If you’ve ever thought of giving yourself a change of scenery, Ghadeer’s Road2Spain story will inspire you to create the life you want. After feeling like she needed to do something different with her life, she went from being a tour guide to getting official TEFL certification and a one-year Spanish language programme in Spain. Find out about her journey to living, teaching, and working as an English teacher in Spain.
If you’ve ever thought of changing careers to teach English, Ghadeer’s Road2Spain story will inspire you to create the life you want. After feeling like she needed to do something different with her life, she went from being a tour guide to getting official TEFL certification and a one-year Spanish language programme in Spain. Find out about her journey to living, teaching, and working as an English teacher in Spain.
Changing careers to teach English: Ghadeer’s Background story
Ghadeer was kind enough to talk to us about her journey deciding to change careers. “So actually, it is a connected story between the Road2Spain to study Spanish and the CertTESOL course,” she said. “Because I was actually more interested in studying Spanish. I was interested in studying in Spain and (living) in Spain. So I just looked on the internet. I searched a little bit on (programmes) to study and work in Spain.
“And the first option was the Road2Spain, which includes the CertTESOL course. And the Spanish course. So I started to read more about the CertTESOL course and about EBC. And then I contacted Tita. I started to get more and more interested after talking with Tita because she was really informative.
“I felt that this course was going to open a lot of job opportunities worldwide. And I really wanted to be international and have an international certificate.”
Changing careers to teach English: Ghadeer’s EBC Trinity CertTESOL course experience
With no prior teaching experience, Ghadeer shared how taking the TEFL certification course with EBC was. One thing that helped her was personally seeing a connection between being a tour guide and being a teacher.
“I am a tour guide. This is my profession,” she said. “It’s not teaching, but it’s working with people. It’s giving information. So I find it a little bit connected with teaching. But teaching English, no, I (didn’t) have any experience teaching English before.”
She shared how the EBC Trinity CertTESOL course helped transform her into an effective English teacher and gave her a strong foundation for her TEFL journey.
“I think it was an absolutely amazing experience,” she told us. “It was very, very good…very well-structured…very direct and accurate. We talked a little bit about theory, but it was a very practical course. And it really (gave) us methods…a lot of techniques and tricks (for) how to teach and how to approach the students.
“And also how to approach the methods that we’re going to teach. It was a really fantastic experience. And I don’t think that I would be able to teach English without this course.”
If you’re like Ghadeer and you don’t have any prior teaching experience, don’t let that stop you from changing careers. The EBC Trinity CertTESOL course will meet you where you are at. Whether you have experience leading a classroom or not, the course will give you everything you need to become effective in the world of TEFL.
Changing careers to teach English: Teaching practice sessions
One of the things that makes the EBC Trinity CertTESOL course different from other TEFL certification courses is that teacher trainees get to practise teaching. For Ghadeer, who decided to change careers from being a tour guide to an English teacher, the teaching practice sessions gave her a good amount of practical experience.
“They were amazing, I have to say,” she told us. “By the end of the course, I told Iza, ‘Why are there only six practices? Maybe you should extend it to eight or ten teaching practices!’
“It was very enjoyable. It was hard, like the preparation…very intensive, but you know, you can do hard work and then enjoy what you produce and what you created. In the first two teaching practices, Iza, our instructor, gave us the materials and then from the third to the sixth, we needed to create them (and) we needed to choose the lessons.
“So we had a lot of opportunities to choose which kind of lessons we would like to teach. Whether it’s grammar or listening or writing. So we (had) a lot of space to practise and to experience. Like, even for us as teachers.
“It was great. I really enjoyed it. And you know, to teach people that you don’t know…it’s always challenging because you want to keep them interested so they will come back, right? So it was fascinating.”
Changing careers to teach English: The Unknown Foreign Language unit
Being multilingual herself, Ghadeer also shared her thoughts on the Unknown Foreign Language unit, where teacher trainees learn a new language. The objective of this unit is to put the trainee teachers in the shoes of their ELLs (English language learners). Being taught in a language totally foreign to them and expected to learn it! Throughout this unit, their trainer only speaks in an unknown foreign language.
The UFL or Unknown Foreign language is exactly that, an unknown language! It will be a language that most probably only the residents of that country would speak. We’re talking UFLs like Polish, Norwegian, Greek, Hebrew, Tagalog, Korean, Russian and Shona. This unit shows that to be an effective English teacher, you don’t need to speak the local language of the city where you work.
“I speak four languages, and Spanish is my fifth,” she told us. “(The Unknown Foreign Language unit) was great. “I feel that there are new drawers in my mind just opening. You are exposed to a different culture because language is a culture, right? And different sounds and different words.
