Job Discussion Forums

[TEFL]

Hi all,

I am looking to complete my CELTA within the next couple of months and have narrowed my choices to either Barcelona or Madrid. If there is anyone out there who could offer an insight into the course, the cities or opportunities for employment post course (basically anything that will assist me in the decision-making process!) it would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

[sollettspain]

You may already have researched Valencia while looking for places to CELTA - but in case you haven't I can highly recommend it. I did mine there 2 years ago at Campbell College and it was great! Both the college and the city. I live a little way down the coast in Alicante and I can give you some local help/knowledge if required.

[SirKirby]

Well, the course itself is well-worth doing. In theory, it shouldn't vary a great deal from one centre to another, as the syllabus is externally set by Cambridge. What will make a difference is the quality of the teaching and, to some extent, how lucky you get and how well you get on with your tutor/s.

Can't tell you a lot about Madrid (lovely city, though), but in Barcelona your choice is the Lewis School or IH Barcelona. Can't tell you much about the former, one of BCN's more reputable language schools; IH BCN is bigger, and probably has slightly more "reputation" worldwide (it's also part of the IH World Organization, which may be a plus for finding jobs elsewhere in the world). Probably because it's bigger and has more candidates, I've met far more people who have done CELTA there, and they seem pretty happy with it. They say it has great post-course support, including jobs.

The jobs market in BCN is currently wondering how hard it's going to get hit by the recession, something it probably won't know until October for sure. In-company classes have taken a big hit but -- so far -- language schools seem to be keeping their heads well above water. I'd imagine the same pretty much applies to elsewhere in Spain, including Madrid.