A great, tough experience

This experience was pretty intense. They get you pretty much straight into Austrian classrooms, with a 'learning by doing' kind of approach. But that's not to say that there isn't a serious academic side to the course. I didn't have any proper teaching experience before this but I became fascinated with the challenge of keeping kids engaged with English while having fun with them. Working with the kids is a big upside to the course, sure sometimes they are difficult but most of the time they really keep you going with unexpected presents and unusual behaviour!

The main struggle is keeping up with the schedule and the coursework, as three months was barely enough time to fit everything in. You can certainly expect some unthinkably long days, where the idea of that TEFL certificate is just about the only thing keeping you going - but looking back I see the amount we learned in that time as gargantuan. Plus you get to be in Austria, always finding new things, people and places.

I could count myself as a 'success story' as I walked straight out of the college into a job in Salzburg - I feel very prepared to teach English in just about any scenario.