About Me
Personal Information
Hi, I'm Anna!
I am from the United States, Georgia to be exact. I grew up there my entire life and then after graduating from college I wanted to live abroad and gain a new experience in another country. I have taken Spanish for 11 years and love the language and Spanish-speaking countries, so the Auxiliares program was a perfect way to be able to come live here.
I attended Hendrix College in Arkansas, USA. I majored in Anthropology and Spanish. I love anthropology because I enjoy learning about other cultures and peoples. I think it is fascinating to see the differences in language, traditions, food, etc between places. I found teaching English as a foreign language between my sophomore and junior years. I decided to become TEFL certified during college so that I could move abroad and teach english after I graduated. I did an online certification program and then continued to pursue opportunities in EFL/ESL. I did an internship with a non-profit that works with immigrants in Arkansas my senior year, teaching an ESL class to adults once a week. I then taught over the summer 2016 a reading course for all ages of students. Finally, I decided to move to Spain to do the auxiliares program and be a teaching assistant.
Personal Background and Interests
I have always enjoyed helping others and especially immigrants in the United States so the internship was perfect for that. I wanted to live abroad for an extended period of time and this program would give me the opportunity to do so. I did not really know what to expect, many had told me that the tasks of a TA are very different depending on the school, region, and teacher you are with. I expected to be of assistance as a native speaker especially working with speaking, and to share my experience about the United States culture as well.
I am from the United States, Georgia to be exact. I grew up there my entire life and then after graduating from college I wanted to live abroad and gain a new experience in another country. I have taken Spanish for 11 years and love the language and Spanish-speaking countries, so the Auxiliares program was a perfect way to be able to come live here.
I attended Hendrix College in Arkansas, USA. I majored in Anthropology and Spanish. I love anthropology because I enjoy learning about other cultures and peoples. I think it is fascinating to see the differences in language, traditions, food, etc between places. I found teaching English as a foreign language between my sophomore and junior years. I decided to become TEFL certified during college so that I could move abroad and teach english after I graduated. I did an online certification program and then continued to pursue opportunities in EFL/ESL. I did an internship with a non-profit that works with immigrants in Arkansas my senior year, teaching an ESL class to adults once a week. I then taught over the summer 2016 a reading course for all ages of students. Finally, I decided to move to Spain to do the auxiliares program and be a teaching assistant.
Personal Background and Interests
I have always enjoyed helping others and especially immigrants in the United States so the internship was perfect for that. I wanted to live abroad for an extended period of time and this program would give me the opportunity to do so. I did not really know what to expect, many had told me that the tasks of a TA are very different depending on the school, region, and teacher you are with. I expected to be of assistance as a native speaker especially working with speaking, and to share my experience about the United States culture as well.
School Placement
My school is called IES Laguna de Joatzel. It is located in Getafe, which is south of the center of Madrid. It is a bilingual high school. Students are ages 12-18 and take many of their subjects in english including social science, natural science, and others. The kids at the school are really great. They are very chatty, but overall their level of english is very good and they are motivated to learn. They enjoy learning about the United States as well. My school's teachers were very welcoming to the 5 english assistants that are here, and they trust in us a lot, as we are often asked to prepare various activities for their classes. We have many activities for the students that they can participate including Global Classrooms in 3rd of ESO, and many exchanges and trips for 3 of ESO and up.
My school is called IES Laguna de Joatzel. It is located in Getafe, which is south of the center of Madrid. It is a bilingual high school. Students are ages 12-18 and take many of their subjects in english including social science, natural science, and others. The kids at the school are really great. They are very chatty, but overall their level of english is very good and they are motivated to learn. They enjoy learning about the United States as well. My school's teachers were very welcoming to the 5 english assistants that are here, and they trust in us a lot, as we are often asked to prepare various activities for their classes. We have many activities for the students that they can participate including Global Classrooms in 3rd of ESO, and many exchanges and trips for 3 of ESO and up.
Teaching Experience
I primarily work with 3rd of ESO, which is equivalent to freshmen in high school in the United States. This is because I was in charge of organizing the Global Classrooms activity here. I worked with students to prepare them for a model-UN for non-native speakers of English in which we competed against other schools in Madrid. I was in the english classes with 3A and 3B, along with 3D as well. With those classes I help with textbook exercises, sometimes pull them out to practice speaking, or I might take some of the class to the language lab to do some sort of activity.
The other groups I work with are 1 and 2 of Bachillerato (juniors and seniors). They are advanced students who have chosen to continue their education past the mandatory grades, so they are trying to go to university oftentimes. With those classes I help prepare them for the speaking part of the CAE- Certificate of Advanced English, do fun discussion and speaking activities, or present on a topic in literature or US culture. The students are fun because we can talk about anything and everything!
I primarily work with 3rd of ESO, which is equivalent to freshmen in high school in the United States. This is because I was in charge of organizing the Global Classrooms activity here. I worked with students to prepare them for a model-UN for non-native speakers of English in which we competed against other schools in Madrid. I was in the english classes with 3A and 3B, along with 3D as well. With those classes I help with textbook exercises, sometimes pull them out to practice speaking, or I might take some of the class to the language lab to do some sort of activity.
The other groups I work with are 1 and 2 of Bachillerato (juniors and seniors). They are advanced students who have chosen to continue their education past the mandatory grades, so they are trying to go to university oftentimes. With those classes I help prepare them for the speaking part of the CAE- Certificate of Advanced English, do fun discussion and speaking activities, or present on a topic in literature or US culture. The students are fun because we can talk about anything and everything!
Contributions to the Program
I think the main thing that I have contributed is just being a native speaker. The english teachers here have an incredible level of english and are very knowledgable, but sometimes they do not know phrases or slang that I might know. I also can tell students about my experience in the United States, which is valuable for them to learn about another culture. I also like to think that I motivate the students to learn and practice english because I try to make it fun.
Highlights of the Program
My favorite part of the program is seeing the students' level of english improve throughout the year. I also have enjoyed getting to know them on a more personal level.
Comments
Post a Comment