From Dundee to Spain
Name - Gareth Milne
Age - 22
20 hour TEFL Scotland Dundee Jan 24/25th
I was working as a Sampling Technician for Severn Trent Laboratories but fancied the sunshine and way of life in Spain.
Since undertaking the 20 hour course in January I moved to Murcia, Spain, where I began private English tuition for students (aged between 6 and 30) who I found by advertising locally. My partner was working there as part of a British Council Teaching Assistantship program, which I would highly recommend to anyone who has a language degree in addition to their TEFL.
After working in Murcia for 4 months and building my experience I then managed to find work in an English summer school (English Summer S.A.) in a small town in Catalonia. This has been my best experience so far teaching children between the age of 5 and 17 with all levels in two week terms. Each class had 12 students and I found teaching the teenagers of a higher level to be the most enjoyable as I could actually converse and have a laugh with them rather than going over colours with 5 and 6 year olds, that´s just my personal preference. The school had plenty of material and excellent support to aid my teaching. All food and accomodation was included plus 450 euros per two week term so it was a good way to save money. I've recently finished working there and have since moved to Tarragona where I have had two interviews in English Academies and am very hopeful about finding work.
For those who have undertaken the TEFL Scotland course I would recommend moving to the area where you would ideally like to be, although it seems risky it is the best way to find work. At least take a holiday there in which time you can hand in CVs and gauge the possibility of finding work. In the short time I have been in Tarragona I have found many more academies than I originally thought existed from browsing the internet and walking in to the academy gives them much more confidence than an email from the UK.
Around early September is the best time to apply when the academies are enrolling students and know how many teachers they require, although they do recruit all year round. Having a TEFL qualification gives your CV a big boost in the eye of the employer so it is well worth it.
Good luck to anybody who is thinking about relocating and my advice would be to give it a go and in no time you too could be living in the sunshine.