So it was very interesting in that respect, but the most important part is the method that was used by Iza to teach us. Because eventually we might be teaching people that don’t speak English, and we don’t speak their language either. So there is no mutual way of communication.
“And it was amazing to see how Iza taught us and how she used very easy yet very beneficial ways in order for us to understand. Whether it’s body language or eliciting or drilling.
“It was really, really nice to see. And it was a very, very good experience for me to see how you can do it. Sometimes, really, the key is by doing it simple.”
Changing careers to teach English: TEFL in the age of Artificial Intelligence and technology
With the rise of artificial intelligence and other language-learning apps, a common question people have is whether TEFL is still relevant today. Ghadeer’s insights on this thought were profound. In our interview with her, she told us why she thinks TEFL is actually more alive today than ever.
“As a tour guide, I am a little bit afraid of technology because maybe in five, ten, or twenty years, people will not need a tour guide at all, right?” she said.
“Like they can have a small device, and then they go to certain places, and then they play it and there’s no need for a tour guide. But there is nothing that will replace a good teacher or a good guide (when) that someone really has passion towards what they are doing. Because then the experience will be totally different.
“I see it. Sometimes I go to a museum, and then you have this audio guide, right? It’s totally different. You have the history, but you don’t have the story. When you listen to this robotic sound. It’s (a lot) different from if you have a tour in the museum and someone will tell you the details in a very passionate way. With the sound and with all the surrounding effects.”
Changing careers to teach English: TEFL is alive more than ever
“Maybe some people will really prefer to study language by themselves,” she continued. “But personally, I don’t think that it’s a good idea, because when I want to study any language, I would hire a teacher. I really need the connection with the teacher in order to have the progress that I desire when it comes to language. And I think that lots of people will be aware of that.”
This aspect is true for many English language learners around the world. Though technology makes information easy to access, it cannot beat the personal connection that people get by interacting with one another.
“You know, in Sweden now, I just read an article that they are going back to the pen and paper in teaching maths,” Ghadeer added. “Like they don’t want their students to use iPads or computers any more. So there was that phase (where) people will try to do it, and then they will realise that maybe it’s not a good idea, and they will go back to the traditional way. This is my opinion.”
Changing careers to teach English: Choosing Spanish as her next language
Ghadeer also shared that her love for languages, culture, and travel all played a part in leading her to moving to Spain.
“I love languages. And Spanish will not be my last language, obviously,” she shared. “I have a list of languages that I will study after Spanish. So it’s been years that I’ve really wanted to study Spanish. And I planned to do this—to study Spanish last summer, but it didn’t happen.
“My plan changed, but now, I just felt that it’s the right time to do it. And after research on the internet about a good school, I just reached out to EBC. I talked with Tita. She was really impressive…she was very, very direct…she wasn’t too commercial at all.”
Changing careers to teach English: Ghadeer on EBC
Ghadeer then told us about her first meeting with Tita, founder and CEO of EBC. “She was amazing, really,” Ghadeer said. “Her frankness and her directness really got me. So, I decided to do this Road2Spain with EBC, because first you have a very, very good package.
“For the same price, you can have the Trinity CertTESOL certificate. And you can guarantee that you’re going to have the chance to work in Spain. Because I also read that there is a huge demand for English teachers in Spain. So you have this opportunity to work in Spain, and then you have the other opportunity to study Spanish in Spain.
“And the Spanish schools that EBC works with, they have small classes. Like, there are a few students in each class. We’re not talking about (like in) university where you have twenty or twenty-five students in each class. So I thought that this package was, really, perfect. And since I really wanted to do it for a long time, I just decided to go for it.”
As Ghadeer’s story shows us, it’s not so complicated to live the life you want. All you have to do is to take action and go for it. So if you want to change careers like her, sign up with us today, and we’ll get you to Spain or anywhere in the world!
Changing careers to teach English: What made Ghadeer take action
If you need more convincing, Ghadeer’s Road2Spain story will definitely help. “I’m a very adventurous person and I really like to take myself out of my comfort zone every couple of years,” she said. “The word routine stresses me out. I can’t (follow a) routine. If I have a routine, I just feel like ‘Why? Life is so short. I have to do something.’
“So this is what I do every couple of years. I travel every year for at least two months. And I try to go to more adventurous places because it’s a personality thing. And I always encourage people around me—my family and my friends also to be more courageous and take more risks.
“There is someone that I listen to all the time. His name is Jim Rohn. He’s a motivational speaker. And he said ‘Life is too risky. Do you know how risky it is? You’re not going to get out of it alive.’ So, I mean, it’s nice to take risks. And I took the same step by moving to China a couple of years ago. I lived two years in China and Taiwan to study Mandarin.”
