An incredible experience in Austria!

This is exactly what I was looking for. I had recently completed my PGCE at Cambridge and I wanted immediate classroom experience, as well as a formal qualification for teaching English plus time in a new country...well I got that, and more! I loved teaching in Austria, do not misunderstand it was tiring and on occasion difficult but it was such a great experience. The students were generally lovely, and willing and able to get involved in the activities, games and songs. This was such a contrast to teaching in England.

We got to travel around a lot and teach in lots of schools, while also receiving training to improve our own teaching. The staff at ABCi have a lot of teaching experience and the feedback I received was so helpful and can be applied to any classroom situation in the future. I was also afforded the opportunity to get my certTESOL and TEFL-YL certificates which will be invaluable when applying for jobs in the future.

I found the very early starts coupled with the active learning very tiring as we had to travel distances to get to schools, but this is part of the job. ABCi really focus on the use of Active Learning in the classroom and they promote immersion environments for students. This can be both challenging and rewarding, especially when you see students speaking English more confidently by Friday afternoon of a project week.There are lots of songs and excellent activities to use with the students, and once you know the activities you can then really focus on improving your teaching skills. The training continued after the first month and lasted the entire duration of our placement. We had training in the afternoons which was helpful as we were working with our peers to improve how activities were run in the classroom as well as discussing grammar topics, activity creation and carefully chosen readings applicable to the TESOL classroom.

Another great aspect was the fact our accomodation and food was paid for. Having said that quite often I needed to supplement the allowance to buy other things such as meat or fresh vegetables.

I would definitely recommend the placement to others but be aware of the early starts and the energy the placement requires. It is such an incredible opportunity which I have not found anywhere else.