Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)
  • Anyone here have any TEFL experience?
  • Creg
    Full Member

    Thinking of doing a TEFL course and finding some work abroad for a few months now that Uni has finished. I have found a couple of companies that offer the courses but theres so many to choose from. Im not looking to make any money from this, just looking to get out of the country for a few months.

    Anyone here have any experience of doing a course? Who did you do one with? Where did you go to work?

    simonralli2
    Free Member

    I asked the same question last week. Have a look at the replies here

    http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/has-anyone-done-a-tefl-course

    Si

    Creg
    Full Member

    Thanks Si

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    donsimon
    Free Member

    I work in Spain as a TEFL teacher. Be very aware that we are inthe middle of a financial crisis and one of the first things a company will cut back on is training. Academies are also trying to reduce the salary bills so you're not going to be paid a lot.
    There will be a lot of competition for the few jobs that are around from people with (more) experience.
    Hours are long, pay is crap but I do enjoy it. Great flexibility often great people.

    How would you explain the present perfect? Ha ha!

    Go for it! It's agreat life. Just finished for the weekend and off for a ride now. 😆

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Hello, I'd just like to contradict don simon a bit. It depends where you go.

    I'm oop north, in the Basque country, and there's more work than you can shake a shitty stick at. Partly because it's not the typical Brit location and there's little competition and partly the because the Basque country hasnt been affected by the recession as much as other parts of Spain. The pay is better too.

    Creg
    Full Member

    Mackem I saw in Si's post that you did a course with i-to-i. Would you recommend them? Did you find work through them?

    They seem to be fairly legitimate but I'll struggle to make it to their weekend training days (I dont drive). Trying to find a decent company is hard as I dont want to get ripped off.

    Im hoping to pick up work somewhere like Indonesia, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica (or any other warm location that gets good surf 😀 )

    Mackem
    Full Member

    The i-to-i couse was ok, in that it openend your eyes to what a teacher actually has to do and that you need to learn your own language. They certainly arent "dodgy" and the weekend away thing is worth doing(according to people who did it, i never bothered). I actually had a job before I had any teaching experience and it's been a case of learning on the job. I learned a lot just observing other teachers in the academy I work in.

    If you want surfing come to the Basque country (not always warm mind).

    eckinspain
    Free Member

    I'm doing some teaching in Madrid though I have no qualifications. Companies are certainly cutting back on English classes for their staff but people still realise the importance of English and so are taking more personal classes instead. Pay isn't bad and I've been turning away 1 or 2 people per week for the last couple of months as I'm full.

    A TEFL course isn't essential here (being a native is much more valuable) but I suspect it would help if you're going to get a job in an academy. Like most brits (I think) I wasn't taught grammar in school whereas the Spanish were, so as Don Simon says you need to find out what the present perfect is, the different conditionals, passive vs active…!

    Creg
    Full Member

    I can get some classroom experience as a volunteer where my mum works. Shes an ESOL teacher for the local council and has said I can go into her class (or any other) and get some experience.

    Learning the English stuff is going to be hard as I wasnt taught it at school 😆 Might head to the library next week and find some grammar books.

    Im not in any major hurry to go as I have some health issues that need sorting out first so might as well brush up on some English while trying to recover.

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    makem where are you? i'm in donostia.

    to the OP, i did my celta at IH london which cost about 3 or 400 quid more than some firms but as an ex-engineer with no academic or english quals, i wasn't the most attractive proposition to a spanish academy. my current employer didn't really want to give me a start, so even though my celta is the same as any other, the IH connection p'raps saved me from having to cut my teeth in poland or china.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    I'm in Spain, but an ex-English teacher, no experience to offer re. the current work situation, but I can give my perspective on it:

    1. It's fun
    2. It's a good way to support yourself in a foreign country
    3. You'll be living a student lifestyle: lots of drinking, partying, etc., but forget getting a new car, buying a house, etc. This may or may not be important to you.
    5. If you don't want to live a student lifestyle, you'll need to work bloody hard. Lots of private classes, lots of hours.
    6. If you're planning on going back to whatever your degree subject is after a few years of TEFL, be aware that you'll be a couple of years behind the rest of your peers. If it's a technical degree, you will have forgotten all of it.
    7. You don't have to do the course in the UK. I did mine in Egypt, even with transport and accommodation the price was basically the same.

    I enjoyed my time as an English teacher, but I wouldn't want to do it now. In the end I got bored of teaching the first, second and third conditionals, the present perfect and all the rest.

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Bob, I'm in Bilbao. With Doug (of basquemtb.com) we might be able to set up a Basque chapter of STW.

    As for your TEFL experience, sounds like your academy are a little choosier than most. I know of plenty of people with no qualification other than being native speakers working up here. Some of them do the examining for the British council.

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    @ mackem
    yeah, i'm sure that if i'd just rocked up in SS i'd have got something, but this was a lock stock and barrel move abroad (even brought the cats 😉 ), and didn't really know the deal here so wanted a firm offer before coming out.

    don't get out much out bilbao way apart from the trails at debabarrena. seems like there's more expat mtb life out here than i thought.. never see anyone on the trails.

