First week, and a brief lesson in religious sensitivity...

So, this is my fourth day in Valencia and I already feel like I never want to go home! It's beautiful here; dazzlingly blue skies, palm trees and orange trees everywhere. stunning architecture and, of course, the mountains in the distance which are so picturesque they look almost cliche. The food is great (and cheap! And the booze is practically free!), the people are unbelievably friendly and, though I've only spent three days there, I love my school.

A massive thanks to Laura, Mampa (hope I've spelled that right) and Alicia from the Schola program for giving such a warm welcome on Sunday. Nothing cheers you up after a late arrival and a bumpy flight like a massive table of food! And thanks especially for providing me gluten free products - that was very sweet. After our introduction we all got our first look at our Moncada-based home-for-a-month. It's fantastic! I hadn't been entirely sure what to expect but this has definitely exceeded any of my hopeful imaginings.

My first few days at my school, Sagrada Familia, have been so wonderful. There has been a rather overwhelming input of faces and names (how is it I'm bad with both? Is it not normally one or the other?), but everyone has been very welcoming and friendly. I am working with two teachers, Olga and Blanca, and they are both too lovely for words. Mostly I have been observing and supporting, but I taught my first full lesson today! It was... an experience. Ha. Well, it was a great deal more chaotic than anything I experienced with CELTA, which was partly my fault (I think Iam  had forgotten a lot about planning and teaching techniques...), and partly due to it being a class of twenty-something YLs with a lot of energy. That said, I think I learned a lot from it - I will be teaching the same lesson to a different class tomorrow and I have loads of ideas for improving it - and the kids really seemed to have fun. They especially loved my enthusiastic drilling! And I must admit, you get a nice little thrill when you're leaving the room and you can still hear a dozen voices behind you repeating a phrase you just taught, "Don't worry about it!"

I think the biggest challenge is going to be the older groups. They were a bit of a shock! Their level of English is amazingly good, but they sure seem like they'd rather be almost anywhere else in the world. It was a nightmare trying to get them to stay in their seats, forget about working! Like wild dogs, I sense they could smell my fear. I'm undeterred, however, and even now I am plotting ways to win them over...

Being the non-religious type, I was a little anxious to be teaching at a Christian school (they're actually very relaxed about it, for the record). So, on a humorous and related note from an earlier lesson... Olga asked me to explain a word the students were struggling with: disposable. Yeah, I can do this, I thought, feeling confident.
"Okay," I said, picking a book up from the table. "I don't need this anymore, I don't want it." I strode over to the bin and dropped the book in. "It's disposable."
I turned back to the class, eagerly anticipating that wonderful penny-has-dropped look on the faces of my class... Nope. Olga's face was a picture, a mix of horror, amusement and disbelief.
"You just threw away the bible."
Fortunately, a few moments of shocked silence (and several minutes of very British apologising) later, everyone saw the funny side. But, as advice for any aspiring teachers working for the first time in a Christian school in Spain: Their bibles look kinda like condensed dictionaries at a very brief glance.

British Guilt

Have had somewhat of a stuttering start to life in the school, while in my first “bach” class the teacher asked if anyone had any questions for me, one student (looking altogether thoroughly unimpressed with me and refusing to meet my eye), asked me very pointedly “why does everyone else have to learn English, but the English don't learn any other languages?” Tried to reassure him that it was the Government's fault, or the British empire's, and attempted to unleash some of my Spanish at him (courtesy of duolingo) to demonstrate that I was at least trying to learn. Still looking thoroughly unsure, he returned to his seat. There weren't any questions from the rest of the class....

So imagine my relief when the 1^st of ESO students asked me who my favourite football team was, if I had any brothers or sisters, what Spanish I knew, and if I liked the food! Altogether all my other introductions have gone smoothly, at the moment I am pretty much just observing: reading out a few passages from a textbook being my only hard graft.

Still, the teachers are all very welcoming and I had a lovely walk around the riverbed park earlier, cannot wait to ride a bike down the entire length (apparently you can hire at one end and drop off at the other). The flat is lovely, and the train ride mildly scenic, have caught myself on more than one occasion staring wishfully at the mountains (a team hike is in the pipeline). Just off now to plan my first lesson, have been thrown in the shallow end with “Comparative Adjectives” while Chris has been doing conditionals and the present perfect continuous, so I'm counting myself lucky.

All in all looking forward to what the future holds. I'll update with pictures when I find somewhere to get the film developed! ¡Hasta luego!

If I were in Valencia, what would I teach?

