Spain’s Labour Ministry, the Ministry of Education and some of the country’s regional governments are embroiled in an argument over the work responsibilities of foreign language assistants, with claims they’re being used as “fake interns”.
Spain’s Ministry of Education’s programme for language assistants from abroad is under threat from inspections by the Ministry of Labour.
The department led by Yolanda Díaz has been investigating and fining several Spanish regions because it claims that these young foreigners – who come to Spain to help children to improve their English and other languages – are being used as “fake interns”.
The Labour Ministry argues these auxiliares de conversación should have employment contracts and be contributing to social security system.
According to Spain’s Education Ministry, most language assistants in public schools work between12 and 16 hours a week.
So far, the regions of Aragón, Galicia, Andalusia, Extremadura, Murcia, Castilla y León, Madrid, and Valencia (which all happen to be governed by the opposition People’s Party) have raised “concern” over the complaint.
They are demanding “coordination” between the ministries of Labour and Education, because they claim they are being inspected and fined by Labour officials for simply implementing a programme and conditions established by the Socialist-led national Ministry of Education.
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Galicia currently has 700 language assistants, and Aragón has 101, yet both regions have already stated they will not continue with the programme during the next academic year if the “lack of legal certainty” persists.
Andalusia already left the programme last year after it was fined €5 million for having 1,806 language assistants.
Other regions are also considering dropping out of the programme if the problem is not solved.
In 2025, a total of 7,140 native-speaking language assistants came to Spain to help students improve their speaking skills in English, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
The language assistant programme has been running for the last 20 years and allows final-year university students from up to 30 countries – including the US, UK, New Zealand, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, and Brazil – to come to Spain and help schoolchildren improve their fluency in foreign languages.
This is a blow to young foreigners from non-EU countries, whose only chance to come and live in Spain for a period may be programmes like these.
READ ALSO: The pros and cons of being an English-language assistant in Spain
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Spain’s Ministry of Education stipulates that this is a “cultural exchange,” and does not consider that these young foreigners should be subject to the same employment regulations or have an employment contract.
Sources within the department explain that they have a letter from the State Attorney’s Office that “provides them with legal certainty” on the subject.
According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the ruling states that “no employment relationship exists” and that therefore a contract salary should not be demanded.
“The relationship of the assistants does not have the characteristics of employment; it is more akin to a voluntary one, considering primarily the objective of this role, which is closer to that of a kind of ‘cultural ambassador,’ and not the provision of services in exchange for remuneration,” the document reads.
These language assistants do however receive some financial compensation for their services of around €800 – €1,000 per month. In some cases, they also get accommodation or meal vouchers. Crucially, this is considered to be a grant, not a salary.
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Sources from the Ministry of Labour argue that “there are problems in some regions because language assistants are exceeding their functions and are maintaining an employment relationship”.
Strangely though, sources claim that the Ministry of Labour has only issued fines for language assistants paid by the regional governments, but not for those funded by the Ministry of Education.
“Those funded by the Ministry and those funded by Andalusia have been working in the same schools, and despite performing the same functions, only those funded by Andalusia have been sanctioned,” sources from the southern region told El Mundo.
“The teaching assistants cannot work as teachers; they are not teachers. They are university students. They do not replace teachers under any circumstances and are always in the classroom with a teacher. They are here to learn. They do nothing else,” say sources from the Andalusian Regional Government said.
A similar case occurred in Aragón, where a fine of €199,000 was issued.
The auxiliares fiasco will be discussed this Friday March 6th at Spain’s Sectoral Conference, the highest body for dialogue on educational matters between the central government and the regional authorities.
READ ALSO: How to survive as a language assistant (auxiliar de conversación) in Spain
