I haven't been the best at keeping up with blogging but nearly two weeks after the event, I feel the need to write about my Spanish teaching experience!
It was truly an unforgettable , challenging but rewarding experience! My advice to fellow Erasmus teachers going to Spain is to get as much sleep as you can before you go! The schedule and sheer adrenaline of teaching meant that I didn't sleep as much as I would've liked but I am making up for it now!
My school was Los Naranjos ( literally translated, The Orange Trees) in Gandia. I was somewhat lucky because my mentor was American ( therefore no language barrier) and the class sizes were smaller than most of my flatmates , with up to 16 students per class. That didn't mean they weren't challenging at times ! It has to be said that the Spanish like to talk and getting the students to stop talking and listen was probably my biggest challenge! Class rules helped, I found myself banging the 'listen and be quiet' symbol quite a bit during lessons, it got their attention and saved my voice a little :) The young children were adorable but needed careful management. I remember my first class with them, it was chaos! I decided to bring in a ball to demonstrate and practise actions associated with sport. After about 30 seconds of waiting for a turn, the children went a bit crazy, Next thing I knew, one child was crying, another had kicked someone and it all got very loud, I learnt a lot from that experience. I am happy to say the next time I taught them, it went a lot better.
Top tips for teaching in my school?
- Use classroom management techniques such as rewards and rules , it really does help!
- Team games can be really good but some students get REALLY frustrated if they don't win or they think it isn't being monitored fairly!
- Use motivational songs and activities. Students in my classes LOVED the pen pineapple song and the Mannequin Challenge!
- The Sushi train can work well if your mentor doesn't start changing the rules!
- The students loved drawing, the sillier the better!
- Bad parrot works! Even for the older kids!
- Give lots of praise. It may sound silly, but it has a really good impact and the students did appreciate it.
I was lucky enough to get taken out and sample some local activities by my mentor. I saw the Gandian Basketball team play and win a game at the local indoor stadium, sampled Iberican meat and beer and even got invited for American Thanksgiving. Certainly not what I expected when I thought of being in Spain!
To those going next year, enjoy the experience and sleep when you can! Thanks to those who organised it for us and to Emil and Michael for the fantastic training before we left!
Hasta luego!
Clare
Monday 12 December 2016
Thursday 8 December 2016
Viva España, me encanta Valencia
How strange it is to think that this time last month I was sat in Chester undergoing intensive training for teaching Young Learners, feeling rather anxious about the month of teaching in Valencia before me.
Now, with that month of teaching behind me, I realise I had nothing to worry about. The training from excellent Michael and Emil and the support from the lovely Alecia, Mampa, Amy and Carolyn and of course from everyone at my lovely school (of which more later) meant that we were well prepared for everything from teaching in Spain to living in Spain.
My wonderful school, Colegio Santa Teresa de Jesus El Vedat, could not have provided a better teaching experience. The children were all very sweet and all, despite a tendency for excitement (brought on by the novelty of being taught by a gangly Englishman, no doubt), very keen to learn and improve their English. All the staff at the school from the teachers to the dinner ladies to the cleaners were all very welcoming - a stroll across the school grounds would lead to about half a dozen "Hola/Hello James!" or "Buenos días James!". And if all that wasn't perfect enough, I was treated to fantastic Spanish food for both break and lunch!
Looking back over the month I cannot really find anything to fault and the experience has only increased my desire to teach.
Adiós amigos, adiós españa.
Now, with that month of teaching behind me, I realise I had nothing to worry about. The training from excellent Michael and Emil and the support from the lovely Alecia, Mampa, Amy and Carolyn and of course from everyone at my lovely school (of which more later) meant that we were well prepared for everything from teaching in Spain to living in Spain.
My wonderful school, Colegio Santa Teresa de Jesus El Vedat, could not have provided a better teaching experience. The children were all very sweet and all, despite a tendency for excitement (brought on by the novelty of being taught by a gangly Englishman, no doubt), very keen to learn and improve their English. All the staff at the school from the teachers to the dinner ladies to the cleaners were all very welcoming - a stroll across the school grounds would lead to about half a dozen "Hola/Hello James!" or "Buenos días James!". And if all that wasn't perfect enough, I was treated to fantastic Spanish food for both break and lunch!
