From Sheffield to Barcelona - Meet Guy Smith

Guy graduated from the University of Sheffield and is now teaching English in Barcelona. We caught up with him a few months after his TEFL course to get his thoughts on the TEFL market and find out what he’s doing.

What was your previous education and teaching experience before you did the course?

No teaching education before, but I have an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield. I’d done some informal teaching before but not of teaching English.

How did you find the workload on the course?

The workload was a bit more intense that I expected but the tutor support was also excellent. We had lessons with the tutor in the morning, lesson preparation after lunch then teaching practice in the afternoon. I taught about 3 lessons per week, and when I wasn't teaching I was observing my classmates or the tutors give demo lessons. We also have several assignments to do, which took up some time.

How did you go about finding a job and how long did it take you to find one?

I found a job just before I started the course – found it by luck thanks to my girlfriend. I will have to look for more work in September but I’m sure it’ll be fine!

How many hours a week are you working on average in Barcelona?

I'm currently working 18 hours a week - 12 in a language academy and I do 6 hours per week of private classes. I'm quite happy with it as I can easily pay my way in Barcelona and go out at the weekend.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about coming to Barcelona to teach English?

Be proactive about finding work and be patient with local bureaucracy! Don't expect to get set up immediately, it takes a while to get everything in order - job, flat, friends, documents, etc. Otherwise Barcelona is a fun city with a decent quality of life.

If you’d like to follow in Guy’s footsteps and start teaching in Barcelona, get in touch at coordination@tefl-iberia.com