Teach English in Spain with CIEE

I am really happy with my school placement with CIEE Teach in Spain. It is far away, but I understand most people are placed far away. My hours are amazing and I love everyone I work with. I felt prepared to figure out how to get my Visa beforehand and once we arrived, the CIEE orientation certainly helped me gain a better sense of what being a language assistant would be like. I wish that we had had more guidance with finding housing. In addition, the stipend for the program is very fair given the hours, but it is smart to have another source of income.

This is my review after doing a year of teaching abroad in Madrid by going through the CIEE "Teach in Spain" program:

There are pros and cons to going through CIEE which I will outline below, but overall for the cost to benefit ratio I would suggest not using them if you are motivated and decent at researching on your own.

Pros:
CIEE will provide you with detailed outlines of how to complete certain application processes such a applying for a VISA, a TIE (Spanish resident card), a bank account, a transportation card, and general information on what to bring to Spain including a packing list and paperwork.

CIEE provides a timeline of when you should complete certain steps and documents (though I would start looking at housing a little sooner than they suggest).

CIEE will provide an "orientation" which is useful for meeting other people in the program. That is about the main reason for it though. You will be put up in a hotel for your first week while you look for housing, but paying for it yourself would likely be cheaper.

Along these lines, you will be put into a CIEE Facebook group which is useful for sharing information and meeting other Auxs (teaching assistants). However, there are also plenty of other expat/aux groups to join.

CIEE will guarantee you are placed in Madrid (keep in mind "Madrid" is huge and that does not necessarily mean the city center). You can apply to be an Aux in many regions of Spain.

CIEE will provide insurance (called iNext) and this is useful for getting documentation together for your VISA, but there are cons too (see below).

Cons:
Most of the information CIEE provides can be found through other resources/blogs for free. Some of the information they provide is not as accurate as it could be (however, this is also due to the Spanish system which is rapidly changing and not universal in its requirements).

If you run into trouble with your VISA, due to consulate issues or anything else, CIEE really can't help. It is simply outside of their scope of influence.

If you run into trouble with your teaching assignment, CIEE also cannot do much other than direct you to the official channels. Again this is simply outside their scope. (I did not personally run into issues with this, but a few of my friends did).

If you go directly through the Ministry of Education in Madrid to apply, you can save a significant amount of money, you just have to do a lot of your own research. The Ministry also provides, what I have gathered to be, superior health insurance through Cigna (based on comparing experiences with my friends who went through the Ministry).

Assistance with housing is not provided. They will direct you to Idealista and online housing groups. That is by far the most stressful part of moving to a new country, and you are really on your own.

Overall:
After going through the program I am not upset that I used them for my first year. CIEE provided a level of comfort when moving, but I would not use them again, nor would I suggest a friend use them. I would tell my friends to do their own research and go through the Ministry.

Note: I did not go through their TEFL program, and have heard that is decent, so they may be a good option if you want a TEFL certificate.

If you are wondering whether to do the CIEE program or non-CIEE auxiliar program, hopefully this will provide some insight. Benefits of CIEE are the 24 hour support (although rarely used) and health insurance (also rarely used). Another benefit (the biggest one) is the in-person orientation that provides an opportunity to make friends easier. Other than that, the two programs are very similar. CIEE provides little support with housing and visa and iNEXT insurance is a scam. CIEE does makes things slightly easier/nicer with guaranteed placement in Madrid and they have loads of information about the TIE residency card process, but is it worth the $2000 price 🤷‍♀️ . From non-CIEE auxiliares I’ve met, it seems like they just had to go search for the information, making things a bit more difficult and maybe more stressful. It just depends whether you want to spend over $2000 to have the information already collected and get guaranteed placement in Madrid. Otherwise, the housing, the visa, and the insurance is pretty much the same. You cannot go wrong with either 😊

I have had three great experiences with CIEE. My family hosted two exchange students, one from Spain and one from Germany, when I was in high school. Both are now a part of my family. Now I am participating in the Teach in Spain program. I have received a lot of support both before and after I arrived in Spain, especially with completing important documents. Plus, the week of orientation when I arrived helped me start to get acquainted. I would recommend studying abroad or working abroad through CIEE!

CIEE is an incredible program that provided great resources and guidance. I would recommend this program to anyone. Not only did they provide resources for the whole pre departure process, but they also have an in-country orientation which allows you to meet people and start getting to know the area you will be living. Prior to my decision to do the CIEE program I did a lot of research about study abroad programs and I could not find a bunch of information. So now I am providing that information that I could not find. I 100% recommend CIEE to anyone.

I am going to teach in Spain for a second time and I have also been in their volunteer program. CIEE's support is outstanding. From the beginning of filling out your application, to orientation, and until the last day in Spain, their support has been great. I have been told that there are other companies that provide assistance to teach abroad but they have a very poor support systems. CIEE is worth every penny. Spain itself is amazing, the people are wonderful and very welcoming. The teachers are great, so willing to help you on every level and the children are well behaved (mostly of course), very curious to learn more about you. Be open to a new culture and you will be rewarded more than you can imagine.

CIEE is a relatively expensive program and I wish I realized earlier that the 3-day hotel stay was an option, as it is roughly $1000 cheaper than the 7-day hotel stay that I did. Nonetheless, orientation was well-executed and prepared me to teach at a secondary school in Madrid. Working hours are great, roughly 16 hours a week with added hours for course planning, but never more than 20 hours a week including this. Everyone works 4 days a week, so you will either get Friday or Monday off. I have Mondays off and I love it!

I have had the best experience so far!! CIEE was so helpful in helping with my visa & application process, and the in-country orientation was so helpful, and a great way to meet people! Living in Madrid has been incredible from the food, to the people, to how convenient it is to travel all over Europe! I love my students, and my coworkers have been so supportive and are so fun to work with!! I have loved this opportunity to work, travel, and love in a brand new country for the first time. Cannot recommend enough :)