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
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