September 2014 until June 2017

LIVING AND WORKING IN ANDÚJAR

The Town

Andujar is a small, friendly town. In the spring and summer there is always something going on. There are many fiestas including the Romeria. The cost of living here is low and the cost of a wine or beer with a tapa is around 2.50 euros. There is a lot of opportunity to practice and learn Spanish, it’s very easy to set up a language exchange with somebody and there’s also an “intercambio” group that meets up on a Thursday night.

Getting Around

Public transport is not too bad. You can get to Jaen, Malaga, Cordoba and Madrid quite cheaply and easily. It´s very easy to take advantage of any bank holidays or to just go away for the weekend. The Malaga bus is particularly handy as it leaves early on a Saturday morning and gets back into Andujar late on a Sunday night. The buses to Madrid are also very cheap and there are about 5 each day. If you can afford it, buying a car is a fantastic idea as there is lots to explore. Spain is such a diverse country in terms of scenery and temperature. In February, we went to Ronda and drove through snow covered mountains in the morning and ended up at the beach in the afternoon wearing just a T-shirt!

The School

Our experience in the school has been nothing but positive. We were both fresh from our CELTA when we applied and had heard horror stories about some academies in Spain. As we were newly qualified we were almost expecting that we wouldn’t be able to find a decent school that would take a chance on us. The support we had was phenomenal! We were helped with finding an apartment, guided through the paperwork we needed to complete and helped with settling in to the job and life in Andujar.

Materials and Resources

There are so many resources available it´s almost daunting to a new teacher. From folders to containing ideas for those first classes in September, exam preparation books and plenty of extra materials to use in class such as plastic food, telephone, and toy animals with the smaller children. There´s anything and everything a teacher could need and more.

The Staff

The support has been fantastic. If you are ever stuck for an idea, there is always someone who has a solution for you. Everyone helps each other and you really feel part of a team in ECI.

Students/Classes/Levels

Most of the students are motivated and willing to learn. If you do have a problem, you are encouraged to speak to the parents in order to resolve it. The classes are very comfortable and all have interactive white boards and internet connections. The levels that you teach are varied. Every teacher has a preference to what ages and levels you prefer and ECI will try to accommodate you, however, the majority of classes are usually children.

Teacher Training

If you want to improve and develop there is ample opportunity. If you have any specific area you want to improve in, just speak to someone. We had the opportunity of watching some classes when we started and something small like this helped so much with our confidence. We also had the chance to go to the FECEI conferences in Madrid and the ACEIA conferences in Seville, these were invaluable! We also had numerous other workshops both in house and in Jaen.

Finding a Flat

When we arrived, our Spanish was almost non-existent. Having to deal with the language barrier when looking for a flat would have been immensely stressful. We expected that this was something that we would have to do for ourselves. However, Julie helped us find a flat and checked everything was legitimate with the contracts. Then, after we bought a car we started looking for a new place with a garage, this time Lorraine (director of studies) helped us. Everyone in ECI is willing to help you out if you need it.

The Cost of Living

Cost of living as we’ve said above is much lower than the UK. To be honest, our wages in Spain are less than what we earned in the UK but our disposable income is so much higher! We’ve been able to go away for the weekend at least once a month, buy a car, return to the UK every Christmas and have decent holiday in the summer whilst working here. Obviously, there are two of us in our household and this helps a lot.

Health Cover

Health care from what we’ve seen is great. Booking a doctor’s appointment is very easy and can be done online. Medication has to be paid for and isn’t free like in some parts of the UK but it is very cheap.

Other relevant comments

As we’ve said above I feel very lucky to have had the support we’ve had these past three years. We will be very sad to be leaving the school and Andujar. We’ve made friends here that we are sure we will keep in contact with in the future. Thankyou ECI for your support and helping us develop as teachers.