
Given this, the program is no longer operating in a way that allows us to responsibly support our participants with a clear or reliable path forward.
This is an unprecedented situation. Historically, the national auxiliar program has been one of the most stable and consistent pathways for teaching in Spain, which is why this development has come as a surprise across the entire international education community, including for us.
We also want to acknowledge that this update is different from what we shared a few weeks ago, and we understand that may feel frustrating. At that time, based on the information available, the program was still expected to move forward with a delayed start. Since then, confirmed decisions from multiple major regions have changed the situation significantly and impacted the overall viability of the program for this cycle.
Because of this, we are not able to move forward with Spain placements for the 2026–27 program year.
We also want to take a moment to acknowledge your specific situation. Last year, you successfully moved through the full application process and received a placement, and after the changes in Andalucía, you made the decision to move forward again this year.
We understand that this is now the second time your plans have been impacted, and we do not take that lightly. We truly appreciate the patience and commitment you’ve shown throughout, and we know how frustrating and disappointing this is. We know this is not just a change in plans, but something you’ve now invested in twice, which makes this especially difficult.
At this time, due to the lack of confirmed direction from national and regional education authorities, Spain options for future cycles have also become highly uncertain. Because of this, we are not able to offer or support deferrals to a future Spain intake, including 2027–28, until there is clear, reliable confirmation that the program will operate in a stable and consistent way.
Given everything that has occurred over the past two cycles, our goal at this point is to provide clarity and avoid continuing forward in a situation that remains uncertain.
As a result, we will be closing out your enrollment in this program cycle.
While we are not able to continue forward within this program, we do want to leave you with a meaningful next step if you would like to continue pursuing opportunities to teach abroad in the future.”
Paused Regions that Initially Announced Application Windows
Late in February, New Zealand, Australia, and India all announced an estimated application window for their auxiliar program in Spain (remember that multiple countries participate in the publicly run auxiliary teaching programs in Spain).
India even started accepting applications. Although originally a source of optimism, these regions have all been paused until further notice.
India:
New Zealand: I’m awaiting further information that would confirm the cancellation of New Zealand.
“The Language Assistant Programme in Spain is currently on pause. We will update this website with any new developments.”
Australia:
“The Language Assistant Programme in Spain is currently on pause. We will update this website with any new developments.”
“The Language Assistant Program for Filipinos in Spain has been temporarily paused pending further guidance from the Ministry of Education.”
Even Ireland originally made an announcement that they have since 404ed:
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/services/english-language-assistant-ela-scheme/
A Dysfunctional Timeline
There are many steps involved in getting people accepted into the auxiliary program with a Spanish visa in hand ready to start teaching. Late in March, I ran a calculation on all the steps involved and when the program would need to make an announcement to have a reasonable chance of following the standard timeline.
In total the program needs to announce an application window, accept thousands of applications, review them, select individuals to participate in the program, allocate a position for them, and send out confirmation letters.
The participants in the program need to apply for the program, immediately start collecting relevant visa documents, fight for a visa appointment, and wait for the visa to be processed before flying to Spain.
The soft deadline for a November start (accounting for all the steps required) is April 21st.
You can find my calculations here: (Facebook Post)
Regions that have dropped out
Andalucia
https://cgtaeducacion.org/tschuss-au-revoir-goodbye-auxiliares-de-conversacion/
Andalucia also serves as a healthy reminder that the auxiliary program will not communicate in a timely manner. Many participants accepted in Andalucia in 2025 were strung along until they were only a handful of weeks away from the program start date. Even insisting they apply for a visa without the official acceptance letter.
Valencia
On the 23rd of March, Valencia officially announced that they will no longer participate in the auxiliar program until the issues at hand are resolved.
Madrid
Again, no official announcement has been made yet. However, there is a lot of evidence suggesting that the auxiliar de conversacion program will not continue (at least for the following school year). Please take this into account when making plans for next year.
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