Leonardo Case Studies

Nicola Murray

I graduated from University in June 2010. I’d studied Accountancy and Finance and knew that I wasn’t ready to move straight on to my professional accountancy exams (or even if I actually wanted to do them at all!) and I’d been thinking about the idea of teaching English as a foreign language for some time. After graduating I worked back home in the North of Scotland until November, during this time I researched how I was going to go about getting a teaching job and decided that the best route was to do my CELTA.  In November I moved back to Edinburgh, where I’d been a student previously, and completed my CELTA at Basil Paterson College, a very worthwhile but completely exhausting experience! After Christmas I began searching the Internet for teaching jobs, even though I was open the idea of going practically anywhere in the world it proved to be a very difficult process. The majority of jobs advertised asked for at least one year’s experience. I applied for several jobs but only received a couple of replies saying that I’d been unsuccessful due to my lack of teaching experience. And then one day I found an advert for the Leonardo Project and couldn’t quite believe it could be real, I genuinely thought there had to be a catch somewhere!  The application process was very simple and after three excellent weekends of training we were on our way to Spain. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and gained experience working with different lots of different ages, abilities and class sizes.

Since returning from Spain there has been a complete change in the reactions I have been getting from language schools which I have applied to. I enjoyed the Leonardo project so much that I decided to narrow my search to just Spain. I was now able tell potential employers about my teaching experience and just as important training I had received post CELTA. The majority of jobs which I applied to contacted me offering me an interview but I decided to turn down many because on second inspection I decided that they weren’t quite what I was looking for. In July I worked for MJA at one of their language summer schools and the week after I finished teaching I had an interview with a language school out in Spain.  I was offered the position and I am moving out to Spain for a year in September, can’t wait!

Sarah Stretton

Before I began the Leonardo project I was unemployed for about 1 to 2 months. I had completed my CELTA qualification at the end of 2010 and was looking for TEFL employment. Prior to this I graduated from the University of York in 2009 with a BA (Hons) in History but struggled to find interesting and skilled work. This was the major influence behind my decision to do the CELTA.

Since completing the project I continued to work for MJA/Stars as a TEFL teacher/Activity Leader at their summer school in York. Straight after this I secured a coveted position as Graduate Trainee in historic and rare book collection management and archival care. Whilst this is not a TEFL sector job, I believe the work experience I had in Elche was essential to securing this position. In particular, the work I did designing my own materials and syllabus was a significant factor in receiving a job offer. Next year, a part of my traineeship will be producing outreach educational material so this experience will be extremely useful.

The additional training we received before we went to Spain was invaluable and has given me confidence in my own teaching ability. When my current traineeship finishes in one year, I am hoping to return to TEFL work and to live and travel abroad for a while. I hope the Leonardo Project will help me standout from the competition because of the extra training received which was tailored to meet gaps in the current TEFL market.