TEFL Madrid Academy

After I graduated from University in Kansas, I came out to Europe, and travelled for a bit. I was pretty much taken in by the culture, and the architecture (which is what I went to school for). I wanted to make a bit of a transition in my career by working on projects in Europe. Before I pursued that career, I wanted to take a bit of a detour, so friends recommended that I teach English. I thought that this was a pretty good idea, and I wanted to make a bit of money while I was looking for the right opportunity. I saw that Teaching English in Spain was very likely the best option as that was the country that needed the most teachers. The people at TE Madrid explained that because I had experience in a professional field that I would be able to find private students in the business world, and that they would help me find a job upon completing a TEFL Certification in Madrid. Their academy was located near several Universities, so looking for students would be easier. Okay, so I had the plan, I knew where I was going, and I pretty much put down my deposit for the TEFL Course that they offered at their academy, and I was off before I knew it. When I started, I wasn’t surprised to see that I was in a room with other people in my position. Some were teachers, nurses, business professionals, and they were all making some kind of change by moving to Europe. I was pretty glad that I wasn’t alone in all this. It would be pretty isolating if I was a professional in a class filled with only party-goers and travellers. The teacher was also very friendly, too. He has lived in Madrid for a couple of years, and was happy to show me the ropes. We went out on the weekends as a way of not only taking in the vibe of the city, but also to make the learning a bit more personal than it would be in other situations, and I kind of like having a beer with the instructor (His name was Jordan, if I remember correctly). Things were pretty close to each other, and while I was doing the course, I also made sure to put some feelers out there with my professional services related to Architecture. Before I knew it, the course was finished, I had a couple of hours of teaching practice, and I was ready for the next step. I wanted to focus on working with other professionals to network and market myself. It wasn’t difficult to find professional students, especially when they either, all need to speak English at work, or that they want to study or work in the United States. I was able to help them out by being a bridge of sorts. When I finished my course, the administrative staff helped me organize my residency appointments. In terms of finding work, I was already doing that, but they were happy to send my resume out. I guess because I was being proactive, I didn’t necessarily need too much help in that department. I ended up with more than I expected. I taught English for a few months before I found another job, and I also held on to a couple of my students as professional contacts. Teaching English in Spain was an unexpected opportunity, and I’m glad that TE Madrid helped me out. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone when I say that moving overseas is a difficult move, so I’m glad that I had the help that I needed to make the move possible.

I’m pretty lucky. My mother is from England, so I grew up learning English and Spanish at home. I can also speak with an English accent. I know that’s what most people want here in Spain. They want Native English Speakers, and for the most part, they want them to come from the United Kingdom. I just finished my Bachelor’s Degree in Madrid, when was going to look into Master’s programs, when I thought about doing a bit of work on the side to make a bit of extra money. Going to school can definitely be expensive, and you still have expenses to think about. I was on my way out of ICADE, a business school in Madrid when I saw the TEFL Madrid Academy across the street. I figured if I already spoke English, it might be a good idea to do a bit of English teaching while I study. When I walked into the academy, they were very happy to answer all of my questions. They kept the classes small (no more than five students per class, per month), and they were able to get me into a class over the summer. It cut into my vacation plans, but I would still have a lot of time to go to the beach afterwards. When I started my class, I met a couple of people from several places around the world. People were pretty shocked when they found out that I was Spanish, and not English. Still, they went into the technics of the English language, and we were doing Teacher Practice Sessions within a week. I thought it was very good because they get you doing everything that you need to do like managing a classroom, tailoring each class so that it helps people of all levels, eliciting answers from students, and concept-checking questions. Because I was born in Sevilla, I didn’t have to worry about getting registered, or getting on the padron. I already knew how it worked. In fact, I was even happy to help some of the other students familiarize themselves with how to get the residency, but I also like that the people at TE Madrid did the same thing, as well. I’m pretty sure that I would have to go through so many legal and logistic hurdles. I really liked how the staff at the TEFL Academy did their part to help some of the other students get registered and legal when it came to finding jobs and apartments. I was thinking about moving to the area, and accepting a Master’s Program at ICADE across the street. The academy was also helpful when it came to finding a job. Now, I’m pretty sure I could’ve found a job on my own, but what could I say? The people at TE Madrid did a little bit more to help their students, and I really thought that was good. After I got my TEFL Certification, I focused on finding students from the University I was attending. I told TE Madrid that I would probably look for students coming from these schools if they needed assistance. So, they even helped familiarize me with some of the exams that they prepare students for, and gave me a couple of students who were unable to physically make it into the classroom. I’m very lucky to be able to work in the area, study for my Master’s Degree, and help other students who are trying to find opportunities themselves is great. I was particularly happy that TE Madrid basically welcomed me into their family, and helped me set myself as a Private English Tutor while I continue to study across the street.

