Do you want to travel and live abroad but have no idea where to start?

CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) may be the perfect program to help you to live out this dream. 

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Here I will give you a brief overview of the program that I chose, break down the pros and cons of teaching abroad with CIEE, and will offer you an incredible discount if you choose to do ANY teach abroad program (any country), or TEFL program with CIEE. 

**To get a $200 discount for the Teach Abroad program you must make an account through this link for teach abroad .

*To get the discount for the TEFL program you must make an account though this link for the TEFL program.

After I graduated college, I wanted to do something different. I had worked hard in school and at various part and full-time jobs. I was craving adventure and to see the world, but I had no idea where to start as a broke college graduate. So, I googled “jobs abroad”, stumbled across the CIEE program, and started to save up for my year abroad. 

After considering my options and lack of foreign language skills, I chose the Teach in Spain Immersion program with 4 Weeks of Spanish classes through CIEE. I was interested in learning Spanish and wanted to be able to travel around Europe, so Madrid seemed like the perfect option for me (although the most expensive of the Teach in Spain programs). 

I do believe that the friendships, confidence, understanding and stability I gained from my first year living in Madrid were largely due to the foundation set up through the CIEE program. Five years later, I’m getting ready for another year of teaching (and studying for my Masters in International Education) in Madrid. 

CIEE Teach abroad program is essentially your intermediate between you becoming an “Auxiliar de conversación”, a Language and Culture Assistant, through the community of Madrid. While you can apply for this program directly through the Community of Madrid, CIEE offers assistance from the beginning to end of moving and working abroad. The forms for the Auxiliar de conversación program must be completed in Spanish, and the visa process (in the US) and the residency visa (in Spain) can be quite confusing (even for me after doing it for 5 years). Having assistance from CIEE was invaluable for me the first year. 

CIEE describes the role as: “You’ll work as an English Language and Culture Assistant at a public school in the region of Madrid, a role that is part of a nationwide initiative. As a native English speaker, you will be assisting classes or small groups of students in order to develop their listening and conversational skills, as well as their understanding of your home culture. In many schools, you’ll also teach English to members of the school staff. If you are placed in a bilingual school you may facilitate English conversational activities in subjects such as science, art, and history.”

During my 5 years in Madrid I’ve worked in three different schools as part of three different programs and I can say that every school and every year is different. The expectations, hours, schedule, and content can change from year to year and sometimes even within the year. For example, some people teach teachers and I’ve never been asked to do that. 

I chose the Teach in Spain Immersion with 4 Weeks of Spanish classes. Through this program, you are placed with a local host family and you take 4 weeks of Spanish classes before you start your placement as a Language and Culture Assistant. CIEE also offers a Teach in Spain Immersion + 2 weeks of Spanish classes, Teach in Spain (which has the same orientation without the Spanish classes), and Teach in Spain Basic (for experienced travelers with a shorter orientation for those ready to jump straight into teaching). All of these programs will give you a placement at a school in the community of Madrid, which is increasingly difficult and more competitive to get. 

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Pros:

• Paperwork assistance and guidance– This program holds your hand throughout the ENTIRE process of living abroad. With my limited knowledge of Spanish, I can safely say that doing the paperwork for things such as your TIE (Spanish identification/ residency card) would have been an absolute nightmare.

• Pre-departure assistance – visa information, guidance, assistance, step-by-step guides. 

• Airport pickup and transportation to your orientation hotel on arrival day. 

• Orientation– The orientation was super helpful and I was able to learn a lot and they provided a lot of resources, information about housing, and showing us around the city. In the 2 and 4 week immersion programs and Teach in Spain program you get a 4 day orientation that really gives you a great feel of Madrid. In the teach basic program the orientation is 2 days. You stay in a beautiful hotel and some meals are included. 
  • The orientation covers information on housing, banking, residency, health & safety. 
  • I was able to set up a bank account at the orientation as well as signing up for a phone plan and was given an activated SIM card within hours of arriving at the hotel. 
  • There were many fun cultural activities during orientation, such as a flamenco show and eating Spanish cuisine. 

