TEFL Course Testimonials

Here are just a few of our graduates. All our graduates are happy to be in email contact with those wanting more 'inside' information about the course and living and working in Spain. Please email us at info@ttmadrid.comand we will forward your email.

Our TEFL course and TEFL in Spain

Below, some of our past graduates give their views on our TEFL course, Madrid and life as TEFL teachers in Spain

Name: Gina Cooper
Age: 32
Nationality: American
Educational Background: Bachelors of Business Administration, Professional Sales
Work history:  International Human Resources
What you are doing now? I am providing in company and private academy English classes in Madrid, studying Spanish, and exploring the Spanish culture while trying to make sense of it all. J

Fortunately for me, I stumbled and literally stumbled across TTMadrid (TT) after interviewing several other TEFL programs in various countries.   At the time Madrid was not even a consideration; however, after reviewing TT’s program Madrid became a top contender and eventually my choice.  With having an extensive background in international human resources and being very knowledgeable about the aspects international movements and expatriates needs, I had very specific criteria in my selection process.    TT impressed me tremendously with their professionalism, level of engagement, comprehensive cultural immersion program, support through the selection and academy acceptance process, and their abundance of relevant information available on the web.  I always had the sense that they knew what they were doing which spoke volumes to me.  Turned out…I was right. 

Arriving to Madrid and entering the TEFL course, were exciting, nerve-wracking, and interestingly enough…very and I mean very humbling.  Admittedly for me, I didn’t have the slightest concern about completing the TEFL course or getting a job which was shocking to my friends in the US.  I always thought it was going to be a “piece of cake”.  Well, that changed.  And quickly.  To be fair the TT staff had always referred to the TEFL certification process as an intensive one.  I now understand.  It is a very intensive especially when you don’t have your basic needs with your personal life sorted out as a result to moving to another country.  It made for a long, exhausting, interesting, and yet rewarding month.  The TT staff are fantastic and continued to challenge, encourage, and support all the students through this journey.  They are dynamic educators, their energy was fantastic and their belief in the process and the students contributed to our confidence levels.  More simply put…..they are just awesome people. 

It has been a few months since completing the course but I still feel connected to the TT.  They remain involved in your personal needs and support you in ways beyond what you can imagine. 

If you are looking for a first class TEFL Program, I can recommend TT beyond a shadow of a doubt.  You will not be disappointed.  

Oliver Hamilton (UK)

It was because of a friend’s recommendation that I decided to do my TEFL course at Tt Madrid, and having done the course, I can see why he spoke so highly about it. Natasha, Tem, John, and all the other staff are incredibly welcoming, friendly, and importantly, have a vast amount of EFL teaching experience. Moving to Spain and starting a job in which I had no previous experience was obviously a daunting prospect, but the support from Tt Madrid has been fantastic. The course certainly had its tough parts, but someone was always on hand to help in any way they could.

After looking at the pre-course grammar materials and the phonetic chart and wondering how the hell I was going to learn any of it, I’m amazed at how much I really did learn in those 4 weeks. I’m even contemplating giving my new classes some phonology lessons! And as for work, the contacts that the school has with the job market mean that,  you won’t struggle for work once you’ve completed the course. After sending out CVs to employers, Natasha is there to keep you up to date on all job offers and to offer guidance on almost anything, and all of the school’s resources are also available to you after graduation.

Finally, just as important as the course itself are the friends you make during it. Particularly after moving to a new city and knowing very few people here, it was great to be able to build a new friendship group from what was a fantastic group of people. And because the school often arranges more social events with previous graduates as well as new students, there’s always more people to meet and plenty to enjoy. I cannot recommend it enough!

Chris and Fabi (USA graduates, Spanish, Teaching and Cultural Immersion Programme)

Just a few years out of college, my wife and I had been working in the Washington, DC area for the past several years in a corporate environment, when we started looking for an opportunity to live abroad, travel, and perfect our Spanish.

We heard about TT Madrid through a few friends that gave us glowing endorsements, and from the start we could understand why.  Natasha and her team not only helped answer all of our questions and address all of our concerns, but they also gave all kinds of advice on how to obtain our visas, housing, travel, and even bank accounts and setting up our phones.

The course itself was a blast, but was just as thorough as it was fun.  It was well paced, with a great mix of theory, grammar, phonetics, and practice-teaching to make sure we all felt confident and prepared to teach professionally at the end of four weeks.  And we made a lot of great friends in the group, as well.

Best of all, after the class is over, we have a great network for jobs right off the bat.  The TT Madrid team helps set-up job interviews, create CVs, and even shows you how to maintain a balanced schedule (so you have enough time to travel on the weekends!).

Overall, we’re more than thrilled with our decision and are quite grateful to the team at TT Madrid.

Fabi and Chris

Michael Leeward (UK) 35

Name: Natalie Webster
Age: 28
Nationality: Scottish
Educational Background: BA Hons International Business and Modern Languages
Work history: Financial Sales
What you are doing now? Now I am teaching English as a foreign language 23 hours a week in Madrid and loving it. 
Comments: Going to Madrid and doing the TEFL course at Tt Madrid was the best thing I ever did.  I was sick of my boring sales job, doing the same thing day in, day out and wanted to do something more varied and challenging.  I came across the Tt website and alter some careful consideration decided to do it!  The course is great but the best thing about Tt is the constant support you recieve afterwards.  Even if you change country  the guys are always there for you and will help you in any way they can!

