Keep on, keeping on

I'm now well into my second week of classes (remember Thursday is my last day) and I'm having so much fun with the students. I think I'm really enjoying teaching English to them because first they can speak well enough and are able to ask questions and respond to questions. It is interesting also to hear what mistakes they make based on how they translate words or even sentences from Spanish to English.

I had a new class this week at the 2 level (I now have 2 classes at the 1 level, 2 at the 2 level, 1 at the 4 level and then the workshop for the primary students) and this class proved to be difficult. They would talk non-stop and I used so many different techniques to get them to stop talking and none would really work for that long. Today, it was the complete opposite. I moved one student to sit up front and the whole atmosphere changed. Every day in my classes it seems to get better.

Out of all the classes, I'm most looking forward to teaching the 4 level because the teacher has given me more freedom with what I can teach and I will have half of the class to myself while she takes the other half to the computer room.

I am slowly getting to know the other staff at the school, it is hard though because the Bilingual teachers seem to always be separated from the other teachers. I have met the director/headmaster of the school as well as the secretaries who have all been a great help. The school is a lot different from my own. I will take pictures of it and share them with all of you. The school is indoors (as are all Spanish schools) and it has three levels. The Bilingual project teachers (the teachers who teach in English) have their room on the second floor and there are two multimedia rooms, one of which has a smart board in it. Those of you who don't know what a smart board is, it's an interactive board. They are very cool and fun to use. You can show a PowerPoint on it and then use the electronic pens to write or draw on your PowerPoint or you can use the smart board as a regular white board. It's really fun to use.

The school is on the outskirts of the city of Valladolid, about a good 45-50 minute walk from where I live. It is in an area where a lot of homes are. I'll share more as I go along. I'm having so much fun and I really enjoy the teachers I'm working with.

I wish you all well and I give you lots of hugs (as my 2 level students say).

Besos, Celeste

Teaching a Second Language

It is strange to be back in Spain, it feels like a while ago since I was last here. I'm living with my past host family Julio and Edita who are treating me so well and making my transition here a little easier. My first day at the high school(which is called instituto) IES Emilio Ferrari was Wed Sept. 15th. I didn't actually go into any classrooms, but I talked to the coordinator of the bilingual program, Teresa, about what my schedule as well as the other two conversation teachers' schedules will be for this week. We only work 12 hrs a week, which will end up being 3 hrs a day with Fridays off. She hasn't given me my permanent schedule yet, but I'm hoping it will be similar to my schedule this week.

Today (Thursday) I went into three different classrooms to talk and present a powerpoint presentation to the students about myself and CA. The high schools here are for 4 years, but the ages are different 1ESO=12/13 yr olds, 2ESO=13/14 yr olds, 3ESO=14/15 yr olds and 4 ESO= 15/16yr olds. There are three subjects taught in English at this school: science, history/geography and English. Today I was placed in three different English classrooms. My first class was with 1ESO students and I was surprised to see how young they are. They were quiet and didn't ask many questions about me. Then I was with a 2ESO class whose teacher is Teresa and these students I enjoyed a lot because they were a little more communicative with me and they were not as afraid to use their English. The last group I was with were 4ESO students. The teacher is Alicia and she also teaches the 1ESO class I presented to. The 4ESO group was a little tough because the students were very talkative. They were polite during my presentation, but afterward they were very chatty. It will be a little difficult with this group. In Spain, teachers don't give students consequences or reprimand them for misbehaving so it will be interesting to see what happens.

It is nice being in Valladolid again, some place I know well and feel comfortable in. I hope you are all well. I will write more when I know more.

Hugs all around! Celeste :D