tips for volunteer teaching English near Madrid with Vaughn Company

I don't know anything about this program, but I recall a few questions in this forum from people who were going to live in small towns they had never heard of and with poor public transport connections. If it matters to you, try to get more specifics on the location.

Hostels (of the youth type) don't save quite as much money in Spain and Portugal as they do in other countries, but there could be one that's well-placed for you. Hostals with an "a" are cheaper Spanish hotels with private rooms, similar to a pension. Quartos in private homes in Portugal are pretty much ideal, in my mind (the last one I stayed at volunteered to do my laundry for a small fee) but I haven't personally run into that equivalent category (called Casa Particular) in Spain.

Rick's country guidebooks provide a lot of specific recommendations but general advice at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating can also be a good start.

I would be interested in hearing more about the "Vaughn Company". Is this an ESL teaching situation?
As for accommodations, when I go to Portugal I will stay in youth hostels, (I am 66) and find the youth hostels in Portugal to be of a high standard. When in Spain I try to find small apartments if I am going to be in the location for more than a few nights.

I find the company booking.com to be very useful, it offers all sorts of accommodations, including shared hostel dorm rooms, small apartments, up to the most expensive 5 star hotels. Read the fine print to be sure, but typically you can cancel up to the day before the reservation with no penalty. I will often lock in a reservation as long as 10 months ahead for a future trip because the earlier the booking is made, the cheaper a booking is, often by hundreds of dollars.

Just found some information of the Vaughn Company. assuming it is the same company.
from their site:
At Vaughan Systems we recruit and train all throughout the year; so once you have possession of either an EU passport or an unrestricted work visa, we’ll be happy to review your application. We, unfortunately, cannot support a candidate’s application for acquiring such a work visa. Neither can we hire on a student visa.

I would assume you have an EU passport or unrestricted work visa?

Here is the link for the volunteer section of the Vaughn Program, It appears that the volunteer week allows people to participate who hold non e.u passports.

Vaughn volunteer program

Ann I don't have those credentials only teaching certificates/ not ESL and regular USA passport
Here is the info for this volunteer English techi g experience long hours but free room and board!
Locations are small towns rather close to Madrid
It's called VAUGHN TOWN www.grupovaughan.com
It seems age was not a factor when applying. I am 73 years young!

According to the information on the Volunteer section of the company, they are not looking for any special ESL skills or certification. On the contrary, once you see the application information, they seem to be looking for people who have life experience, and are positive and encouraging.

So I would say definitely go for the opportunity, if you get accepted, it is only 6 days so other than time, a small loss even if it is underwhelming.
But I would predict that it would be a very meaningful and enjoyable time, plus it appears that food and accommodations are covered while volunteering during the week.
As far as the rest of your time on the Iberian peninsula, what are your interests?
For me interesting walks and hikes are a huge part of my travels, but everyone has their own special needs and interests.

I know nothing about the Vaughn company, but a former colleague and her mother traveled to Spain a few years ago and spent two weeks volunteering (through a different company, I assume) as English conversational partners (not teachers) for advanced Spanish students. They, too, received room and board but no other compensation. They really enjoyed the experience. It was a way to connect with Spaniards in a manner that's generally not easy for tourists.

I, too, have used booking.com extensively in Spain. It does turn up some very inexpensive options in a lot of places. You can often Google and find a way to contact the lodging place directly, possibly saving 10% or so. That won't necessarily work if you are making reservations only 24 or 48 hours ahead, though, because you may not get an instantaneous response.

Unless you stumble on a fiesta or other special event, you'll often find significantly cheaper lodging in cities/towns that are not Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, the major pilgrimage stopping points (including Burgos, Leon and Santiago de Compostela) and beach resorts. Yeah, I know, there's a reason why everyone want to see all those places. But you don't have to go to all of them. You can pick one area and see not only the famous cities but also some very nice nearby towns that have less expensive lodging (and probably lower museum-entry fees as well).

In some places weekend stays seem considerably more expensive than weeknights. It's my theory that folks from Madrid head out of town on weekends, but that's just a guess to explain why my lodging costs skyrocketed on Saturday night in Toledo and Salamanca. If you plan well ahead, it's worth trying 2 or 3 different date ranges for your selected hotel to see if dropping one particular night will make a big difference. In Salamanca I paid 45 euros for several nights, then something like 95 euros for Saturday. That was a very big "ouch".

In my experience (89 days this year), the small 2-star hotels are fine as long as you read the online reviews to be sure they don't have a fatal flaw that would annoy you. (Note that you will probably need air conditioning except in some places near the northern coast; some budget options do not have a/c.) I ended up in one 1-star hotel, and it was perfectly OK. So don't freak out about the star ratings. But do read those customer reviews!

I wasn't looking for rooms in private apartments and the like, but you'll probably find those available, at least in the larger cities. Try both general websites like booking.com and specialty ones like airbnb.

Two places near Madrid that I really enjoyed visiting on day-trips (by public bus or local train) were Chinchon and Alcala de Henares. There were not many non-Spanish tourists in evidence, which is always nice.