Looking back over the month I cannot really find anything to fault and the experience has only increased my desire to teach.
Adiós amigos, adiós españa.
Tuesday 6 December 2016
Espana es preciosa!
Hola todas!
It's nearly a week now since we left Spain and it is rather strange that I'm now an Xmas temp at Marks and Spencer. Such a different world from teaching in Gandia, Spain!
The whole experience has been an exciting and fast-moving adventure. For me, this has mostly been all about stepping outside of my comfort zone and challenging myself to do something radical to deepen my experience of language and to maximise my chances of future employment.
I found it amazing (and daunting at times) being suddenly immersed in a different culture with a language I hardly spoke. I realised how much I rely on the English language in my everyday life and, of course, there/s nothing wrong with that. However, I had to learn some Spanish to get by and that proved really interesting to me. I used to joke with the children/young people that the deal was 'you teach me some Spanish and I will teach you some English' and they laughed at my poor pronunciation, but never in a horrible way.
I liked the school I was placed in because it felt like one big family which I was allowed to be part of for a while! My mentor and the other 2 teachers I worked with were warm and friendly and did their best to support me. The young people made a fuss of me a lot of the time and I got a pile of wonderful 'cards' and wishes on my departure which really touched me with their sincerity.
I learnt so much from this experience and I'm still learning from it now. I'm very grateful for the opportunity so thank you to all who made it possible and to my fellow teachers.
Today, I came home from my Xmas job to find messages from agencies about International teaching positions. I believe part of the reason for this is because I have now added this experience to my CV.
For me, one of the most important aspects of the learning on this placement was realising how it feels to live among people who don't speak your language! I cannot take language for granted anymore!
It was a privelege to teach these young people and to be part of their lives for this short time. I will never forget them.
It's nearly a week now since we left Spain and it is rather strange that I'm now an Xmas temp at Marks and Spencer. Such a different world from teaching in Gandia, Spain!
The whole experience has been an exciting and fast-moving adventure. For me, this has mostly been all about stepping outside of my comfort zone and challenging myself to do something radical to deepen my experience of language and to maximise my chances of future employment.
I found it amazing (and daunting at times) being suddenly immersed in a different culture with a language I hardly spoke. I realised how much I rely on the English language in my everyday life and, of course, there/s nothing wrong with that. However, I had to learn some Spanish to get by and that proved really interesting to me. I used to joke with the children/young people that the deal was 'you teach me some Spanish and I will teach you some English' and they laughed at my poor pronunciation, but never in a horrible way.
I liked the school I was placed in because it felt like one big family which I was allowed to be part of for a while! My mentor and the other 2 teachers I worked with were warm and friendly and did their best to support me. The young people made a fuss of me a lot of the time and I got a pile of wonderful 'cards' and wishes on my departure which really touched me with their sincerity.
I learnt so much from this experience and I'm still learning from it now. I'm very grateful for the opportunity so thank you to all who made it possible and to my fellow teachers.
Today, I came home from my Xmas job to find messages from agencies about International teaching positions. I believe part of the reason for this is because I have now added this experience to my CV.
For me, one of the most important aspects of the learning on this placement was realising how it feels to live among people who don't speak your language! I cannot take language for granted anymore!
It was a privelege to teach these young people and to be part of their lives for this short time. I will never forget them.
Sunday 4 December 2016
Fin de la línea
Entry 6, Sun 4 Dec
Sometimes I find it incredible that at the start of this week I was still teaching in Vinalesa, and now I find myself back home in the UK. It has been a truly fantastic experience, and I'll really miss all of the students and the teachers, who genuinely made me feel like a part of the school.
The training sessions in Chester were very useful and I'll definitely be going over the notes I took (and checking out some of the files in John's dropbox folder) in order to give me some ideas for my upcoming teaching position in a few weeks time.
Thank you so much to all the guys at UKLC, Schola and my fellow trainees, and I hope the next batch of teachers will enjoy this experience as much as I did.
Next stop - more teaching in Spain! :D
¡Por última vez!
Giacomo
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