Hola!
A Coruña, a cidade onde ninguén é forasteiro! - A Coruña, the city where nobody is an outsider!
Having never lived in a separate country or culture before,
I was expecting to suffer from culture shock. On the other hand, it has turned
into somewhat of an adventure! I have
been assigned to a rather small school called ‘Colexio Calasanz’ lying
amongst the rolling hilltops of the A Coruna coastline. The co-ordinators and
teachers are supportive, caring, engaging, and take as much interest in me as I
do about them! I don’t think I could have wished for better support in an
unfamiliar environment. The teachers have softly introduced me into their
classroom, and are as delightful to me in a professional setting as they are
elsewhere.
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| The A Coruña Team |
Although teaching English is my primary focus, I am not
always present in the English classroom. I often try and engage students in English
during other lessons such as technology, arts & crafts, science, and
religion. I can also be teaching infants (age 3 – 6), primary (age 6 – 12),
secondary (age 12 – 16) and bachillerato (age 16 – 18). Each class and age
group can vary drastically, but for the most part they are a delight. I can
honestly say that after only a few days, the school already feels like my own.
One of the most heart-warming moments was perhaps when a student had gone home
specifically to bake me a welcome cake, along with being given a
personalised origami fish!
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| Myself, Monica (Academic Co-ordinator), Aminah, Chloe and Cameron |
The experience has so far proven to be enlightening and
eye-opening. It has been interesting to see the contrast between what I have
learned throughout my CELTA and pre-flight training in Chester to an actual
classroom environment. As the days progress I’m becoming more aware of what I
can offer the school and what the school can offer me. Having observed a few classes, I eventually felt comfortable taking charge and conducting my
own lesson. It involved a ‘musical chairs’ exercise using the present perfect as the
target language. Initially, I was excited to conduct the lesson but sceptical whether
it would work. In the end, the exercise proved to be effective and the students
looked like they absolutely adored it! It certainly made me feel comfortable in taking further classes on my own. Seeing the previous success, I then decided
on a ‘Simon says’ activity but changed it to ‘William will/won’t’ to teach the
kids the Simple Future tense. The children loved this exercise too, but it
seemed like the lesson dragged a little – I still have a long way to go! This
following week I am taking a greater step into the teaching role as I observe
less and teach much more. Despite all the creativity required in lesson
planning, the most creative part of my week still has to be the countless efforts
of making a brew in a country where a kettle seems like a myth.
I take solace in the fact that my colleagues who accompanied
me at the school appear to echo the same positive outlook. I'm hoping that this outlook isn't skin deep, and that as the weeks go on everybody, including myself, remains as optimistic as they are now. Every day I look
forward to our typically Spanish late 9:00 p.m. ‘dinner’, where the group cohere
together and share the ups and downs of our daily antics. There seems to be a familial bond between our group and a support network that is second-to-none. This makes me so happy because it gives us all a secure
footing to spring into the next day! Nothing makes me happier than seeing a colleague leave dinner with a smile on their face after having been in distress about an issue. I can only hope that the co-ordinators, students in the other schools
in A Coruna and those who departed after training to Valencia are feeling as
pleased with their experience as I am. :)
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| The UKLC team |
Hasta luego!
Daniel Kitson
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