Being a student at TEFL Barcelona was the best decision I could have made. I was already planning on spending just over a month in Barcelona to take an online TEFL course, so when this course was advertised to me, I knew I had to do it.
Discovering the art of teaching English in the cultural capital of Spain
My name is Kenzie, and I was a part of the January – February 2023 120-hour TEFL course. The course took place at a local language school in the Gracia district of Barcelona. Around the school, there are great restaurants, bars, and cafés. The course itself takes four weeks to complete and is very intensive.
On the first day, we started with introductions with an introduction to the course and its content while moving to an observation of teaching practice and then having a welcome tapa with your fellow students and teacher Lisa.
Before I continue, I must say a huge thanks to Lisa, as she was such a fantastic teacher and a fantastic person who brought a lot of humor to our busy days. Right after the first day, you dive into the material and grammar as we were teaching on our third day.
The material introduced can seem overwhelming, but if you go to class, focus, and take notes, you will not have a problem.
Those who might not have the most excellent understanding of grammar, or may not have done grammar for a while, don´t worry.
It can seem like a lot, but you will learn as you go through the course, and everything is not bombarded at you all at once.
I would suggest getting familiar with the grammar and tenses beforehand so you don´t go into the course blind, as that would make the content a little overwhelming. But after the first day, the course gets into a routine, and everything starts to fly by.
Experiencing the realities and rewards of TEFL teaching
As I said, we had our first teaching practice on the third day. This is where we taught local language learners. Since our class was small, there were only four of us, and we had a considerable amount of one-on-one support. The material given and help with lesson planning match your course progress.
As the weeks go by and you become more experienced in teaching classes, you have to plan the lessons more on your own with fewer suggestions from the teacher. The teaching practice was probably the most fun aspect of the course. Yes, the first lesson or two is nerve-racking, but once you compose yourself and get into a rhythm, you start having fun, and you really enjoy your time teaching.
You will be surprised at how fast a forty-five-minute lesson can go.
As there were only four of us, we taught seven times, and by the last week, I wanted to teach some more as it was gratifying as the students are lovely, and the support you get from your fellow classmates and teachers is constructive.
As the course goes on, one massive piece of advice I would give you is to stay on top of your work, don’t slack off but do remember, you are in Barcelona, so do enjoy yourself as it is a fantastic city,but when you have work to be done, get it done so you don’t have to stress about it.
You will be given homework and a couple of projects throughout the course. Just do the assignment as soon as you get it and start the projects immediately. That’s what I did, and when the weekend would come around, I would have an abundance of free time to relax and explore what the city offers while getting some work done.
In the last week, most of the grammar lessons have finished, and you are delving more into the world of EFL. However, this is a final exam. I am not a fan of exams. They have always gotten me stressed and overwhelmed. So going into this course, I was nervous. After taking the exam, I realized there was not much to fear.
The stuff you learn throughout the course is on the exam and looks the same, so nothing comes from “left field”. You are also given a practice exam in the same format as the final exam. If you study for this exam, you will be fine, trust me, just put in some work, and you will be fine.
As a whole, the course does an excellent job of preparing you to be a great EFL teacher. The in-person observed teaching practice is massive, and the fun you will have on this course will make it fly by. The fun will come from your classmates and teacher. Since my group only included five people, including myself and Lisa (our teacher), you will all get to know each other very well.
Is Barcelona the best place to take a TEFL course?
So even if your coming to Barcelona alone (like me) don’t worry, you will make friends easily. Being in Barcelona is a fantastic experience, especially in January. I´m not a massive fan of the heat, so this was a perfect time to come.
The weather is cool but gets warm when the sun is out during the day. Much warmer than in Canada or England. There is no excuse for being bored in this city.
There is so much you can do in the city that I could write a blog entry about. The area surrounding the language school is where you will end up spending a lot of your time, and it´s well worth it as there are so many good places to shop, eat, and relax.
Since public transit is excellent here, you can easily get to any part of the city, or you can walk. When taking public transit, or the metro, make sure you hide your valuables and hold onto your bags. Pickpocketing is a real issue, and I have seen it happen.
Throughout the course, I rented an Airbnb in the La Vila Olimpica del Poblenou district, and I would highly recommend that area.
All the amenities you could near are right by your doorstep, you´re near some lovely green spaces, and the beach is no less than a fifteen-minute walk, and it only took me about 30 min to get to school on the bus, this included walking and stopping for a quick coffee!
My last recommendation would be to make a day trip to get out of the city.
There are so many places you can get to quickly; Sitges, Tarragona, Montserrat, and Girona are places I highly recommend and are under two hours away!
So yeah, you should highly consider taking this course. You will have a fantastic time learning a new profession, making new friends, and exploring a beautiful region.
Kenzie
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