3am is an early start to any day. It’s even earlier when you’re heading off to teach in a country of whose language you have only the slightest grasp. Despite arriving a little weary, the warm welcome (figuratively and literally) was wonderful. I was especially gladdened by the intention that we would be fed first and receive our induction information second. After settling into the accommodation quickly, Alfie and I responded to the summons from Caro to head down to Moncada in search of tapas and something to drink. So began my faltering though successful attempts to purchase things through the local language and I even managed to avoid buying anything to eat that once had a face!

On Monday morning, my alarm rang at 6.30am. I had just begun to enjoy leaving for work in Wales with the sun low in the sky but this early start meant leaving in the dark. After arriving at Parque Colegio Santa Ana, Alicia introduced me to Salud (the teacher in charge of my placement) and in turn, Salud introduced me to Maria and Maria (with whom I would be working). I also met a teacher from Spain who is working in Cambridge and has brought a group of A level students to Valencia for half-term.

A blur of classes and unfamiliar names (both Valencian and Spanish) later and somehow it was already 5pm. I was tired but only when mt brain registered that the day was over and I was on my way home. Sitting on the metro seat was a relief when I realised that this was going to be the longest I would sit down since arriving at school! Maria and Maria wanted me to introduce myself to the classes and I had explained where I was from and the different parts of the UK, six times. With the class who were learning about places in the town (museum, gallery, etc), we showed them pictures of these places in Cardiff. I showed clips of rugby world cup highlights in an effort to persuade the students that rugby is better than football and that they should stop worrying about Mr Neville. One of the Marias and Salud spent their Erasmus year in Cardiff and are enjoying catching up with how the city has changed in advance of their Easter break revisiting.

Day two was a little shorter but no less crazy with some more new classes and some spontaneous teaching – impromptu British geography and history for a 4^th ESO group; conditionals (with assistance from some of the visiting pupils from Cambridge) with another 4^th ESO group; and conditionals, wishes and regrets along with grammar analysis for the 2 Bach class. This finished up with lunch with Salud and some of the other teachers before my early finish – early in Spanish terms, it was 3pm! The accommodation in Masies is a bit of a commute but it's nice to have time to read a little on the metro and have some "English-only" time in my head at the end of the day.

The first few days

Hi all,

                We arrived in Moncada on Sunday afternoon, and as Will mentioned below, we were taken to Schola for a presentation, and most importantly, lunch!! Laura, who owns Schola, had a lovely spread prepared which we were so grateful to arrive to! She then drove me and Vicky to our accommodation, which turns out to be Ed and Marcelo’s old place. After posting a picture on FB of the leaflets left behind with the label ‘For the next teacher’ I discovered that I’m living in Marcelo’s old room. So far I have discovered a lone sock and I am afraid of what I may find next!

We met Nacho who has been very hospitable and shown us around. He has some interesting stories about his ex-roommates which Vick and I can’t wait to hear… We also met Lara, who is so well behaved and playful. I love her! Sunday evening was spent eating and drinking in a little place in Moncada with Carolyn.

                Day one arrived and I was excited to get on with everything. The six of us (Katherine, Donna, Vicky, Roísin and Anna) met up at Schola, to be briefed on a project called CEFIRE. Most of our time has been allocated to this, which sadly means less teaching hours. We were given the details of the projected by Oanda who is leading it. It’s a course targeting 30 primary school teachers, aiming to develop their classroom skills. It centres on the communicative approach and how teachers can improve themselves by using these principles. We are starting with a pub quiz today and from tomorrow we will be helping the teachers with their fluency by having 1-1’s slots with them. I think we can learn a lot from sitting in the seminars and talking to these teachers who have a wealth of experience. We had a break in this session, which in Spain, really means a break. Nothing like England, where a break means you get to fill a kettle, boil it, and then there is no time to sit and drink your tea. We were treated by Oanda and Laura to some great coffee, fresh orange juice and some croissants which Senior Julio brought us from the local bakery (how amazing is he!). I’m loving the laid back attitude here.

                After the session Donna and I decided to head into Valencia on the train with Roísin, who left us at the Angél Guimera, whilst we made our way to the Colón station in the city centre. We went for a little explore and ended up doing some shopping! The stuff is so much cheaper here, I would have paid twice the price back in England. Self-control was very hard L

                Day two has been interesting so far. Donna and I are sharing two classes on Tuesday mornings. The students are all adults, preparing for their PET/CET exams. This should be interesting as the exam tests speaking and listening, and the lessons are focused on preparing the students. Every session one of us has to teach whilst the other goes out with Belén (who teaches the class normally) to do mock exams with the students. We should hopefully start teaching next week after observing the classes this week.

