Job Discussion Forums

[LittlePasta]

Hi everyone!!

Can anyone tell me of an online TEFL course that has job placements in Valencia?

Thanks,
Christie

[spiral78]

Dear Christie:

Well, maybe someone will come up with some information that will prove me wrong, but I'll be extremely surprised, if so.

First point: on-line certs are NOT generally accepted in Europe. This is because they don't include a teaching practicuum, where you practice-teach on real students with feedback from experienced teacher trainers. 99.99% of newbie teachers in Europe have this kind of certification.

Second point: unless you have citizenship from an EU member country (meaning if the only citizenship you have is Canadian) you are not legally eligible to work in Spain anyway. Sure, lots of people are working under the table, but no school is offering illegal jobs to people from abroad. If you want to work under the table, you'll have to have the funds to come here and walk the streets yourself.

I suggest that you read through earlier posts on this board - all of these things have been discussed in great detail in the not-at-all-distant past.

[LittlePasta]

Hey!! Thanks for the info... I did read the posts and got the impression that online wasn't the greatest, but would do.

Second, I am Irish with both an Irish passport and British passport. I live in Canada.

Thanks,
Christie

[spiral78]

Whew. Am pretty tired of breaking the bad news about non-EU citizens!
The backlash can be tough to take, and I wasn't really up to another round in the 'morality of working illegally' fight.

You may get by with an on-line cert, providing you have offsetting qualities, which could include things like business background, other teaching experience, professional qualifications.

However, the premise that the better schools don't hire from abroad holds true.

Why not consider getting a real, on-site cert in Spain? There are lots of benefits: you make local contacts (very useful when seeking good jobs and housing, etc), practice teaching students will be really representative of the ones you'll be working with, and you can be sure your cert will be recognized by local (Spanish) employers.

[LittlePasta]

mmm, it does sound like a good idea. Do you know of any in Valencia? Any websites I could check out? ---All the info is so overwhelming I hardly know which way is up.

Thank you so much;)
Christie

[mdk]

Home Littlepasta,


I did that in early 2005. I will not tell you the name of the school but they advertise heavily and can easily be googled. I got the TEFL in Spain.


It cost about 1,000 Euros and I also spent about another $1,500 Euros. I would say the instruction went well as far as it went. The business of teaching actual students was overblown a bit because they (at that time at least) never had more than 2-3 show up. You would see 8 TEFL students working on these 2-3 Spaniards in turn over an hour. As to whether that was an adequate practicuum, Ah hae ma doots. Those of us who had prior teaching experience picked up our ticket after the course and went off to work. I haven't kept in touch with the other half of the class. You can sort of take your clue from that.

You know, I think the cheapest way to see Spain is to walk the Camino de Santiago. You might want to look into it before you plunk down any more money. You might find there is a whole big country away from Las Ramblas and the bars. If you don't like green olives and bacalao you may find that you don't like Spain and Spain doesn't like you

Actually, who could not like bacalao ?

[craftynick]

[LittlePasta]

Aww, you guys are so SQ ("super cute"... Canadian lingo)! Thanks so much, and I'll be sure to check out all your suggestions.

Anyone else with TEFL info/comments?

LOL!! My dad's from Glasgow and I lived there when I was young.

I lived in Asturias last year and can't say I enjoyed it. I really am looking for fun in the sun Valencia here I come!! ...Wow, I'm such a cheeseball

Hasta luego,
Christie

[mdk]

The freighter dropped me off in Valencia a few weeks before my TEFL course started and I lived there during that time. Valencia is a beautiful city with a lot of nice people, but I didn't enjoy the beach there as much as I did in Barcelona. There was something about being able to take the bus down to the beach that I enjoyed a great deal.

It is a bit off topic, but it isn't that far from Spain. If you are really looking for a fun place in the sun, I would take a close look at Dubrovnik. It's a day and a half by train and a ferry ride away from Spain. I really liked it there.

Since I heard about those tiresome Schengen regulations limiting my time to 90 days out of each 180 - Well, Dubrovnik doesn't sound bad as a place to take a breather.

[destiny's tot]

Fluency Idiomas in Valencia recruit and train unqualified staff to work with (very) young learners using their proprietary method and materials. I know they have advertised locally on www.loquo.com very recently.

Best
destiny's tot

[destiny's tot]

Here's that loquo ad, dated 15th May:

� Looking for dynamic, enthusiastic English teachers

(knowledge of Spanish preferred).

� We offer full training, a contract and Social Security.

� Full and part time work available.

� Promotion possibilities

� Competitive Salary.

� Contact Martina or Marc 685 859 799/ 627 909 986

Best,
Destiny's Tot

[LittlePasta]

Purrrfect! Thanks

~c