9 January 2013
As I make my way home for Christmas on the train from Seville to Malaga, I finally have time to reflect on the last eight months. At the beginning of 2012, I was working as an assistant manager in a bar/restaurant in Glasgow. Unbeknown to me at that time I would soon be living in Spain working a third of the weekly hours I was used to…and in the sun!The story began when my girlfriend read an email in her work regarding an opportunity to do the same job she was doing in Glasgow, but in another of her company's offices in Spain. As a linguist, she was keen to look into the possibility of improving her Spanish, the only problem being I was unsure what I would do in terms of work if we decided to move. That is where TEFL Org UK came in.
It quickly became clear that TEFL was going to be a great experience. Having looked at the course structure, I realised that the only thing I had to be in Scotland for was the practical weekend course ; which due to the available dates and my severe lack of time, I had to go through to Edinburgh for. Having said that, it was a good excuse to visit my uncle for the weekend! My idea was to complete the weekend course, and do the other three parts of my course ( 50 hour , 30 hour grammar and language awareness and 20 hour video course ) in Spain, as they are all completed online.
I arrived in April of 2012, and I was blown away by the city. I had travelled around Spain many times, but I had never been to Seville, and to be honest I didn't know much about it. The city centre is among the most beautiful I've seen; the stunning cathedral, the charming narrow streets of the old town, the traditional flamenco bars and literally hundreds of tapas bars serving some of the best food in Spain (alongside San Sebastian maybe)!
I realised soon after my arrival that it probably wasn't the best time of the year to be looking for work in language schools in Seville, as most places hire at the beginning of the academic year (around September, depending on the school). So, I had the great misfortune of spending my summer eating tapas, drinking coffee in WIFI cafes (to do my TEFL online coursework) and generally having a four month long holiday under the orange trees. Hard life! I got to know some local English teachers and through them I picked up a bit of private tuition work, which was handy as at one point in the blistering heat of August it seemed like September would never come!
In September, I got myself in gear and I was rewarded with a few breaks for the better; I got an interview for a language school right across from my flat, and I got work on Mondays and Wednesdays with them. Then, a week later, I got some more work in an academy only five minutes from my flat on Tuesdays and Thursdays! It had all come together! On Mondays and Wednesdays I teach 10/12 year old children, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach adult beginners and adult pre-intermediates.
I was so glad to get a variety of ages and levels, it provides such a variety of activities and challenges! In the last month I have picked up some more work early in the mornings with a big multi-national company teaching business English. This pays really well and I find it a lot of fun. The good thing about it is you learn a lot about whatever business you are working in, it is something worth thinking about in terms of job hunting.
¡Adiós y Buena Suerte!
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