Erasmus in Spain
with our TEFL Internships
Health and Safety Policy
TEFL Trainer has a vested interest in ensuring that students are placed in environments that are suitable and that conform to local health and safety standards. Students must be informed about health and safety regulations that apply to the language school’s premises; fire exits and emergency procedures, first aid facilities, accident reporting procedures etc.
Any accident must be reported in accordance with the organisation’s procedures. TEFL Trainer also asks the language schools and students to be informed by email within 24 hours of any incidences or accidents.
For the purposes of employment law, students should not be deemed “employees” but be included on the Employer’s Liability Insurance Schedule of the receiving organisation, the language school. When taking on a university student, the student’s university generally carries indemnity insurance which covers inquiry or damage to a third party caused by any negligence of placement students, in other words an Accident Insurance.
TEFL Trainer highly encourages its students to take out a Health and Travel Insurance cover.
TEFL Trainer provides no cover in relation to the legal liability or negligence of the receiving organisation / placement company / language school, or accidents, or health and travel.
To summarise, the different types of insurances are as follows:
- No insurance provided by TEFL Trainer as we are solely an e-learning course provider
- Liability Insurance: systematically provided by the language school, as the host organisation in Spain
- Accident Insurance: generally provided by the University, as the sending organisation (please check with the university: there is also a whole section dedicated to this in the learning agreement, which the university will complete before the internship starts)
- Travel Insurance: we recommend that you look into this if you don’t have travel insurance already
- Health/Medical Insurance: in Spain you will be able to visit the A&E but won’t have medical insurance if you fall ill or get injured in your free time: please look into Travel & Medical Insurance combinations through providers such as Axa, IMG, Visa..
Equal Opportunities Policy
TEFL Trainer has an Equal Opportunities policy which states that ‘It is TEFL Trainer’s aim that students are treated fairly on the basis of merit regardless of age, disability, family responsibilities, gender, HIV status, marital status, mental health problems, nationality, race, religious or political views or affiliations, sexual orientation, socio-economic background or transsexualism’.
TEFL Trainer also has an Anti-Harassment code of practice. We ask that placement providers uphold these policies with regard to placement students / their interns.
Disability Policy
TEFL Trainer has limited experience with disabled learners on the programme. We have however in respect of the specific types of disability (visual impairment, reduced mobility…) and with the support of the university, always managed to include all students on the programme.
With regards to learning disabilities such as dyslexia, solutions can be provided. For instance the online exams can be completed paper-based. TEFL Trainer must be informed before the beginning of the internship, so as to prepare a paper-based and invigilated exam in the language school. Other alternatives include oral exams with TEFL Trainer, via Skype.
Student responsibilities
When provided with lesson plans, teaching materials, an induction, on-going support, and on-site mentoring, the schools’ interns can become real assets to a language school’s team. Skills that students can be expected to transfer from their degree and experience include team work, presentation, communication, and research.
However they may also be expected to improve said skills:
- Students should become more confident in working as a team in order to prepare and deliver EFL classes.
- Students should become able to demonstrate initiative to assimilate information quickly and take on an increasing degree of responsibility.
- Students should use their research skills and communicate in written form at a basic to high level both in English and their chosen foreign language(s) (generally the local language of their internship placement provider). Generally partakers in our TEFL certification programme will have completed one, two, or three years of their degree (Bachelor’s and Master’s), during which time they will have gained a solid grounding in their chosen foreign language(s) as well as the politics and culture of the courtliness where the languages are spoken.
- Although we accept many language students on our TEFL certification programme, we also take an interdisciplinary approach when recruiting so as to include perspectives from international relations, political economy, cultural studies, and polity science. Therefore students of psychology, international business, as well as PGCE, are also prioritised.
- Students should learn to face the challenges of living abroad.
The TEFL certification programme’s main goal is to help the students develop a thorough understanding of the role of a teacher of English as a foreign language, in-depth subject knowledge, and gain first-hand teaching experience.
Student support arrangements for internships (academic and non academic)
TEFL Trainer ensures that before going on placement the TEFL students are briefed on their responsibilities to the receiving organisation (the language school), work etiquette, ethical issues, the correct use of the internet and email at work, and areas such as confidentiality at work. The briefing (“Code of Conduct” and the “Student Handbook”) also informs TEFL students about the assignments and exams we require them to complete, and how to keep in touch with TEFL Trainer over the placement period.
Sporadic visits to the language schools may be organised. To summarise, the main purposes of the visits are:
For the TEFL student:
- to enable TEFL Trainer officers to see how the student has settled into the host institution/partner language school,
- to check that a work pattern has been established, mutually agreed by the TEFL student and the supervisor in the partner language school,
- to discuss the development of the work programme over the remaining months, as well as online progress (reflective diaries and online exams).
It is the TEFL student’s responsibility to find suitable accommodation. However TEFL Trainer provides help with the search, providing guidance and sometimes discount codes from various accommodation providers, when possible. Any further contacts or guidance from the university is appreciated.
In order to apply for a TEFL internship in Spain, you must hold an EU passport and be a proficient to near native user of English (in all 4 skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking).
- send us your updated CV and brief CL (ensuring that your phone number is updated),
- specify your preferred destination(s) and potential starting date(s) to contact@teflinternshipspain.com