Changing careers to teach English: EBC’s job placement programme
“So I thought that this is exactly the right time for me in my life to take this step,” Ghadeer added. “Because as a tour guide, also speaking more languages (makes) you become more valuable. And I prefer to spend my money on myself becoming a more valuable person for each company that will hire me in the future.
“It’s a lifetime (placement programme) that will help you. And at every step in my life, I (can) tell them, ‘Oh, I would like to work in Latin Am guaranteed.”
So, the Road2Spain gets you one year in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. While you are there, you can teach English in Spain with your Trinity CertTESOL. And, even after your programme, you can take advantage of EBC’s lifetime, worldwide job placement programme. Find a job wherever you want, whenever you want!
Changing careers to teach English: Why Spain?
What made Ghadeer choose Spain as her new home for at least a year? Well, again, being multilingual, her love for languages is what got her interested.
“So every time that I thought that I wanted to study Spanish, I only thought about Mexico. Mexico or Chile or Costa Rica…South America,” she told us. “Because, on TV and most of the series that we watch on Netflix or whatever, (a lot of them are) from Latin America.”
“But what happened is that this summer, I travelled to Barcelona for the first time,” Ghadeer shared. “It was my first time in Spain and I fell in love with it. I just fell in love with Barcelona. I do believe that we can make miracles in our lives. Just imagine the life that you want. Sometimes you just throw it to the universe, and you don’t know when it will happen. So actually I was in Barcelona and while I was there, my heart didn’t stop beating for one second.
Changing careers to teach English: Barcelona to Valencia
“I felt my heart all the time when I was hanging around,” she continued. “And I just kept telling myself, ‘I’m going to come back to this city, I’m going to come back to live here, I’m going to be a tour guide in Barcelona. So I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I imagine myself living in this city.’
“I was in Barcelona for ten days. That’s a long time for Barcelona. Then after less than four months, I just decided to leave and I said, ‘Do you know what? I’m moving to Spain.’
“But since I want to study Spanish, I don’t think that Barcelona is the best option because they speak Catalan on the street. And sometimes it’s a little bit mixed, even in Valencia, there is Valencian. But I thought that for the move, Valencia would be a soft move.
“So, I’m going to do a Spanish course in Valencia, not in Barcelona, just because of the accent. I think that it’s better for the move to Spain. I think that it’s going to be a softer move to Valencia than Barcelona.
“Barcelona can be a little bit tough at the beginning, but baby steps. I think I would like to arrive there eventually. Let’s see where life will take me.”
Changing careers to teach English: Ghadeer’s new Spanish learning journey
Being fluent in several languages, how does Ghadeer feel about learning a new one while living in a country where it is the first language? She’s not even the least bit nervous.
“I don’t think that it’s going to take me long to study Spanish,” she admitted. “You hear Spanish all the time around you. I’m very familiar with the sound of the language, very familiar with it and the accents. I don’t have any background about the grammar of Spanish, so I really need to concentrate on that. But, I’m very excited for this journey.
“It’s been a while. It’s been years. Since I was studying Mandarin, like five years ago, I always said my next language is going to be Spanish and it’s happening now. Just manifestation, throwing to the universe.”
Changing careers to teach English: From tour guide to certified English teacher
While some people know all their lives that they want to be teachers, for others, it’s more of a surprise that comes along the way.
“I never imagined myself being an English teacher,” Ghadeer said. “It’s not like some people, they would say, ‘Oh, it’s my goal in life. I’m meant to be a teacher.’ I wouldn’t lie. Furthermore, I don’t think that I imagined myself ever being an English teacher.
“But after the Trinity CertTESOL course and after the experience with Iza and my classmates and Tita, and the teaching practices…teaching adults…it was amazing. I really, really liked it so much. It was wonderful and I think that I found my next big thing. I really loved it, and I’m very, very excited. I really feel safe with the Road2Spain.
“Also, I feel that there’s a back(ing). Like the availability of the staff and everything. It feels really, really safe.”
Changing careers to teach English: Why seeing the world is important
As for why it is important to see the world and experience different cultures, Ghadeer says that it is all about perspective. “It changes you,” she shared. “It changes you as a person, it just opens you up to new things.
“And you just realise that the place that you come from and that the reality that you are exposed to is very small. And the world is much, much bigger and much more interesting and colourful than you think it is or than you thought it was before you started travelling.”
Seeing the world is something everyone should do. But it can be hard to do, especially if you feel stuck where you are. So, how about changing things up a bit? Like Ghadeer said, sometimes it’s exciting to switch up a boring routine. Life is supposed to be an adventure. It’s supposed to be fun–not repetitive and dragging!
So take a risk and create the life you actually want. Talk to us today and we’ll help you make your dreams happen! The Road2Spain programme is waiting for you.
