Program Reviews

The program staff was able to place me near the location of my choice. The school they placed me at has been a great fit, and while CIEE provides most of their support during pre-departure, the school they placed me in has helped me get settled into my life and job. Commiting to teach in a foreign country seems daunting, but there will be other teachers who will help and support you along the way. CIEE does provide an in country orientation once you arrive which was a really good opportunity to meet new people. If there is any legal issues, the CIEE team will always be there to help. I highly recommend this program if you are looking for fun and a convenient way to fuel your travelling. The job is fairly easy and pays well, giving you plenty of time and resources to do the things you love.

I am definitely glad that I signed up to participate in Teach in Spain this year. The CIEE staff was extremely helpful in preparing us to come to Spain, taking us step-by-step through the visa application process, etc. It is good to know that they are available to answer my questions and help as needed. One of the difficult things about this program is that there is no housing assistance. The hardest part about moving to Spain was finding housing, but it's not impossible. Fortunately, I was placed at a school that I really like and I am enjoying my experience as a language assistant so far. My compensation is sufficient to cover the general costs of living in Madrid. The only thing I would change about my experience so far is the orientation. I had already found housing when orientation began and so I did not stay in the hotel that was provided by CIEE and I wish I could have gotten compensated. The price of the program is a bit steep considering, but I don't regret my decision.

I learned various important vocabulary terms and skills through the online TEFL course. The material was manageable, but I think the amount of time necessary to complete tasks should have been more evenly distributed so that the workload would be more consistent. I also think that the quizzes were not reflective of actual learning progress and that there should be a more comprehensive and affective for assessing learning. The most helpful parts of the course were the assignments in which we had to create lesson plans and do mock lessons. Also, the practicum was extremely helpful. I learned the most about teaching from having experiences in actual classrooms. I am also glad to have received so much material from the course, which I am now trying to implement in my classes.

Thus far the Teach in Spain Professional Program has been a good experience. Learning to interact with professionals in a different culture has been an invaluable and resume boosting experience, not to mention getting to live in another culture.
The pay (900 €/month) is certainly low considering the cost of living. Although I imagine it would be possible to live on without your own savings or supplementary income, I could not imagine that it would be enjoyable. Rent and groceries consume the bulk of my stipend every month. If you want to be able to enjoy the city to its fullest and travel you need to have savings set aside for your time here.

Working with Learnlight has been okay. They can sometimes be a little disorganized (wrong addresses for clients, missing pay adjustments, breakdowns in communication etc...) but the teaching material and class management software provided on their platform makes teaching and time management much easier. Work place policies (such as requiring a sick note from a doctor to have your classes covered) can be a nuisance. I will say what you pay for the program in total is fair considering your first month of housing is included and the amount of support you recieve in navigating the Spanish legal/immigration system.

So if you are interested in this program this is what I would recommend: 1) Make your visa appointment before you are accepted to the program (like do it right now). Cancelling is free and it will save you a lot of panicking in the future. 2) Set aside upwards of $3,000 in savings depending on what kind of lifestyle you want to have. You could never save too much. 3) Do the damn grammar course and study the summary units. People have managed without it but knowing your grammar will make your first two weeks a lot easier. 4) It's not an official requirement but you need to speak some Spanish. I have had to talk my way past security (expect TSA like screenings on your fist day in any company) on numerous occasions to get to some lessons-this would have been impossible without knowing Spanish. So practice up!

Overall, practicing Spanish, developing intercultural skills, and living in Madrid is why I chose this program and this program delivered it. Yea there are some headaches at times but in the end it's worth it. I have made some great friends, gained valuable experience, and have had a hell of a time. Just don't expect to make a fortune! Presented again with the choice to go, I would do it without a second thought.

CIEE was very helpful and responsive during the past year as my husband and I applied for the program, obtained Visas, and made the transition to Spain. I would highly recommend going with this program because of their help with all of the documentation to go abroad. I don’t think I could have done this without them. They made the process seamless and I was always able to talk to someone in the US for help. The orientation in Madrid was good, but I would have really appreciated more direction with housing. It was a very big task that was challenging and expensive for people who had to stay in an Airbnb/hotel between orientation and moving into an apartment. I know that they can’t help that much with this, but just having more housing workshops would have been helpful! Overall, this is a great program and I would choose it again.

I found CIEE by doing a bit of research on my own. I wanted to make sure I was going through a reliable organization, especially considering this is my first time living and working abroad. The people at CIEE have been so helpful, encouraging, and available to communicate with directly in the United States AND abroad. Most, if not all, people through CIEE have also experienced living and/or teaching abroad, so they are very helpful in real-world experience and application. CIEE has their own fees, but it gives you piece of mind to know you have a real person advocating for you, helping you through the visa process, and communicating with schools abroad during the application and interview process, as well. Even when I finally got to South Korea, my CIEE coordinator called me to help me find accomodations while in transition to my school location and followed up with me to ensure my safety and overall comfort. I truly recommend this to anyone thinking about teaching and living abroad as they really do care about where you end up and how you get there!

I thought that the program was a great opportunity to obtain my TEFL and also apply for a job teaching English abroad. I already have an education degree, so much of the content and information provided was a refresher course to me. However, the TEFL course added another perspective as to how to teach English as a foreign language, especially to elementary levels. The Canvas platform that was used is very user-friendly and easy to follow the modules for the weekly schedule. My tutor for the course was very enthusiastic and provided helpful feedback throughout the course, including individualized comments on assignments and detailed video comments on projects. The course was as interactive as it could be on an online platform with forums and discussions with other classmates.

Teaching in Spain comes with it's difficulties. It is worth the peace of mind that is brought by using this resource. You have a staff that is accommodating to any and all questions, concerns, or doubts you may have before or during your time in Spain. They provide step-by-step guides for basically any important meeting with in terms of residency, documentation, anything, in order to make sure you can fly through the process. The on-site group is an amazing group of individuals who are more than just a helping hand. Finding a job can be difficult but CIEE guarantees you a position at a school within your preferred city. There are usually many people who do this program, so you get the chance to meet the other auxiliaries at an orientation which is a great chance to meet people.

CIEE's online TERL certification course is great. Ten weeks plus an extra four week to complete practicum hours. On top of getting to choose a start date that works best for you, once in the course you have constant communication the entire time. I reached out to my TEFL advisor multiple times and she gave me great advice for the course and it's materials. Great constructive feedback on work that was turned in during the course. This course helped me understand how to teach English as a foreign language.

The course promotes a collaborative atmosphere with discussion boards and weekly online sessions to go over the module of the week. This gave great insight on how to teach english as a second language properly. Being able to have a resource was a huge help.

Many pros and cons to teaching in Spain, but Ciee did make some things easier. They set up visa appointments, helped set up bank appointments, provided travel insurance and the have hotlines. The orientation allowed me to meet many other teaching assistants and did provide some useful information. I do wish they cut some of it down though. There was little to no help with housing. It is important to keep in mind that ciee is not in control of everything, so they cannot ensure that everything goes smoothly. I do feel pretty on my own sometimes. Yet they did secure me a job, which was harder to do on my own. Most people are up in the air of where they will be placed. As for living in Madrid, it is s great city with lots to do. Ciee also provides a social network which is a comfort.