City Talk 105.9 Liverpool
Wednesday, 11th February 2009
Interview with Germaine Broadbent, Sales Director at Cactus, about gap years
Before you tell us about Cactus, I believe you’ve done a gap year yourself?
Yes, I’ve done more than one! First, the classic 18-years old funded by my parents around Europe trip. Then a few years later, after working for a while at home, I really wanted to travel again but didn’t really have the funds to do it, so I did a teaching English as a Foreign Language course. I went off to a couple of countries and lived and worked abroad for a couple of years. Now I’m back and work at Cactus, organising lots of gap year experiences for people of all ages.
I believe that gap years and travelling around the world makes you a better person, it gives you better values. What do you think?
I absolutely agree. I think that you learn so much from being away in a different environment. It really wakes you up, and shakes you up, and there’s just so much out there. You do kind of grow as a person.
So many people take for granted what we’ve got in this country, for example the NHS. You go abroad to some of these third world countries and you just can’t believe it. How do you feel about it?
Yes. I’ve had some dodgy experiences myself in Greece! We are very fortunate. I was really happy to come back as well, having experienced different cultures and thought ‘I like this or I don’t like that’. For me, I was ready to come home, but lots of people just carry on.
I hear that a lot of students are frightened of doing gap years now as there are no jobs about. What are your thoughts?
It depends what kind of job you want. If you’re going off to teach English as a Foreign Language, there are plenty of jobs. This industry is booming and they’re crying out for teachers all over the world. We offer programmes that start at £260 where you’ll get the basics of teaching that allow you to take yourself off and get a job anywhere really.
Tell us what Cactus is
Cactus offers all kinds of different programmes for gap years based around learning a language, teaching English or doing a volunteer project, or often a combination. We speak to our clients, listen to what their budget is and what sort of experience they want and advise them on ways that they can spend their time.
A typical programme will involve staring off learning some of the language with an evening course in the UK, then going off to do a Spanish course in Madrid for a minimum of say a couple of weeks or a maximum of 12 weeks, and perhaps do a teaching course whilst there as well. From then on they can either stick around in Spain or go off anywhere in the world. But really, you can take any element of that programme and make it your own.
Are a lot of people doing this?
There are lots of people doing this and there’s a lot of variety. We do get the young 20s classic no strings let’s go type, but there are also lots of people who call us at 28, 38, 58 and more saying they’ve always wanted to go to Costa Rica and always thought about learning a language. E say just go, and give it a go. You don’t have to learn everything.
By learning a language you learn so much more about the culture and get so much more involved with the place. There are just so many options. We’ve got some language and sport programmes, for example language and diving, or teaching courses, allowing you to earn as you travel. I did that myself and I found it a really rewarding experience, plus you can do it on a budget.
Do you think you can learn a language better by going to a country?
Absolutely. We offer all different programmes both in the UK and abroad, but we always say the best way to go and learn is to go and learn in the country where the language is spoken. Because, of course, your experience carries on outside of the classroom. You get to practice what you’ve learnt straight away. You’re taught in Spanish, but you’re also with lots of other people from all over the world. It’s just an eye-opening and an awakening experience, which is fun as well. There’s also a lot of free time where you can do all the normal stuff such as sightseeing or lazing around on a beach, so have a look at what’s out there.
I heard the last caller saying go through an organisation and I’d say the same thing. Many of the organisations that offer volunteer projects or language programmes know the schools and locations well, so they can talk to you about what you’re really looking for and tell you honestly what your best option is for the money you have available.
Do you find any age are doing this?
Yes. I guess a lot of people are in their late 20s or 30s but it goes way up from there. Especially with the teaching English, as these are the people who often want to go for a longer period and want a bit of independence. They don’t want to be tied down into a programme the whole time, so by learning this skill, it means they can take themselves off wherever they want and teach as much as they want to. You don’t have to commit yourself to a full time job. You can decide to kick back a little bit and take it easy, or if you really need the cash you can go for a full time position.
It’s such a great experience to live in a different country. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done as there are just so many lovely people you meet. You go out for drinks afterwards and all that jazz and meet other teachers and people along the way. If I wasn’t a mother now I’d be tempted to get back out there. I still think, maybe later on when the children have grown up, why not take myself off somewhere and have a bit of that all over again.
How do they find out about it?
Well, we’re very easy to find on the internet. We are Cactus Language Training, or Cactus TEFL or Cactus Language. Just stick Cactus into google and there we are. If you want to telephone us our number is 0845 130 4775 and we can run through the different programmes we’ve got for you, and just have a chat really.
Give us a couple of examples of the programmes
For the teaching English as a Foreign Language I would recommend the Cactus Online TEFL Course if you’re on a budget. It costs £260 and is an interactive online programme. So, if you can’t get out that easily you can do it at home and it gives you time to learn and absorb it all.
From there we can advise you where to go off and teach. If you’ve already got an idea where you want to go we can tell you what your options are in that country. Or, if you just want to see what’s out there we can give you details of the jobs available all over the world.
If you’re looking to learn a language, we have programmes everywhere, but language and diving is one of my favourites as that’s in Costa Rica and looks really beautiful. I always think I’d love to do it. I haven’t done it yet, but I know people who have and they rave about it. You basically go off and do Spanish in the morning and scuba diving in the afternoon. We take you through and get you your Paddy qualification.
Those are two great programmes that you can do, but there are so many more. So, please have a look at our website, have a browse, see what you think and give us a call.
Tags: gap year, cactus language training, language course abroad, tefl
Posted by Michelle Curtis 2009-02 under Cactus Language Worldwide, In The Press, Cactus TEFL, In The Press,
Permalink
