Teach English in Spain with CIEE | Guaranteed Placement in Madrid

I had an amazing 2½ months doing this program. Making friends at orientation day was awesome and working at my school was a great learning experience. Having the flexibility to travel on weekends was a huge perk as well. If you're looking for a way to immerse yourself in Spanish culture and language, travel a bit, and get some experience with teaching without wanting to commit to too long away, this program is perfect for you. I recommend especially if you're a recent graduate, because based on my experience that might be a lot of your fellow volunteers :)

It is wonderful to be exposed to a different culture here in Spain, as well as have an opportunity to learn and use a different language. CIEE was very helpful throughout the entire process of getting here; staff was very communicative, several webinars were held before and during my time here which were great resources of information. Most notably, CIEE was extremely helpful with the Visa process, which can be complicated. I feel the biggest area of improvement would be for CIEE to update their data for the expected cost of living in Madrid, as the housing rental market prices where much higher than what I anticipated.

Being placed in Madrid through CIEE has been the best experience I’ve ever had. I’ve made some of my best friends for life at orientation and was given all the information I needed to feel confident in a classroom at my school placement. If you have any hesitations on if you should do it or not, I suggest that you do. Truly won’t regret the beauty of Spain, kindness of the people of Madrid, and chance to say you lived in Europe as a young adult.
What is also great, is that CIEE allows you to join in January so if doing a full year seems like too much, January is an option to come till end of June. 11/10 experience!

Going through CIEE made the pre-departure process a lot easier! To have the visa guides and the orientation course on Canvas was very helpful. The private health insurance seems to cover more things than the public health insurance that auxiliares get through the ministry of education.
After your on-site orientation, CIEE gets more hands-off. For example, they don't organize social events for the Teach in Spain participants. I bring that up as an FYI, not necessarily as a con; it makes sense given how many of us there are. They do send weekly emails with updates about things like the renewal process, but I'm not renewing, so I haven't hopped on the webinars that they provide about that.
All in all, I'd say it's worth it, because CIEE was really good at providing information that made all of the pre-departure stuff seem less overwhelming.

I’ve been living in Madrid for a few months now teaching English through CIEE’s teach in Spain program. Overall, it’s been a great experience, particularly in the sense of being able to make friends and a have a network of like minded people from the start. The program fee of 2k was worth it I would say, the hotel for the first week is a huge convenience and great way to meet people and makes the first few days smooth. The visa support in the application process was helpful too. All in all the CIEE program was instrumental in my experience being great so far due to it being how I met a lot of people that became my friends. I would do the CIEE program specifically again and recommend it to anyone for that reason

I love living and working here in Getafe! The work-life balance that this job offers with the 4-day work week is great, and it really gives you the chance to travel abroad and experience Madrid. The job itself is fulfilling, and has a nice flow to it. In my day to day life here, I feel grateful, hopeful and content-- its amazing the impact that good food and art, public transportation, and walkable communities can have. I truly do not take it for granted that I can afford rent and groceries with euros leftover to travel/save/etc, and that is something that you can achieve through this program!

CIEE has been a really great resource and support throughout this process, especially as I was moving and settling in! I found their visa guides, "to do lists" and resources for Spanish bureaucratic processes really helpful and reassuring.

When moving to Madrid CIEE was extremely helpful with answering any and all questions. They provide information on every topic that you may deal with when moving. I knew one person when moving here but through CIEE orientation I have met so many new friends all sharing the same experience as me. I like being an assistant because I enjoy being in the classroom. The teachers and staff were extremely welcoming, and continue to treat me as part of the staff. CIEE sends weekly emails about what is happening in Madrid as well as recommended spots to go eat. Mov ing abroad was very intimidating at first but CIEE has held my hand throughout the whole process.

This is my first year abroad in Spain and I chose CIEE out of all the other programs I was looking at. I liked that CIEE would help me with the VISA paperwork beforehand and I wanted to be guaranteed a position in Madrid. You do have to pay a fee compared to the other programs but it was worth in my opinion as you had support before you left as well as support if needed while in Spain. They had a 4 day orientation when you arrived to help go over the program and what you needed to do to get your metro card, bank card, etc. I also liked that there was an orientation because it gave you a chance to meet other people and make friends right away. Madrid was amazing, lots of things to do in the city, the school I work at , the teachers are really nice and its a 4 day work schedule so you either get Monday or Friday off which is amazing if you like to plan weekend trips to other cities and countries. Your stipend is 1000 a month, which depending on where you find your apartment and what your overall goal in Spain is, can be enough for your budget and still have money left over to travel or eat out and shop but I would suggest having some money saved up beforehand just for emergency. :D