Barcelona

Moving to Barcelona.

I have decided to move to Barcelona to pursue a career teaching English as a foreign language. It was somewhat of a surprise move to my friends and family, but not necessarily a surprise to myself. 

After graduating from Queens University Belfast with a good 2:1 degree, I began my job hunt. Northern Ireland is a small country with a very limited job market, dominated by public sector jobs and lacking in innovation. I applied to a wide range of jobs related to my degree and many which were worlds apart. I applied for jobs which I was both highly overqualified and very under-qualified - with no luck. I decided to keep studying to improve my job prospects and studied "Preparation to Teach in the Lifelong Sector" with a view to teaching post age sixteen year old. I completed the qualification and realised that not only did I have a natural teaching ability, but wanted to pursue teaching as a profession. However, the thought of teaching for several years in rainy, grey, monotonous Northern Ireland did not appeal to me.

Typical Weather in Northern Ireland

I began to research teaching in different countries with a better lifestyle, climate and ethos than Northern Ireland. I quickly realised that to give myself the best chance of securing a stable job, I needed to get TEFL certified. I received my TEFL certificate from i-to-i shortly after and was ready to start looking for a job. 

CELTA

I had come across CELTA  when I was researching TEFL course providers, but I dismissed it  due to the high cost. CELTA stands for 'Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults'.  I quickly realised when researching jobs in Europe that CELTA was essential and the cost of the course would be worth it to live and work in Spain. There was little chance of securing a job in a reputable school without this qualification.

I searched online for centres offering CELTA and was quickly drawn to International House Barcelona. It is an established school in the heart of a vibrant, metropolitan city with a superb reputation for excellence.

I completed the pre course task and was invited for an interview. The interview was more like an informal chat to discuss the course, my experience and commitment to the course. It was stressed that the CELT was a very intensive course and would take up all of my time (free time included) in Barcelona. I was told on the phone there and then that I had been accepted. Finally, things seemed to be falling into place.

I was pleased to find out International House Barcelona also offer an accommodation service to students. This was good news as I was not familiar with Barcelona or any neighbourhoods. The stress of finding somewhere to live had been taken away and all I had to worry about was showing up on the first day!

International House Barcelona also offer intensive Spanish lessons, 4 hours per day with a discount to those taking the CELTA course. I opted to arrive two weeks before my CELTA to learn some spanish. I am a beginner Spanish speaker, but I tend to pick up language quite quickly, so I am hopeful that the lessons will give me a good basis from which to develop my Spanish skills. 

I have been learning some Spanish online with the help of the excellent Spanish resources on the BBC Language Portal.

I am counting down the days to my arrival in Barcelona mid July (39 days and counting) and aim to keep this blog updated with my preparation, arrival and day to day encounters in Barcelona.

Hasta Luego!