• The community– there were about 40 people in my orientation group and 10 in my small group. Personally, it was invaluable for me to have a community of expats that we got to know both through the 3-day orientation and the weeks of classes. I am still friends with a few people I met during orientation, and I have a great community built from mutual friends. You can make friends and meet people through your coworkers and American hangout spots like certain bars and cafes but some schools only have one or two other auxiliaries so it’s hard to only rely on that. There are also well established Facebook groups, but personally I prefer meeting and getting to know people in person. Even though I’m only in touch with a few people from orientation, I’m thankful for all the people I met the first year and the people I’ve met through them. I highly recommend this program to people moving abroad alone. 

• Home stay– The Teach abroad with immersion programs include either a 2 or 4 week home stay that provide breakfast and dinner. I had a very seamless immersion into the culture by staying with a host family for the 4 weeks while I was taking Spanish classes, making new friends, and finding an apartment. Finding housing in Madrid has been increasingly difficult and it was so nice to have a place to stay and a host mother to practice speaking Spanish with. I was a strict vegetarian at the time and my host mom was very accommodating to me, and I was aware that vegan and gluten allergies could also be accommodated by request. I believe that if you are doing the program with a friend you are able to request to stay together for the orientation as well as the home stay. 

• Placement–  Through CIEE you are given a position as a language and culture assistant in Madrid. Through the Auxiliar de conversación program, placements in the community of Madrid have been difficult and more competitive to obtain. If Madrid is where you want to be, the program cost is definitely worth it for this guarantee. I believe that if you are doing the program with a friend or partner you can request to have the same school placement although this cannot always be guaranteed. 

• Spanish classes: There is an option with the 2 and 4 week immersion programs that include Spanish classes. You take a placement test and are split into classes that correspond to your level. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or an advanced Spanish speaker, there are classes for you. The language school also provides cultural excursions for a small additional cost. 

• Work schedule and compensation: Through this program, the school year starts in early October and goes until late June, you work about 16 hours a week and are given a stipend of 1,000 Euros per month. Usually the 16 hour week is broken into a 4 day work week, so you get a 3 day weekend which is amazing for travelling, weekend trips or exploring Madrid. While 1,000 euro a month doesn’t seem like a lot, many people including myself are able to supplement this by offering private classes or teaching online and have been able to live a comfortable, exciting and full life (will post more on that later).

• Support– The program offers a phone number and support for emergencies and general questions. They are extremely responsive. When my phone was stolen (very easy when you aren’t paying attention in a crowded nightclub- get a zippered purse ladies!), I was able to be refunded using the insurance provided by CIEE. 

• No language requirement– I came in after having taken a year of high school Spanish and could barely say Hola, and tell someone my name. Now I can get around in Spain but it was so nice that not knowing the language didn’t prevent me from being able to have this experience and opportunity to learn it. 

• Insurance– the program provides iNext insurance for lost belongings, delayed bags and medical evacuation. I was able to get compensated when my phone was stolen.
  • You also get private health insurance for medical expenses, with a 24/7 emergency hotline. 

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Cons:

• Price: The program I chose was costly. There are ways to apply directly through the community of Madrid to be an “Auxiliar de conversacion ” that are free. However, you are not guaranteed placement in Madrid, and not given assistance with any paperwork, visa issues, or residency paperwork. 

• If you have an advanced level of Spanish, and experience living abroad, and even friends abroad this program may not be the most beneficial for you. 

• The Spanish classes are offered in the morning or afternoon. I luckily got the afternoon one so I was able to hang with friends and stay out late because I didn’t need to be up early the next day for class. Classes of course aren’t mandatory unless you want to get your level certification. 

• Host families and living situations can be a hit or a miss. I had a great experience with my host family but have heard about some other less than ideal situations. For one of these, CIEE was  able to rectify the problem. In my program, 2 people from the program were paired with each host family. In my house I got my own room but I heard of some situations where people had to share a big room. 

