United States
US
Jessica Bidmead
Teach Enrich Empower
Welcomed With Open Arms in Barcelona
My name is Jessica Bidmead and I am 25 years old. I have a degree in Art and Visual Culture and previously have been living in Bristol, England.
Before taking my TEFL I was working as an English conversation assistant in Barcelona, Spain. I was really enjoying this role – but I realised there was so much about my own language that I didn’t know, like complex grammar and other techniques for language learning. This job was also voluntary so it meant I was working long days for very little money. However I was gaining invaluable experience of being in the classroom and working with Catalan children between the ages of 3 and 16. From this I knew that teaching English was a route that I wanted to explore as I am also a passionate traveller and wish to continue to see much of the world.
So I decided to brush up my skills and my chances of getting a proper job by taking The TEFL Academy 120-hour online course and now I am working in a language school back in Spain. Soon I will be moving to Guatemala to continue my experience. This private language school pays really well and the hours are fantastic – every day is different and I work with other top English language teachers who are always giving me new ideas for the classroom.
I did some research on the opportunities available with different TEFL courses and I decided to go with The TEFL Academy. My TEFL has helped me gain the qualification on my CV to put along with my experience and has enabled me to work professionally, rather than as a volunteer and has opened up the world for teaching opportunities. It has also given me the confidence to be a strong teacher as I am aware of different techniques to use to make my lessons exciting and stimulating for my students.
“You can really make learning a language so much fun!”
Also my Spanish is getting better and better so hopefully I will be able to communicate when I am travelling in South America – so it’s a sort of language exchange experience, really!
I met a lot of like-minded people during the 10-hour weekend course and we all exchanged emails to help in the future with ideas and places to visit and work! This was really nice, and our group were good friends at the end of the weekend! The teacher Neil was funny and really made the classes understandable and was supportive during the practical teaching sessions.
As I studied Art for my BA, I try to make my lessons as hands on and fun as possible and the kids love it! You can really make learning a language so much fun with games, songs, poems and role-play that can be recorded and used for your class or for the school’s publications.
I have had many funny classroom situations as every day is funny and interesting when you are working with children. The games and misunderstanding can cause hysterics, as can the miming actions that have to be used, as I cannot understand much Spanish or Catalan! Often the children are teaching me the equivalent in Spanish back to me! But it’s inspiring to see them learning more each lesson and their enthusiasm for communication.
Barcelona is fantastic city – I have been welcomed with open arms by so many people that I feel really comfortable here. The music, sun and life in the city makes each day a pleasure to be a TEFL teacher.
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