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As most of you probably know, the “Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid” published the open call for the English Teachers’ competitive exam on January 26^th 2021.

Like all the other Autonomous Regions or “Comunidades Autónomas”, the exam which was due to be held in 2020 was postponed due to the lockdown and other COVID-19-related restrictions. The publication of the call last 24^th March 2020 was immediately followed by the announcement of its postponement so we did not publish the call.

After a close examination of both calls, and a comparison with that for 2018 (see our post https://poppies.es/oposiciones-profesores-madrid-2018/ for specific details) I am including here only those aspects which are different from the 2018 call:

Registration, Number of positions & Dates

The deadline to register for this 2021 call ends on February 23^rd, i.e., 20 working-days after its publication in the Official Gazette (bocm.es). You can do it following this: Aplicación Docente de Oposiciones (ADO) www.comunidad.madrid , “Administración electrónica: Punto de acceso general”: “oposiciones secundaria 2020”.

(Please see Annex IV of current call: “Presentación de solicitudes y documentación” (pages 61-74- B.O.C.M. Núm. 72)

The total number of positions has been increased as follows:

• For Secondary English teachers the total number is 420 positions, with the following breakdown: (299 + 27 + 29 +11 from 2020) + (48+4+1+1 from 2021).
• For Official School of Languages English teachers, the total number is 31.

The starting date for the exam will not be earlier than June 19^th this year. We assume, therefore that it will be on that date, which is a Saturday, subject to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Requirements to take part in the “Oposición” or Competitive Exam

You need to have a University Degree as established under Annex V of Royal Decree 276/2007 and have appropriate teacher training certification in compliance with Royal Decree 1834/2008, supplemented by point 3.2.8. of the current call.

Exam contents

The same as those published for the 2018 call (see “Exam Contents for Secundaria & Official Schools of Languages)

The following is worth pointing out

For Exam Part 1A- Language Exam

(see Annex VII of this call)

Listening: Although the Gazette states that the listening test shall consist of an audio with questions and a summary, the fact is that throughout the years this has not always been the case. Indeed, most of the years there were open-ended or multiple choice questions —or even a fill-in the gaps activity, with a summary of the audio contents. However, in 2018 there were fill-in-the gaps and open-ended questions. No summary.

Text Analysis: The same applies as very often and particularly in the last couple of calls or so, there’s been no question on Communicative functions in “Secundarias”. The type of questions has varied, too. That is why we try to cover a large variety of options in the PoppieS Blended Courses

The rest remains the same, including Exam Part 1B on topics.

For Exam Part 2-Syllabus & Unit Presentation

 The requirements for the Syllabus are the same in terms of number of pages and fonts. They do specify this year, though, that ALL margins should be 2.5 cm. To be honest, I am not surprised at that, as I have often found the document some candidates hand in so full of letters that it puts you off reading them. My advice here? Simple: Be brief, be clear, be relevant, be true. 😉

They also specify that, if you include tables, they must keep the established margins, although they may be single-spaced.

Concerning what you need to include:

• Teaching Plan based on the Curricula in force during the academic year of the registration deadline (i.e., 2020-21), for in-person teaching. However, you can include approaches, techniques, resources, etc. for virtual teaching.
• It MUST include a section on Assessment of the teaching Practice. In this regard, I would like to point out that, as far as PoppieS is concerned, this is something we have always suggested you should include. Indeed, we need to assess both the teaching and the learning processes as part of AfL or LOA.
• You need to relate Objectives with Contents and Learning Standards and with Assessment Criteria and Assessment & Marking Procedures. Again, this relationship has always been present at Poppies-SLS Hallam.

Assessment Criteria for the Exam and Candidates’ performance

The panels or members of the board will be provided with a detailed breakdown of the various criteria to assess the candidates.

These criteria will aim to assess the candidate’s theoretical and hands-on teaching skills, in particular those aspects pertaining to the organisation of students’ learning process including psycho-pedagogical features, mastery of teaching and communication skills,  and other skills and competences such as conflict resolution, critical analysis, creativity and entrepreneurship, decision making, organisation and planning, team work, innovative approaches, awareness of students’ diverse needs and the cross-curricular nature of learning.