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Bob, we should meet up sometime for a ride/beer.

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    damn right. my sundays are fscked at the mo' till end of june with road races, but any other day's good. where do you normally ride
    (sorry to OP for going off topic!)

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Normally – round here, there's some decent stuff. Have the odd trip out your way. Off to the Picos de Europa next week. Try to go to different places every other weekend. Work finishes mid June, so I'm available anytime/anyday after that.

    Road Races! – how's that going?

    grazzer1
    Free Member

    I studied for my TEFL at the 'Windsor' school in madrid for a month in 2004 (Opposite 'El Corte Ingles'). I'm not sure if it's still there. Resources were limited, but the tutors were very professional. They also let me lock my DMR up in the classroom!
    Quite a large percentage of the course was spent studying English language…a definate plus if you're a bit rusty on your grammar.

    At the end of the course our tutors forwarded our details to prospective employees around the world. I got a few offers from Dubai and china but that was it…probably because I only got a B+ result (which seemed to be the class average). The offers were good though. 2K per month + accomodation and transport.

    I seem to remember that 'Trinity' were a highly regarded TEFL school back in 2004.

    What ever you do, be prepared to put in 13 hour days if you go for an intensive course!
    Hope this helps

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    ok, will chase you up for a ride/sidra in june.

    road racing's going ok but not really getting enough training in.. the locals are animals ,proper mountain goats. i'm not doing a great job of representing the giris!

    Creg
    Full Member

    I dont mind the hijack bob, its interesting to see how many folks are based in Spain. My mum's boss has two of her kids based in Spain, one teaching EFL. I spent some time in Spain a few years ago in northern Costa Brava, nice place that wasn't too high rise but it was let down by an overly strong English presence (I kid you not there was a replica of the Rovers Return pub just down the road). I like Spain, nice country and nice people too.

    Im certainly not hoping to make millions from this, just want an opportunity to see a bit of the world, absorb some other cultures (cliche) and hopefully get some warm water surfing done 😀 Im used to living a fairly hand to mouth existence having worked seasons abroad in the past.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Im certainly not hoping to make millions from this, just want an opportunity to see a bit of the world, absorb some other cultures (cliche) and hopefully get some warm water surfing done Im used to living a fairly hand to mouth existence having worked seasons abroad in the past.

    At a guess popular surfing resorts are probably stuffed full of native English speakers, I don't know how easy it would be to get a job there. Big cities will be a lot easier. That said, your plan seems perfectly compatible with TEFL – hand to mouth living in forin parts 🙂

    donsimon
    Free Member

    Mackem – Member

    Hello, I'd just like to contradict don simon a bit. It depends where you go.

    I'm oop north, in the Basque country, and there's more work than you can shake a shitty stick at. Partly because it's not the typical Brit location because it's wet and cold! and there's little competition and partly the because the Basque country hasnt been affected by the recession as much as other parts of Spain
    Quick fix there. 😉

    Maybe things aren't so bad here in Madrid, I was just lucky for a while working 08:00-17:00 for 4 days a week and occasional Friday work. Now I have a regular timetable stretched across the day. Last month I worked about 110 hours and earned €ja ja! I am self employed and the hourly rate is higher than contract staff.

    My advice would be to go to one of the more reputable schools. Here in Madrid I would recommend King's, where the owner is a millionaire and started life as a binman, Astex or Sat & Set(Where I currently work).
    Get a good contract where holidays are covered, and if in Spain you get the finiquito at the end of the contract. A basic working week should see you with 27 hours per week, clearly I'm talking about Madrid.

    Popular resort type areas might not offer too much as most people will speak good English so they can take the tourist money… 😆

    Enjoy!!

    doug_basqueMTB.com
    Full Member

    Mackem – Member

    Hello, I'd just like to contradict don simon a bit. It depends where you go.

    I'm oop north, in the Basque country, and there's more work than you can shake a shitty stick at. Partly because it's not the typical Brit location because it's green and not the desert! and there's little competition and partly the because the Basque country hasnt been affected by the recession as much as other parts of Spain

    😆

    I've never seen you on the trails either Bob! Maybe we ride different places? If you two are going for a ride / drink then I'll happily show you around a few bits. I'm a bit hectic in June and July but will have some free days, particularly mid week.

    EDIT: sorry for continuing the hijack!

    mogrim
    Full Member

    I'm oop north, in the Basque country, and there's more work than you can shake a shitty stick at. Partly because it's not the typical Brit location because it's bloody hot and horrible for biking!

    At least it was during the Soplao in Cantabria, 37C and dusty. It was raining in Madrid when I got back home 🙂

    Poor OP, thread hijacks are GO!