I was talking to a couple of people from Spain through a few online communities, and I was curious about going out there for the first time. There was a lot happening out there, and I asked myself how I could stay out there while these things were going on? I’m always keen on learning how to do certain things like travelling and hiking and surfing, so I naturally looked into it. My friends in Madrid told me that there was always a need for English Teachers in Spain, so he put me through to an academy that provides TEFL Certification that I could use when looking for a job. I know it’s not my actual desired job, but they helped me find something in the meantime, and it helped move things along. Now that I think about it, I was pretty excited about the idea of being in Spain, and I like that I was able to have a part of my career in this country. It’s fun country to be in, and fun to go around. When I got in, and started my course, I was pretty surprised to find out that I would be teaching within a week. That got me going, at least for the first few days. When I was hanging out with the group of other would-be teachers, we got to know each other to the point where presenting in front of each other was a lot easier than we thought it would be. Before I knew it, I had about six hours of teaching practice before the four-week program was finished. We learned more about the English language, we learned how it worked, and we had fun. I’m not one of these people who would want to continue a course unless I like it. It’s one of the reasons that I normally work in Web Development. It may not be a career that most people would want to pursue unless you like working in front of a computer screen. With teaching, if you have a problem standing in front of a group of people, and present, you may have a problem doing this job. At least, at first. The instructor that was teaching the course was a lot of fun to be around. He had music playing, we cracked jokes, we relaxed a bit more than I expected. We still had a lot of homework to do, but creating that fun environment was necessary, at least in my opinion. Of course, there was one other thing that I thought was great. The administrative staff did a lot to helping me get settled in Spain. They helped me with the Visa Process, and I don’t think I need to say how complicated it could be, so getting that helping hand in that area was unbelievably helpful. I’m not sure that there was much that TE Madrid didn’t do to help me getting my residency card. I wasn’t looking forward to figuring the whole thing out on my own, so I was pretty happy that that was one less thing in the list of things that I had to do. I simply had to focus on getting through the course, and then finding a job immediately afterwards. Everything from getting into the country, to doing the course, to preparing my documents for my residency card, and then getting a job afterwards – All of it was very easy, and I absolutely appreciate all the effort that the people at TE Madrid put in to help me make the move to Spain to become an English Teacher. I recommend them to everyone who’s interested in doing it themselves.