                There’s a strange occurrence in my head. Since I arrived, I have attempted to talk to the Spanish people in Portuguese, my mind has even started thinking in Portuguese. Which is really strange because I’ve lived in England since I was 10yrs, and everything I do is in English, even thinking! I called my mum this morning and explained how I was getting on in Portuguese. She was in shock as she’s not heard me speak the language in years! I hope by the end of the four weeks my brain will have sorted itself out! I keep telling myself the aim is to learn Spanish, not revert back to Portuguese!

                Well I’m off for a coffee at some local place, will write more soon!

Hasta luego!!

Life after Moncada & Valencia

Dear All

Firstly I’d like to apologize for my lack of communication with the outside world. We (Ed and I) couldn’t access internet until last Thursday afternoon (11/02) in our flat in Moncada and my computer couldn’t connect to the network at Schola (Moncada).

But now I’m back in Cardiff and life will soon go back to normal, despite the fact I haven’t seen any sheep yet.

I had an overall fruitful time in Spain - especially because of the weather and food. Learning/teaching-wise I have learnt a lot in many aspects and really have the sensation that I’m better qualified now. I haven’t ever taught teenagers and I had 2 small groups during the week (12-13 and 14-15 years old). This has greatly contributed to my personal experience, considering I only taught adults/young adults in the past, both in Brazil and in the UK.

I already said to Carolyn (UKLC) that Ed and I were privileged in matters of accommodation, in spite of the wi-fi problems: we were at literally 4 min walking distance from our school, the most spacious flat of all (!) and we had a Spanish flatmate, Nacho (Vet student) and Lana, his lovely Cocker-Spaniel, here they are:

Also, resources weren’t a problem at all. I know some of you faced/may face limited – or none (!) amount of photocopying/printing, but we were very well served indeed. Viva the Chalk!

There is a local café’ (Bar Valencia) close to Schola and I am very pleased to have met Senor Julio and his wife. He is an aficionado supporter of the Valencia FC and you can see pictures since 1971. In the first week he gave us a bag full of juicy oranges (naranjas) from his own production. Also, at least with me, we had good chatting all the time. Ah! I can’t forget to mention the ultra-delicious tortilla made by his wife that I bought 3 pieces. Absolutely wonderful – and nutritious! Oh my God, and the bocadillos... And a very nice Radio Rock Station too! Good repertoire all the time!

For the teachers who are now in Schola – Moncada, please send my best regards to Senor Julio and wife. Tell him that I couldn't say goodbye on Sunday because we left before he was open.

I would like to recommend the pizzeria Piccolina as well, just 15 metres from Schola. I know you're in Spain but they are lovely people and the dough is good.

I also would like to thank Carolyn for her promptly support when I most needed, even if via texts/skype and all the people at Schola in both school and office.

But the biggest thank you of all goes to all the students who attended my lessons and those of the other trainees’ also. People with different backgrounds and different life stories; people who believe in a better future. It's been my honour to be with you. Face to face, I was only yours. Each one has been a teacher for me, even if they still have a long way to travel on their journey to learning English.

Farewell Valencia!

Well what a month it has been! I’m feeling very bittersweet. I’m now home and glad to be back. Yesterday's journey home was very long. I’m exhausted, sad and realise how much I’m going to miss everything that has happened this month. Now I must adapt back to the life back in Wales and the reverse culture shock and uncertainty of what's next.

This month has been a huge learning curve, full of insight and discovery about myself. I’m taking back with me lots of invaluable experiences and ideas. I’m very glad to have been a part of this programme and am leaving with no regrets.  

I’ve learnt a lot more about life as an English secondary school teacher here in Spain and the highs and lows that come with the job. I’m very lucky to have had an access all areas look inside a semi-private school in Valencia. I have been able to follow the English lessons of my teachers Katy and Inma. I absolutely take my hat off to them and how busy their work lives are. Despite the hectic schedule they both follow they always made time for me to observe them, assist them and teach their classes. They made time at the end of each lesson to check if I wanted to teach any of their classes and what I wanted to do from the textbook and fitted it around what their classes needed to learn and cover. It has been nice to watch their rapport and energy with their classes and being given a chance to experience the students they work with day in and out.

I won’t deny that I did want a bit more freedom with what I could teach and the materials I could use and could have had a few more opportunities to teach. However, they had a very supportive nature and didn’t want to push me completely out my comfort zone. The curriculum is unfortunately very textbook-based and grammar heavy. However, don’t let the textbooks dampen your creativity as an ESL teacher. I tried my best in my lessons to subtly drop games and more interactive activities into the mix and the teachers and students seemed to enjoy this on the whole. Please, please don’t be afraid to try out new ideas and take small steps outside of the textbook status quo. The students at the end of the day really do benefit from learning English in a more practical way and it's really worthwhile to get them talking as much as you can while you're there!