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    I've never seen you on the trails either Bob! Maybe we ride different places?

    looking at your website doug… we ride exactly the same places 😉
    well i don't get to iparralde so often (no car), but a lot of the photos look very familiar!
    would be great to meet up.. i've spent a lot of time on the trails here but feel like i've barely scratched the surface.

    @creg – spend a year teaching here… learning spanish, surfing and riding (ok so it's not exactly tropical but always a few degrees warmer than UK) before going off to south america. my school does free spanish lessons for employees which comes in handy.

    Creg
    Full Member

    If a job pops up somewhere in Spain (preferrably away from the mega tourist parts 😀 ) then I might consider it. Already spent time in Spain once though so not top of my list of places to go, although the free Spanish lessons would be handy.

    How far are you away from beaches and riding areas? Do you work in a language school?

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Creg, in the Basque country you are never far away from surfing or riding.

    A pic from today, some nice clifftop singletack, just above a popular surf beach. (Sopelana)

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4281242&l=82ad9cd935&id=535327313

    Creg
    Full Member

    Looks very nice indeed.

    Might give it some thought

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Creg, seriously, the Basaque country is a great place to live. If you are single it would be even better, Basque girls are sooooooooo nice. I have an englsh girlfirend so i'm not allowed a Basque one too. The place aint perfect, we have a winter, and thats about it, if you like riding bikes, surfing, food, wine, stupid festivals then you'd like it up here.

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    can vouch for the basque girlfriends 😉

    sc-xc
    Full Member

    other non stick pans are available.

    Creg
    Full Member

    Sounds like a great place. Do you have work all year round?

    And yes, Im single…but being ugly and white the girls will be staying well away anyway 😆

    Mackem
    Full Member

    I work September to June. With a legal contract your dole money for July/August is 75% of your salary. Enough to just ride your bike for a while. As for ugly, dont worry, a proper haircut is enough to put you above the locals.

    donsimon
    Free Member

    a proper haircut is enough to put you above the locals.

    He speaketh the truth.

    I'm in Madrid which is quite far from the beach, 😆 and, if you're not used to it, very hot in the summer. The riding is good and abundant if you know where to go. Casa de Campo close to the city centre offers good midweek riding, unless you're a downhill freak!! The XC World Cup pays the occasional visit here, so it can't be that bad!

    Workwise, you'll get to work in some of the major Spanish companies, which can't be bad for your CV. I do quite a lot of work at director level (Upper management in English as everyone appears to be a director here!)

    In Madrid you don't get the freaky haircuts, the girls can be as bad as the guys up north. 😆 , but some of the girls are very attractive. Being white/pink won't be a drawback.

    Personally I'm looking at maybe getting out of Madrid and moving closer to the coast, Valencia seems like an option, or even further afield to the Canary Islands, I hate the winters. 😉

    Edukator
    Free Member

    Try applying without the TEFL qualification. I'm pretty sure non of the English teachers I employed had one. I just went for good CVs with impeccable hand-written letters of motivation. Then I gave them a ring to see what they sounded like and if they knew what CEO stands for.

    The present perfect is easy, it's just anything with a past start and current effect. News, experience, something that's just happened. It was the phonetics that often used to confuse my teachers. I'd have to remind them how they used to speak English before they started teaching TEFL.

    doug_basqueMTB.com
    Full Member

    I got laughed at by the locals when I moved here because I was so white and people asked my girlfriend a few times if I was ill. The basque girlfriends are good but totally mental. Like a local told me, cheat on a spanish girl and she´ll kill you, cheat on a basque girl and you´ll eat your nuts first.
    As for the hair cuts, it´s Mullet central round here!

    The Basque country is a fantastic place to live. It´s not really on the tourist trail and it stays very traditional. You won´t get a full english breakfast here! The climate is fantastic although as Mark says the winters are cold and wet. Spring actually happens here and then summer is fantastic, not too hot. Autumn is my favourite though. It´s not 24-7 sunshine like Madrid will be but the benifit of that is the lush green surroundings and a mellower temperature. Also, from San Sebastian you can be in ´the desert´in 45 mins if you want to. The culture is amazing, food is fantastic. I love it here. I´d kill for a decent curry though 🙁

    The riding is awesome. Utterly incredible. I would say that obviously (owning a biking company) but it´s true. No matter what you want to ride it´s here. It´s so varied it´s not true which is important for me. You can ride loose dusty rocky trails or slippy roots or big mountains or coastal stuff. Mackem and Bob will know what I¨m talking about.

    The surfing is obviously fantastic, it´s what the area´s famous for really. Everyone surfs too which is cool.

    I can´t comment on the TEFL thing but Mackem´s getting 2 months off a year to go biking which is pretty good!

    Mackem
    Full Member

    Here you go Creg, no experience necessary, the money is crap but it gets some teaching on your CV and you can try out the Basque country.

    http://www.tefl.com/jobs/job.html?jo_id=42786

    househusband
    Free Member

    As a teacher at a secondary school in a Scottish new town, I'd say that I sometimes teach English as a foreign language… 8)

Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)

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