Opinions - Cambridge CELTA courses in Madrid, Spain

Opinions - Cambridge CELTA courses in Madrid, Spain

Don't just take it from us. Read what some of our recent CELTA graduates have to say about the CELTA at Hyland.

Doing the CELTA course is an enriching experience. Not only did it give me the tools to go on to have a successful teaching career but it also allowed me to meet some interesting people. Hyland is a nice school, with good facilities and friendly people so I’d fully recommend doing the CELTA course here if you are interested in coming to Madrid.

People asked me why I was doing this course if I have been a teacher for so many years and, sometimes, when I had to do assignments and TPs at the same time and I thought I couldn’t cope, I also wondered why myself. But I have learned a lot; this course will be really useful when I go back to school and I hope my students will benefit from all I have learned. I’ll definitively do things in a different way from now on. I’m tired but so glad I have done it.”

I would recommend the Hyland CELTA because the tutors are very professional and run the course in a very efficient and well-organised manner. It’s an extremely demanding workload but you feel reassured by the quality of the input sessions and the TP and feedback provided by the tutors. The other staff in the centre have been very welcoming and friendly. This course is an excellent intro to best practice in the classroom.

Although very intense, the CELTA course has to be where I have learned the most about teaching. I like how the course is mostly practical and you continuously receive and give feedback about lessons. I’m definitely prepared to work as an English teacher! I would recommend the Hyland CELTA course to others as the staff and tutors are friendly and always willing to help. The personal attention you receive is excellent! Nevertheless, the course requires a lot of time, dedication and hard work so students must be prepared. There is a reason why the course is called intense!

This course will prepare you to teach in the real world. The course is tough; there’s a lot of work. The learning curve is steep if you put in the effort and you’ll be rewarded for it if you do. The feedback you receive from the tutors is specific and can be very useful. You get loads of opportunity to put what you learn into practice. I would recommend this course to anyone planning to become an ESL teacher. You will have to work hard, put in loads of time outside of class hours, reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and quickly put into practice the vast amount of knowledge your receive in the input sessions. Before the course I had no idea about teaching or what an ESL classroom was like. After 4 weeks and a lot of hard work I now feel ready and excited to start teaching in the real world.

The environment at Hyland is great, all the staff is very friendly and all the teachers were very supportive. I recommend Hyland as a great place to get your CELTA certificate.

I never believed the warnings about the level of workload prior to the course, but I soon understood what a commitment that a CELTA course is! The sheer amount of knowledge that you accumulate over the 4 weeks is incredible. After all that work though, the sense of achievement is amazing. The tutors are on hand to help you at every step of the way however, and the course is organised perfectly to support you. I couldn’t have asked for a more positive environment to do this challenging but ultimately rewarding course.

The teaching practice and feedback I received during the past month was valuable - now that I feel prepared I'm even more excited to teach in the 'real world'.

I feel thoroughly prepared to begin my career as a teacher. The tutors are outstanding! Three months ago I would never have imagined that this course would not only equip me to teach but would boost my personal confidence.

Through all my academic life I have never met such hard-working, dedicated and professional tutors.

I honestly can't imagine teaching without the knowledge I've gained through the CELTA at Hyland. The trainers were so accessible and patient. You'll have your work cut out for you, but the course might just be the most rewarding weeks of your life! You'll learn practical, hands-on strategies for teaching that you'll be able to implement immediately. There are a lot of TEFL courses on the market, but the CELTA is the gold standard and Hyland is the place to do it.

I feel prepared for the world of TEFL! The tutors were knowlegeable and supportive, the curriculum was practical and dynamic. Definitely a challenge, but worth the effort!

Undertaking a CELTA at Hyland has been an extremely worthwhile and rewarding experience. The teacher support has been excellent and I certainly feel that I'm now prepared to teach English successfully. It's also a lot of fun.

I've really enjoyed the CELTA course, despite the fact that it was very intensive. Everything we learned could be put into practice right away, this approach really worked for me. The teachers were professional and make learning fun too, I would definitely recommend it.

With the Hyland CELTA, not only did I learn the teaching techniques necessary to be a competent teacher, but in addition it also changed my attitude towards teaching and learning. Before studying the CELTA, I didn't like receiving criticism from others, but now I recognise that this is part of becoming a great teacher. I would definitely recommend this programme to others, but with the understanding that it is very intensive and rigorous (i.e. when they say that the course will require evening and weekend studying and preparation, they are not exaggerating!)

I found the full-time CELTA course at Hyland to be one of the most useful and practical courses I've undertaken, in terms of getting a real insight into the everyday tasks of teaching, and what being a TEFL teacher is all about. I found the teacher training to be thorough (I'm a lingusitics graduate!), evaluative and extremely practical. I was fully prepared and supported for each lesson I taught and all the lessons were watched and evaluated by fully trained EFL teachers. All in all, the training was excellent! The other trainees were really important too as we all helped each other become better teachers. I'd definitely recommend Hyland to anyone who is serious about TEFL.

When I started my research for how and where to get a teaching certificate the basic requirements were simple: 1) The course had to be in Madrid. 2) It had to be in June. When I stumbled upon Hyland Language Centre and read they were offering the Cambridge University CELTA I became immediately interested as I knew I wanted to do a qualification which would be recognised anywhere in the world. Most other academies in Madrid only offer their own courses in TEFL or ESL and their certificates are not registered anywhere else. The application process included knowledge-based questions and writing as well as a personal interview. The Hyland CELTA trainer, Lizzy, called me, whereas in other cases I was required to call the school. The CELTA is extremely difficult, rewarding and has definitely changed my life. After working extremely hard during the course, being guided and constructively criticized by my CELTA trainers and peers, I was welcomed with open arms into the Hyland Language Centre family. This summer I'll celebrate my two year anniversary with Hyland and I'm so glad my basic requirements have been fulfilled and so much more.

I decided to do a CELTA course at the end of my first year of university and having learnt Spanish at school, Madrid was the obvious choice. Hyland seemed perfect as it was in a good location, had a great reputation but was also small and friendly. I applied online and then had a phone interview. No parts of the application process were really stressful or difficult, even though I had no teaching experience, because all the trainers were looking for was potential and the right attitude. The interview was relaxed and friendly, which assured me that I'd picked the right school. The CELTA was a very intense learning experience with a lot of hard work and a very steep learning curve but we always had the support of our teachers and my peers on the course (we all became friends very quickly because we were spending so much time together). It was intense at times but ultimately really rewarding and I probably learnt more in my month of CELTA than I did in my whole first year of university. I'd recommend doing the CELTA at Hyland because of all the resources, including the trainers and other teachers who were so helpful and approachable. Since completing my CELTA I've worked in summer schools in the UK, this year I'm hoping to go back to Spain to teach and next year I'm planning to teach my way around South America! One of the great things about CELTA is that it's not age restrictive - although I did mine at 18, my dad is now considering doing one at 60! All you need is to be focused and committed because it's hard work, but I would definitely say it's well worth the effort!