So we're past half way through the placement and the days are just flying by. I love it here in Spain. The place is buzzing and the lifestyle is great. I have lived in a few places in Europe and this city has got to be up there as one of my favourites. Moncada has it moments of feeling a little dead, but the people make up for it. I have a handful of familiar faces that I say hello to most days although the conversation is often stunted by my lack of Spanish. Julio who owns the coffee shop opposite Schola was, at first, a little cold but he adores us now and we see him most mornings for coffee. He continues to speak mostly in Valencian at me but his hospitality is great and he always turns the music up when we get in! Donna and I have two women at the local bakery who now see us walk in and give us 'the nod' from over the counter as they start preparing our regular order. We also have Laura's parents who are the loveliest hosts. They continue to tell me long and descriptive stories even though I have little to no idea what they are saying. Donna is occasionally at my side with a translation!
I am working both at Schola (a language academy) and I'm participating as part of the CEFIRE training with 5 other UKLCers which is working with local teachers of English. The first few lessons at Schola were very interesting as we were just asked to observe but it struck me that the learning tends to stick quite closely to the book due to the nature of 'everything in the book prepares the students for the exam'. I observed and thought about how I would be able to manage this whilst also introducing some more communicative activities. The tutors at Schola have been supportive, offering ideas and suggestions whilst also giving us the freedom to create our own lessons.
At first, I was a bit disappointed to not have any classes of really young learners to test out some of the new ideas we learnt at the training week, but in general I have enjoyed my classes. I don't feel they have all been as successful as I'd hope but I can't quite put my finger on why. I've found that having to plan a lesson quickly has really highlighted my inexperience of teaching and it will be something I have to work on. CEFIRE is interesting as we get to discuss a lot of things with the teachers and all of them have such varied teaching experience and techniques. It has been useful to hear their ideas and help them a little with English although the night sessions get tiring!
In general, I'm very happy here in Valencia, it's definitely a place I would recommend to others who look for EFL work. I'm looking forward to the final 10 days, but I still have so much I want to do!
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