A bit about us...

Why set up another TEFL course in Barcelona?

TEFL Barcelona was set up in December 2005 by Spanish born, EFL teacher and teacher trainer Erwin Ebens. Erwin had been teaching a very popular TEFL course in Paris and decided that the characteristics of that course - small groups, a very personal approach and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere - could function equally well in his home city, Barcelona.

Our Approach

True to our principals, we aim to offer a refreshing alternative to the "industrial" feel of larger TEFL operators. We make every effort to ensure our students get quality, personalised training, restricting our groups to a maximum size of 8. We encourage trainees to develop their own natural teaching style, and we provide them with an ongoing, international job guidance service.  (See what past students have said about us: testimonials)

Our Partners

TEFL Barcelona is supported by TEFL Paris, Erwin's erstwhile employers in Paris, and BCN Languages, one of Barcelona's longest-established and most prestigious language schools. The courses are validated and moderated by IATQUO (set up by former Trinity head examiner, Dr. Alan Moller).

Teamwork!

Our Location

We are located in BCN's premises in Gracia, a central neighbourhood famed for its narrow streets, quaint squares and friendly “small town” atmosphere. The area maintains the look and feel of 100 years ago but is now fashionably bohemian, with an abundance of trendy bars, eclectic restaurants and original shops.

If you have any questions about our organisation or about TEFL courses in general please feel free to get in touch with us here.

Our Teaching Philosophy

The importance of experiential learning.

We may give you information, guidance and support, but we believe that you learn most by doing the thing yourself. That at the core of a learning process, there is an experiential cycle of trying things out, reflecting on the results, using feedback and information to prepare for the next time and then trying it out again.
This is applied both in our approach to teaching English to students and our approach to training in general. This is why we have scheduled daily teaching practice sessions, where you can immediately put the theory into practice.

Classroom time.

Support and Guidance.

This also implies that input sessions are structured less like lectures but more like interactive workshops where you are encouraged to actively participate and, where possible, to discover language and methodology for yourself, and through interacting with your fellow trainees and the trainer, who will be at hand as a resource and mentor, to support and guide you.

A reflective approach.

We also encourage you to develop analytical skills toward your teaching and reflect on the outcome of your lessons as the results of your lesson planning, teaching techniques, and people skills and class management.

Preparing a class.

Humanist.

Moreover, we believe in a humanistic approach to learning and teaching, (teaching the whole person as opposed to solely their mental processes). This implies that not only knowledge of subject matter and methodology are important, but also learning to listen to your students, empathizing with them, building rapport and in general finding ways of enabling learning are equally important.

 

More information.

For a detailed breakdown of the course's components, click here. Or visit our course information page for a more general overview.