Spanish buses and regional trains are generally reasonably priced, but it's a large country. If you want to cover it from corner to corner, you will spend a good bit on transportation. You would find plenty of interest and cut your expenses quite a bit if you stayed north of Madrid or south of Madrid. (If the latter, I recommend Extremadura in addition to Andalucía.)

If Portugal is a definite must, do some research now to see what your options are for moving from Spain to Portugal. They are more limited than might be expected and may affect the lay-out of your stops in Spain. There is--perhaps surprisingly--some bus service between Badajoz (Extremadura) and Lisbon. Otherwise, I think you have a night train from Madrid and some border-crossing options from Galicia or along the southern coast. All of these (except the Badajoz buses) seem to take a long time. Of course, flights can be economical if booked way in advance.

I can tell you all about Vaughan Town - I've been three times, with a fourth planned for next spring. It's an intensive program for the Spaniards, but not for the "Anglos" - no Spanish allowed. They bring in native English speakers from all over to interact with a small group of Spaniards for six days. Once you get to VT (they transport you to the venue from Madrid), they pay for everything - beautiful hotel, great food and wine - while you spend your time speaking English. There are one-to-one conversations, telephone scenarios, conference calls, games, skits. You eat all meals together, and socialize together at night. It's all designed to help the Spaniards improve their English fluency (they have to already have a certain level of English before they can participate). There is no teaching or correcting (unless they ask you to do so).

It is true that their hired teachers must have EU passports, or visas that allow them to work, but the volunteers come from everywhere. On my week this year, the Anglos were from several parts of the US, South Africa, UK, and Australia. We have also had Anglos from places like Ireland and Egypt. Please feel free to PM me if you want more details.

Thank you for the information. I have sent you a personal message. Hope to hear from you soon :)

The company is spelled "Vaughan", not "Vaughn". It has been around for 30 years or better and is a huge presence in Spain for English-language learning. They have classes, distance learning, a radio network, and lots more. Vaughan Town is a well-known entity in Spain, and lots of companies send their employees to improve their fluency. The people you meet are great, both Spaniards and Anglos. I am still in contact with many of the people I have met along the way, and several have served as local tour guides for me when visiting their areas later. Nothing like having a local show you around (and translate when necessary)! I once offered one of my "local guides" some money for gas, since he had been driving us around. He responded that I must be joking - I had given him four days of intensive English practice. The volunteer website is volunteers.grupovaughan.com.

Hola,
Thanks for mentioning Vaughan Systems- I'll certainly look into it ...
I'm currently taking a Spanish course in Vallencia and found the site www.homestay.com an excellent resource for locating shared flats or rooms with local persons/families. While www.airbnb.com and www.homeaway.com also offer listing for house/apt./sharing, homestay focused exclusively on this type of accommodation.
If you need additional info, please feel free to PM me.
Buen viaje,
Craig

I will comment on Vaughantown...Nancy, a friend I met there several years ago, is 100% accurate in her description of the program. I went once, several years ago, and will be attending number 20 in the end of this month. I have recommended it to several friends, six to be exact, and they have had only good remarks. Number seven friend will be traveling with me this month.

"You will learn more about Spain in this one week at this location, than you would if you traveled around the country for a year!" was the statement of the Master of Ceremonies of the week for my first time. He was correct. By having one on one conversations --in English only-- with the Spanish participants you will indeed learn more about the country of Spain in a week than if you traveled as a tourist for a year!!

What to talk about? Anything and everything under the sun. There are several idoms you are given to bring into the conversation, but other than that, you talk about what interests the other person and you. I have learned of the sugar beet production in Spain, wind power, castles, paella, the Tuna, the economy, the education system, where to go, where to stay, how to cook delicious Spanish meals. I even talked about my knee replacements with one gentlemen as he was facing the same.

Who are the participants. Anglos - the English speakers - very few actual teachers in any of the progrms. I have met physicians, bankers, homemakers, businessmen, computer people....and the list goes on. The age range is from the mid twenties to eighty five or so. As for me, I had number seventy four in August.

Spanish...again, there is no set description other than the fact they want to learn or improve their English. Most are professional people, some are younger. Occupations: IT specialist, physicist, aero space engineer (two in the same program!), financial heads of international companies located in Spain, office workers, business managers, store owners, architects. There is no set age, no set occupation. But all have been wonderful in their sharing of their stories and experiences.

Venues --- They change from year to year, but most are within a couple of hours of Madrid. Some are more distant. These are some I have attended in the past. Zamora, a city where El Cid spent his childhood years. Valdelavilla...a restored settlement from the 1800's in the mountains north of Madrid, near Soria, Segovia, Cantabria - a castle from the 1500's or so. Monfrague, a remote village with a national [park surrounding it. Monastario de Paular, ancient monestary where the paper for the first edition of Don Quixote was produced. La Pedraza, a walled city from the 1400's, complete with the jail. Each has been unique and enjoyable.

This, together with the comments of Nancy, will give you a good idea of the program, begun years ago by Richard Vaughan, an English teacher from Texas who had settled in Spain.

Hope you go and know you will enjoy!!!