 I also can't emphasize enough how much I loved teaching year 6 primary. It was such a nice age group to have the opportunity to work with. These classes gave me a great chance to be much more creative with games, songs and lots of other activities. I also got to teach the same lesson three times, so really developed a good sense of what worked well and ways to develop. I also got on really well with the class teacher Carmen and the trainee teacher Alba. Both of whom were incredibly friendly. I loved the conversations we had and getting to know them both. The atmosphere in the primary classroom felt very different and made me feel comfortable and appreciated. I look forward to keeping in touch with the both of them. I was also incredibly grateful for my leaving gift from all the teachers. They got me a customised teacher’s mug which was a thoughtful gesture and a gift I will cling onto with pride.

 I am really going to miss my classes and the wonderful qualities and challenges that came with each. Just as I was teaching each class more and more and developing rapport it is time to leave. I will also miss my school routine. I will miss my school lunches, the teachers and the students constantly greeting me inside and outside of school. Finally, I will miss everyone who has also been a part of this project. I have forged some long lasting friendships and have really learnt a lot by talking to each and every person. Thank you all for the adventures, laughter, jokes, conversations and memories we’ve shared this month. For instance, Ed’s constant comparison of the Spanish lifestyle to Gloucester!

It hasn’t all been plain sailing living in a very small apartment and sharing a tiny bedroom. However, I can’t begin to express how incredibly lucky we’ve been to get on like a house on fire and to all have supported each other through and through. We have had moments of hysteria and real highlights. I literally couldn’t have asked for a better roommate. Jody, you have been the most patient, calm and supportive person I know. I know we’ve both learnt a lot about compromise and how tolerant we can be. In essence, it’s been a pretty spiritual journey. Also thank you Jody for teaching me how to breathe properly in yoga and the many other joys mindfulness can bring. You have taught me a lot and have been a real role model.

 Now to round off with my final thoughts. This experience has made me a lot more confident teaching large groups of teenagers. I have a much clearer idea of the ages I enjoy teaching and how to manage each age group. I got to see and do lots in Valencia including the Biopark, the beach, Jardines Del Turia, the old city and have enjoyed tapas, paella and Agua de Valencia. The weather has been truly glorious on the whole and the people in the city have been friendly. It has been great to learn more about Valencian culture and all about Las Ffallas. I just wish perhaps the 15 of us, who were spread out, could have had more opportunities to meet-up and share experiences each week.

I’ve really learnt that if I put my mind to something and stay calm that I can do it. This month has been a real test of being adaptable, considerate and patient and communal living. But it has reaffirmed the joys of living with others and helping each other. I have been able to cope with new and often times challenging situations with living and working abroad. I am incredibly appreciative to have had a network of support throughout and have never felt alone once. I am taking back with me more self-confidence, more experience and growth. I am taking back new found friendships and lots of new ideas and classroom management techniques. I can’t wait to work for UKLC this summer. A big thank you to Carolyn and UKLC, Schola and Eramus for making this experience happen.  

Sending lots of love and well wishes to the next lot and I look forward to hearing how you all get on. I will be thinking of you all this month.

I will now leave you with some photos of some great memories I've made.

 

 

Sunday 14th February. Getting there.

We had a 3am start to get to Gatwick airport from the LiL training centre near Chalfont St Giles. After a bit of a delay taking off (French air traffic control apparently were updating their computer systems). We flew into Valencia airport around 11:20 local time, with a bit of chop as we approached from the sea. After disembarking the aircraft we had a happy meet up with Carolyn of UKLC and Elisia of the Schola programme, I grabbed a proper coffee from the first cafe I saw in the airport, then we headed over to our coach and headed out to Moncada. Talli, Kathrine, Donna and myself dropped our luggage at the apartment we are staying in with the very friendly owners of the apartment (they live bellow us), we then drove on to Schola itself to be given our induction presentation and perhaps more importantly, some lunch. The Schola staff are all extremely welcoming, quickly getting us all oriented with what we will be doing and where, as well as passing on any bus or metro tickets we need, our months food money, maps and useful guides for the area.

Anyway, time to sign off and eat some home cooked Spanish Tortilla (thanks Talli!), a quick note, bring some seasonings with you, everywhere is closed on a Sunday in Spain and there is no salt or pepper in the apartment!