I always wanted to come back to Spain. My parents are from Valladolid, so I wanted to take this opportunity after I finished university in Vancouver to really experience life in my parent’s country (which of course, is also my country). When I showed them the Spanish Passport, they put me in touch with the right offices that would help me process my application for residency. I made sure that I did all of that before I started the course. I was probably in the country a good six weeks before the course started, and I made sure that I had all of my identification documents and passports in line so that I wouldn’t have to worry about everything. I don’t think I need to say that I became pretty popular when I started taking my course. Being able to speak Spanish and English at a native level is a very important thing, and I was hoping to be able to make both languages an effective career path, as I want to work in translating. When the course started, I was pretty happy that the course was fun and interactive, and gave me a lot of good practice with Spanish speakers. I don’t think that I need to tell you that once the class was over, they started speaking to me in Spanish. Again, this is why I became pretty popular when I went over there. It’s not common that a student is able to speak to their English teacher well enough. I got job offers in the last week of the course, and I was able to accept one of them from the time the course ended. I wasn’t surprised, given the fact that I already speak Spanish and English perfectly, and flashing my Spanish passport around was a very big help. Taking the TEFL Course, and getting some experience teaching English in Spain would be very helpful in pursuing my career in interpretation. I have a lot of business contacts who need translators and interpreters who work between both languages. I know that I had to learn a little bit of the technics of the English language in order to graduate. One of the challenges that I had to face when I was doing teaching practice during the course was the possibility of using Spanish. When they explained to me how to elicit a response, it became a lot easier. One thing that I was pretty surprised about was that TE Madrid didn’t need to be so helpful because I had my parents helping me in getting my residency requirements, and they helped me get set up in the city before the course started. They did help get my name and face known to a few companies in Madrid, and for someone who’s trying to get to know their own culture hands-on for the first time, they were very helpful in making that happen. To put it simply, I know how simple it is for me to come over to Spain. I’m pretty sure that there are many opportunities for me, and I like that it’s basically like a second home for me. I’m used to things in Vancouver, but being over in Madrid for as long as I was couldn’t have been easier, and I do have to thank TE Madrid for all the help that they gave me. I’ve wanted to make the move to Spain, and I’m definitely a happy student because they gave me a clear path to my desired career. I was excited to get started, and I’m working on creating interpretation services here in Madrid, so it gave me a lot to get started.

There are a lot of TEFL academies in Spain, so it was important for me to know that if I was going to do something like this, that I would find an academy that would help me every step of the way! I was probably looking at academies all over Spain for a couple of weeks before I came across TE Madrid. I made attempts to contact the other academies, but TE Madrid were happy to get in touch with me almost immediately after I made my request, and it was just easier to understand what the process is from this academy. Don’t get me wrong, the other options that I took a look at had their advantages, but staying in touch with them was pretty difficult. After thinking about it for a good period of time, I decided to put my deposit down to take my course with TE Madrid. They got me into the course, and they were even helpful enough to have someone pick me up from the airport and bring me to my apartment, which was pretty close to the academy itself. I didn’t think that there was an academy that would be so hospitable. Finally, it came down to doing the course itself. I was in the room with a couple of other people from England, and the teacher was Canadian. We all went pretty far to make sure that we were relaxed going into this. It was tense with those first few days, but after a while, we were basically sharing our life stories with each other, and helping each other with our teaching practice. Another thing that I like was that we would be teaching within that first week. It was daunting, but when our instructor told us about his own experience, it made standing in front of a classroom a lot easier. That’s the great thing about TE Madrid. The class was intense, and the whole experience made me very nervous, but they did a lot to keep me nice and relaxed for the four weeks I was doing the course, and I think it’s important, especially when they want to be able to send good teachers out there to work hard. It’s a difficult thing to leave home, but what they do made me feel better about it. Another thing that I really liked about this was how the staff at the academy helped me get my residency application process going from when I started taking the class. It was an indication that Spain really appreciates the breadth of English Teachers who decide to make Spain their home. I thought it was going to be difficult now that the United Kingdom is outside the European Union, but they helped me book my appointment, and told me exactly what it is I needed to bring in order to get approved for a residency card. After four weeks, a lot of teaching practice, and my residency application officially on wheels, I had my C.V. typed up, and sent it out to academies all over the country. I was pretty happy to say that I had my first job offer within a week after finishing my course, and then I made my way down to Cordoba to start working. It’s been a wonderful experience so far, and I’m glad that I made the move. I want to thank everyone at TE Madrid for their part in helping me make the move from England to Spain. I want to thank Jordan for the amazing course that he ran, and I also want to thank the receptionist and support staff for what they did in helping me get a job. I absolutely appreciate it!