Name: Jazz Loyal
Age: 27
Nationality: British
Educational Background: BSc IT/Engineering, BSc Psychology, HND LV2 Fitness Trainer & Nutritionist
Work history:      IT engineering and networking, website development from PHP to JAVA. Psychologist with computer interaction and human behaviour. Professional fitness trainer and nutritionist.
What you are doing now? English teacher and fitness trainer in Madrid.

Comments: I had never considered becoming an English teacher. I have been teaching in my past jobs however this is focuses around business and information technology aspects.< br/> The Tt Madrid bunch is to say one of the largest families you could ever join. Once you walk through the door they accept you for who you are without any questions asked, their supportive nature provided me with a good support system I could rely on. This support system does not end when you graduate. The TT Madrid doors are always open to you. I have been back many times requesting support and help. They have always helped!!!

One of the things I really love about it in Madrid is their continual effort to get you hours to work out some of the greatest companies in the world. Having this information on your CV is very impressive to say the least.

There are many people who are offering the TEFL course. I guess I'm just the lucky one who picked the right company.

If you are thinking of coming to Spain and becoming an English teacher then I strongly suggest you start with Tt Madrid. They help you with all aspects not just the TEFL e.g. where to get a bank account, in some cases even for me the best place to get my haircut.

So to conclude, if you looking for an enjoyable experience whereby you can grow and have an excellent time but do not forget you must work hard, then I strongly urge you to join Tt Madrid.

Paula Clark - 31 Cambridge, UK

Educational Background:
After studying Leisure and Tourism at college, I went on to do a degree in Marketing and Operations Management at Lancaster University.

Work history:
I have 9 years business experience working within the IT industry in England. For most of this time I was working in marketing roles. I was also responsible for setting up a sales and graduate programme in which I was first introduced into the world of training!

What you are doing now?
I'm now working a 25 hour week, Monday to Thursday, which incorporates one-to-one classes with both business professionals and those who require social English; and incompany classes for Caja Madrid, Yahoo and MonSanto. The group classes range from 3 people to 8 people per class.

Comments:
If you are looking for a very professional school within a friendly atmosphere, that provides endless support and guidance, then this is the course for you. TtMadrid provide advice and are always willing to help with every situation. They make the transition of moving from one career to a whole new one and adjusting to another culture and life in Madrid as smooth as possible.

In terms of the actual content of the course, it is a full schedule, yes, it is hard work in terms of content and coursework, but extremely educational. The added benefit is that it is one of a few accredited courses in Madrid so not only will you have a TEFL accreditation, you will have an official accredited qualification that you can use anywhere in the world.

I currently live in the centre of Madrid, where I am sharing a flat with an English girl. There is an endless supply of accommodation with both native and non-native flat mates to choose from. Life in Madrid is good, it's not too much of a chore to got used to the endless nightlife, café’s and sampling all the tapas and local wines!

UPDATE: After a bit of a break from teaching (with a proper 9-5 job in Madrid (and hating it) - I have been back in teaching for the last two years.  I run my own in-house programme with Nokia and I love it. My students are fantastic and I attend meetings to help with any English issues that might arise and when time allows, I help with course development for new projects - it just keeps getting better!  

Lindale Banks - 38 - USA
38

Educational Background:
English Writing, Missouri Western State University.

Work history:
5 Years University of Kansas in Research Compliance
2 Years Broadcating
20+ As a writer

What you are doing now?
Working in Companies such as General Electric, Endesa, Arkema, Respsol, Caja Madrid and many more.

Comments:
My TEFL Experience has been great. It has given me the chance to meet so many exciting people from all over the world. It always brings me joy to see the students learning and their faces shining when they see me. My experiences here in Madrid has also enhanced my skills as a writer. I am sure I have broken down many barriers and stereotypes being African-American and teaching abroad. I feel quite proud to be a teacher and have gotten my TEFL at TtMadrid.

Chris Ferrer, 23 - UK

I undertook the Tt TEFL course in November 2009. I came to Madrid fresh out of university and stayed there teaching until June 2010 and I can honestly say that it was one of the best things that I have done.

Teaching was not something that I wanted to do in the long term so for me what is great about the course is that it did not tie me down to anything. The skills that I learnt and developed at Tt have all been transferable and I still use them on a day to day basis, for example; presentational skills for when I am presenting a pitch/proposal to my clients or even elicitation for when I am trying to gain information from them. All the experience that I gained was flexible and significantly increased my employability. For instance, I have always been a confident person but Natasha and Tem really taught me how to channel my confidence in effective ways (along with everything else that they taught me…) and the support that I received before, during and after the course was really unparalleled! Tt really does what it says on the tin…

Overall my time at Tt Madrid allowed me to develop my skills and ripen my potential. I strongly believe that my experience both at Tt and in Madrid was one of the main reasons that I have now got the graduate job that I wanted.

I would strongly recommend it to anyone- even those who in the long run, do not necessarily want to pursue a career in teaching.