Hey,

I am considering doing the TEFL-in-Spain course in Granada, starting January, 2013. So, I was mainly wanting to find out if anybody had any experience or knew really anything about the TEFL-in-Spain courses in Granada and Malaga. Is it a good option? Are there any Americans who have done the course and have been able to find a job afterwards?

That is part one of my question. I was also kind of wondering whether it’s possible to get a job teaching English without going through some TEFL-in-Spain-type program. I actually already have teaching experience (1 year as a language assistant in Switzerland). I also have kind of a faux-TEFL certificate (50 hours of instruction, 10 contact hours) which I got at a small, state University in North Carolina. It is not equivalent or really anything close to a CELTA, but it is a certificate of some sort, and I already have some experience under my belt to boot. My Spanish is decent for never having lived there, and I will be in Guatemala for 3 months between now and then in an immersion course, living with Guatemalans. So my Spanish ought to be up to the task by January. So I was thinking, having a years English-teaching experience abroad, a kind of certificate, and speaking Spanish, it might not even be necessary to get the TEFL qualification to get a job in Spain. However, it seems that a big benefit of the course would be the job offer which they guarantee at the end of the course, which might make it worthwhile after all. Sorry for all of the questions, and not really asked in the most organized way. Anyway, if anybody has any thoughts/advice/experience in regard to what I have just posted, I would be very happy to hear them.

Thanks and all the best,

Ryan

OK Ryan, you’ve got a lot of questions there but I’ll try and field some of them:

The CELTA course for example, the one run by CLIC in Seville costs ?1545 and with CELTA certification, as you are probably aware, you can get a teaching job in almost any country in the world. The Tefl-in-Spain course costs (at time of writing)  ?1125 and is promoted as an ‘equivalent’ to CELTA. I suggest you ask Tefl-in-Spain if you can speak to teachers who have obtained jobs after they completed their courses there and make sure they are genuine!

Take a look at the jobs on offer in Spain at http://www.tefl.com Most require a CELTA, some will accept an equivalent (TEFL-in-Spain?) and there are some others that don’t require certification but are looking for some experience and the kind of background that you seem to have.

Good luck with your search and be careful—there are a lot of sharks in this business…

Un cordial saludo,

Agustin

PS I have taken another look at the Tefl-in-Spain site and note that they make the following claim: “Thanks to our partnership with Acadomia, an important English teacher recruitment agency, many of our participants will be guaranteed a job in Granada or Malaga!”

Well, how many is “many”?! In no way are they offering guaranteed jobs to all course participants.

Also, I have worked as a teacher in Spain for many years and have never heard of Acadomia. If you look at their site, it seems to be some sort of a match-making service for teachers who work from home and potential students.

?Ten cuidado!