Teach English in the Czech Republic with 150 Hours TEFL Course

So far my experience has been great. The CIEE staff has been unbelievably helpful since the day I left the USA. They were there whenever I had questions. If I needed help to get somewhere they would go with me and translate and overall the Prague CIEE Staff have been all I could ask for, if not more. They assisted me in things that I would not have even thought of if I were to attempt to move here on my own.
As for my schooling and housing, I would say that I lucked out. I was provided housing by my school and that also made my transition easier. I didn't have to worry about finding a place to live and I am located very close to my school so commuting is easy. My mentors who are Czech English teachers are fantastic and they have also treated me like family since day one.
I do really like the Czech Republic and all that it has to offer in terms of history and being in a foreign country. The dollar goes far and language is extremely hard to learn but the public transportation is very user friendly and it is a great place to live.

So far I have been enjoying the program quite a lot.

The CIEE program and staff have been helpful since day one, and it would have been very difficult for me to relocate here without the assistance from them (job secured before arrival and contact with the local school, housing during the first week, orientation week, etc...). I can't really speak about the help with the visa process (EU citizen here), but by hearing about from my peers it seems like overall CIEE does a good job with this, and is improving.

Prague is a very historic and fun city to live in with a lot of different events going on all the time, and its location in Europe is very good for weekend getaways. One downside of Prague is the housing, finding housing in Prague can be quite difficult and expensive for foreigners, so brace yourself and try and do it ahead of time.

I will be staying in Prague for at least 2 more years.

I have loved my time abroad! I couldn't have done it without CIEE. I have met other 'native speaker/ teachers' here that did not have the support like CIEE. They have had a hard time. From helping to secure residence and school placements to setting up visas and insurance - CIEE has proven to be worth the money. The initial application and time spent toward this endeavour in the US was sometimes worrisome. The website had glitches, deadlines were confusing, and the US office was unavailable for assistance often, which caused me to worry. But once, I had everything in place and arrived in Czech Republic, all was grand! Not only is CIEE (in Czech Republic) here for me whenever I may need them - they also have made this time so enjoyable! Czech Republic is a perfect location to travel! Every weekend in am traveling somewhere new and loving it! I am so grateful for this opportunity and for CIEE.

Like the title says, it was the best decision I have ever made. The Czech Republic is a wonderful country full of fascinating history and traditions. It also is in a perfect location for traveling around the rest of Europe. I have found teaching English to be a very rewarding process, and speaking with natives and students has opened my eyes to a new culture and I'm proud to call it my second home. I highly recommend moving to the Czech Republic.

I'm really enjoying my experience in Prague/Czech Republic so far. The staff at CIEE Prague has been extremely helpful in helping me adjust to the living here. I especially appreciate all the work Tereza has done in helping me find an apartment (upscale unit in the perfect neighborhood, great Czech flatmate, and cheap) as well as organizing all these cool events for the participants. The ballet and Charles Castle trips were awesome, and we're looking forward to the Thanksgiving dinner she's hosting, since not many people celebrate it here. She really deserves the credit for making the program what it is today. The rest of the CIEE staff have also been very helpful, from giving us a great orientation experience to being available whenever we have questions about how things are done in Prague.

How much you enjoy Teach Abroad in the Czech Republic is really up to you. You have a fair amount of autonomy, as working adults, to explore and engage with your new world as much or as little as you want. The CIEE staff is here to lend a helping hand when you need help, not to hold your hand 24/7 like you're still in college. That being said, if you're a responsible adult who wants to see central Europe, is willing to adapt to a new culture/lifestyle, and is not afraid to go out of your comfort zone, this program is for you!

The title speaks for itself and is actually an inside joke between myself and the other participants who have had a terrible experience with CIEE Teach Abroad Prague.

I am currently finishing the program and am just trying to make the best out of the last few months I have here since the first 6 were horrible.

Due to not receiving the required paperwork for my employee card application in decent time (we got the documents in July, we had to leave in August) the entire experience was ruined from the start. I spent the first 4 months here on a tourist visa technically volunteering and struggling to get paid compensation from CIEE. Oh, I also spent a day in jail with two other participants after CIEE advised us to "register" with the foreign police when our 3-month tourist visas expired and we were here illegally. We weren't "registered," we were arrested. And CIEE did not tell us what was going on while getting arrested.... I found out the whole truth of the situation after I was processed and given a professional translator who told me I was arrested and processed for being there illegally.

The list of mistakes the CIEE Teach Abroad Prague staff has made is too long for me to even write. It includes: ignoring emails for days about important things like contacting your landlord for a broken shower or being locked out of your apartment, NOT helping a participant find a doctor that speaks English for a required prescription, and NOT answering the phone when a CIEE intern doesn't show up at the meeting spot to help you get to your visa appointment.

These are all things that the CIEE Staff has taken lightly and has, weirdly, turned around on the participants. They tell us we are just "bonding through anger" and should be more independent since we're teaching abroad and college graduates. There's 7 of us in this program and we're literally their afterthoughts. They just started including us in the regular emails about CIEE events in Prague THIS month in February. They once pity invited us to their Study Abroad students' goodbye dinner AFTER the RSVP date on the invitation.

I spent most of my experience here hating CIEE for not sticking to what they said they'd do. I also haven't mentioned that I studied abroad with them in Prague in 2014 and the experience was nothing like this. We received endless support, almost babied. I truly have no idea what happened to the staff in those two years. Are they really trying their best, or do they just hate the Teach Abroad participants? I don't know.

Before teaching abroad, I had done quite a lot of research on CIEE and heard great things from friends who have worked with them in the past either teaching or studying abroad. I was so excited for my time in the Czech Republic and have found CIEE to be a burden if anything else. The staff is very unorganized and have given little support throughout this whole process. We had to make our own housing arrangements so while it says that housing in apartments is provided that is not actually true except for a few girls in homeshares outside of the city. Any problems that I have encountered in my time here have either been ignored or dismissed by CIEE staff both here in the Czech Republic or in the U.S. At this point I do not even bother to seek their assistance. When I brought up this lack of communication to the staff in the U.S., I was basically and told that I was overreacting...

The current program consists of only 7 people yet they definitely are struggling to manage. I worry for future applicants as I know they want to expand this program. Unfortunately, I do not think that will be possible with the current number of staff.

The expense of this program, forgetting all of the additional expenses I have spent to be here, does not equal the "service" you receive from CIEE unfortunately. If you want to teach in the Czech Republic... which I highly encourage anyone to do... then I suggest using a different program. My time here has been amazing but with no thanks to CIEE.