Job Discussion Forums

[Integrity09]

Dear all,

This is my first post and I appreciate that there is a forum where I can go to you good people to seek information!

I am a legal resident in Madrid, been living here for years, married with children. I come from a business background have worked in banking, insurance industry. I am focusing on being a TEFL instructor as the job market has gotten very difficult for me and I wish to pursue this field and teach business English, 1 on 1 adult and youth.

I�ve freelanced in the past to adults, 1 on 1 and children and groups however I wish to have formal training.

I understand that CELTA and Trinity seem to be some of the most respected certificates any suggestions for location where the intensive courses are offered in Madrid?

I�d also appreciate experiential input concerning companies, schools etc that offer these programs in Madrid (comments welcome).

As well as other (non CELTA & Trinity) certificates and the institutions that offer them.
I.e. suggestions as to actual language schools-companies and comments regarding their teaching methods e.g. are they worthwhile, do they have a good reputation in Spain, in the industry, do they provide good instruction on teaching a foreign language, grammar, practical (actual teaching experience then a certificate).

Again I seek to have a more formal training to improve my skills and better those that I teach and have a certificate to back it up.

I�m open to seek employment within a language school or ultimately aut�nomo.

Thanks so much�in advance!

[Moore]

With a CELTA, EU papers and business experience you'll be ahead of 75% of the teachers in Madrid.

It's a bit worrying that you are proposing to support a family on your wage though: typically a TEFL teacher working 25 hours a week (more is heading for burnout) will earn about 1500 euros a month. When you remember that you will not be paid over summer and usually not over Christmas, Easter and the many public holidays here, then you have to factor in 2 to 3 months of unemployment. Also your annual taxes will take off another months wages, so you're looking at about 1000 a month: this is fine for a single person who can flit off to the Uk or the coast to do summer classes, but as a family man it could be complicated. Don't mean to discourage you, but fair warning should be given.

In terms of schools, the usual suspects (the British Council, International House), along with the more professional local ones (Astex, Windsor Idiomas) are good choices.

Ultimately, if you want to make steady, family supporting sort of cash from TEFL, and you have to stay in Spain, then becoming a Director of Studies or even starting your own academy is the way forward. Of course outside Spain there are countries where you can make better money, 12 months a year, but they're nowhere near as nice as here!


_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona or Berlin in one hit with our c.v. sending service... www.lingobongo.com

[jonniboy]

[Moore]

"Just to clarify - are you saying that a teacher will earn on average 1000 net for nine months (which seems low) or 1500 a month for nine months (which seems more reasonable) ??"

...yes: 1500 a month for 9 months - just wanted to average it out over the year, as a lot of people get a rather nasty shock come summer when work dries up and it's tax declaration time, just at the moment when you really need cash for a holiday. Of course you can always work on the black, but it's not a long-term solution, especially for a family man.



_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona or Berlin in one hit with our c.v. sending service... www.lingobongo.com

[Integrity09]

I wonder if you or others are familiar with �Canterbury English� in Madrid, they mention (on their website) that they offer a guaranteed job teaching English during the school year and a summer job as well, including teaching at camps (July-Aug).
Any comments about their teaching program or reputation etc.?

Thanks again!

[Moore]

A guaranteed job doesn't mean a whole lot I'm afraid: a guaranteed GOOD job with guaranteed DECENT salary in an ACCESSIBLE location, now that would be an offer to take up, but sadly most of these guaranteed jobs from TEFL teacher training establishments, both in Madrid and Barcelona are not very desirable. It's easy to guarantee A job, but a good one is another matter.


(sorry about the shout-y captials for emphasis, but have never got the hang of italics on this site!)





_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona or Berlin in one hit with our c.v. sending service... www.lingobongo.com