• Insurance– because I had medical insurance from the U.S during my first year in Spain I had to pay medical costs upfront and my insurance company from back home would reimburse me iNext, which can be a pain. However you also have the option to use the private insurance which I would recommend. 

• Cost of living expectations vs. reality– When I did the program, CIEE gave us unrealistic expectations of cost of living. They said that apartments cost around 150-300 euro a month, which was unrealistic for an apartment near the city center (where most expats and auxiliares want to stay), which average 300-550 for a room in a shared flat. They also said we would only need a couple of thousand dollars to get started and for me doing the 4 week immersion, this was not enough. Of course when you get an apartment you may need to put down a security deposit, the first month’s rent, and then maybe even an agency fee which can cost as much as an entire month’s rent. (I will write more on finding an apartment in Madrid in a later blog post.) Also, with CIEE or going directly through the aux program, you will be paid at the end of the first work month, the end of October. When I did the 4 week immersion, I failed to realize that I needed enough money to support me through August, September and October.

• Placements may not be in the city center of Madrid– the community of Madrid is large and placements in any program are generally not in the city center. The commute from the city center can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how close you decide to live to public transportation. My first year I lived in Embajadores so I was able to take a train to my job in Fuenlabrada (1 hour) but the next year I was placed in Paracuellos de Jarama which took an hour and 45 minutes via metro and bus (probably one of the longest commutes within Marid). 

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Overall, teaching abroad was the best decision of my life and I have made so many incredible memories and friends through this experience. Although there are challenges, the opportunity to experience the Spanish lifestyle is one that I am so grateful for and would highly recommend to anyone seeking the next adventure in their lives. 

Are you interested in living abroad? Use my referral link below for a $200 discount!  (The link must be used when making an account, and cannot be used for existing accounts)

https://my.ciee.org/?referralCode=9N2T6wi8aJHLog/v2+cyUDXWvVNGtif7tsTnuwuzQo8Eci+pwfPhicLpofN4St8RiYBaIkiUzQvCYIfNxanTv2LL/0CIf04OmiMtA5vyMmQybgdMan4CTocX6hiK5VPZbT6ZuIOI7N1rZXYLGVFUM7f1DgDiVO2fk8Ur3e3lLTnCKFOqcLZry2yrPhBk0fat&utm_medium=web&ecId=6&utm_campaign=alumni-refer-a-friend&utm_content=teach-abroad&programtypeid=100

*I will be compensated for referring you.*

Do you have what it takes to take the leap and live abroad?

Program Requirements: 

• Native English speaker
• A bachelor’s degree in any field
• Citizenship in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, or New Zealand
• Passport validity must extend at least 3 months beyond end of program on June 30
• Under 59 years old  (per new requirements from Madrid’s government)
• No Spanish language requirement
• No previous teaching requirements

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Enhance your teaching resume with the TEFL Certification

If you are interested in taking a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) course you can also use my code and you will receive a discount.

Although having a TEFL certificate is not required to be a language and Culture assistant in Spain, it is required to teach in other countries and is a wonderful addition to any teaching resume. The course also prepares you to teach English as a foreign language. 

https://my.ciee.org/?referralCode=9N2T6wi8aJHLog/v2+cyUC/XAvLZnm6tlzT/0/dXOqLaMmd05nwmDO8Uz43DqQJK/5CAq4aSI84zc6YVydCNGT55B0HvS8ALArmBHNbKvj4a2xEmnHiKCsWe07E+Ekd6f/d56WTRBpNaOJuOlqZWv8hc+Y28IFREprhqSvhPFSFctkkKHpIdSViL1WXrB76U&utm_medium=web&ecId=1&utm_campaign=alumni-refer-a-friend&utm_content=tefl&programtypeid=109&programdetailsids=11388

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Please refer to the CIEE website for more information or don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. 

https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/work/teach-english-abroad