What To ExpectIf you're reading this post you're probably interested in the idea of teaching English in Spain, which is amazing! I salute you for this! Teaching English abroad is a noble profession and one full of adventures! Now,just because you're interested in the idea of teaching English abroad doesn't mean you'll know exactly all that this job entails, so I'll fill you in on what the life of an English teacher abroad is really like! I've taught English abroad for about two years now and I'm going on my third year! I've experienced it all and would like to share some of my experience with you all!
Expectations: So, your role is English Teaching Assistant, emphasis on assistant this means you're assisting the primary lead teacher in the classroom! You are NOT supposed to ever be in the classroom alone, nor are you supposed to take on the role of lead teacher and teach lessons on your own. This is not what you are not supposed to do, but some schools forget this and assume you're take over all of the responsibilities, if this happens I suggest talking to your bilingual coordinator (person who is in charge of you and your schedule) and talk things out. If you want to do more than just assist in the classroom I assure you that your cooperating teacher will probably be more than okay with you taking on a bigger role in the classroom and even invite you to co-teach with them! In addition to helping teach lessons you may be asked to present on different holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter etc and have an activities prepared for the kiddos to engage in during these special holiday presentations. Every school uses their English teaching assistants differently so your experience will probably be unique to you and your school. Hours: Hours will vary! If you're teaching through the Fulbright program you will be expected to work 16 hours over the course of four days. I taught English for two years through the Fulbright program and usually worked my 16 hours Monday through Thursday. If you're teaching through the general Auxiliares de Conversación program you will be expected to work about 14 hours a week over the course of four days. You'll probably be asked if you want to take on some more hours, so you'll most likely end up working around 16 hours a week! Types of Schools: You can expect to work at a secondary school, elementary school, vocational school or sometimes even at the university level. In addition to differing in grade level, the schools also differ in terms of what type of school they are. Some schools are private while others are public or charter-type schools. My Experiences: Teaching in a secondary school: I taught at a private Catholic school in La Rioja. The school was extremely tiny and had only class per grade. My students would wear the traditional Catholic school uniform and track suit for the days they had physical education. My school ranged from infantil (preschool level kiddos) all the way up to what we would consider to be the 10th grade, but what they call in Spain, 4th of ESO. I only taught 3rd of primary up to 4th of ESO. In this particular school I wouldn't work alongside of the teacher in the classroom but rather pull students out in groups of 5 for about 30 minutes at a time. I'd take them to an empty classroom and together we'd engage in activities and games to practice and review whatever they would be working on in class at the moment. I wasn't exactly prepared to be utilized in this way when i got to this school as I was fresh out of student teaching and anticipated doing more in the classroom, but I quickly got into the rhythm of working in small groups as opposed to leading an entire classroom. I enjoyed working with the students in the primary level, but to be honest I found the secondary school students to be a little intimidating. Teenagers can be a bit apathetic and rude, so wasn't the biggest fan of working with their age level, but over the course of the year felt them warm up to me. At this particular school I also helped to teach physical education in English in addition to Visual Arts. Teaching in a primary school: In Tenerife I worked at a primary school and was assigned to levels infantil through 5th of primary. This school was slightly bigger than my school in La Rioja and there were two classes per grade. At this school my kiddos would wear a track suit to school everyday as opposed to the school in La Rioja where they had two uniforms depending on the day. I was assigned to see infantil through 2nd of primary twice a week and would see the kiddos in 3rd of primary to 5th of primary once a week. At this school I was given the opportunity to have a bigger role in the classroom which excited me! I would prepare my lessons ahead of time and send them to my cooperating teachers via google drive. I would create a lesson based off what the kiddos were learning in class. So, as you can imagine a lot of communication went on between my cooperating teachers and I, which is key if you want lessons and your overall year to go well at your school. In addition to helping teach whatever the kiddos would be learning at the moment, I would also give a mindfulness workshop to my students once a week. My primary school students at this school definitely welcomed me with open arms and I always felt loved and appreciated at my school! In Conclusion: I hope this blog post helped those of you who are interested in the idea of teaching English abroad and helps to give a clearer picture of the duties and responsibilities you will undertake in your role as an English Teaching Assistant. Teaching English in Spain is a very special experience and definitely one that will hope you grow as a person in more ways than one, both inside and outside of the classroom. See you next week! Con amor, Nelli <3
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