Leaders in Language 2020. Placement 1: Week One in A Coruña

Well, I survived the whirlwind of Week 1! It has been quite a tiring week, starting with our 0100 arrival on Sunday night/Monday morning, but it has been a great experience so far. I, along with Toby from our group, am teaching at Salesianos, which is a Catholic public school which caters for 4-16-year-olds all in one school. It must be lovely for the children to stay in the same school throughout their primary and secondary education, giving them a greater sense of security, consistency and continuity of care. The warm and nurturing environment of the school is evident. Our coordinator, Merce, couldn’t have been more welcoming and is very supportive despite her own hectic timetable. She kindly took us for a drive around the bay in one of our lunch breaks so we could orientate ourselves.

We travel by bus to the centre of town then walk for 15 minutes to the school along the promenade. I love seeing the sea on my way to and from the school and the view from the pre-primary area of the school is amazing! We have been lucky with the weather so far, with no rain and temperatures of 12-16C, although we keep being told that it won't last and that rain every day is more typical of the area.

It turns out that Toby and I had been given each other’s timetable by mistake in Chester, so I am teaching a much younger age group than I had mentally prepared myself for, but it always pays to be flexible! I’m mainly teaching 4-9-year-olds with a few lessons with 10-14-year-olds. I interact with the primary classes in art sessions and lead either part or all of their English classes. Many of the sessions with the younger children are split into shorter sessions in smaller groups, where they are extracted from the main class for speaking practice/activities. There are 50 5-year-olds in the school so I have 10 of them for 50 minutes each day then the following week it will be the same but with 10 4-year-olds a day. It’s certainly an adjustment from the CELTA course! Short, varied activities to hold their attention is key! I have pretty much been in with a different class/group every day and have probably introduced myself to 200+ children this week so it’s impossible to learn all their names although I am trying!

I do find it frustrating when the younger children want to ask me questions or tell me something, as they don’t know enough words yet to try it in English and my 4 weeks of Duo Lingo doesn't get me very far! The very small ones struggle even with the concept that an adult wouldn’t understand what they are saying but I try to do my best from context. I hear “Hello Michelle!” everywhere I go though and one of the 6-year-olds told another teacher I was his friend, so I must still be managing to build rapport somehow!

We also work with the after-school classes run by Language Kingdom 3.30pm-6.30pm each day at various levels, which parents can choose to pay for their children to attend. These tend to be groups of 6-9 children from age 6+ who work towards Cambridge and Trinity exams. The kids can go a little crazy in these sessions, as in their minds they are outside the more formal school environment and it is the end of a long day for them.

The accommodation at Residencia Las Lagos is quite basic but it has a bed, a shower and a desk, which is all I really need. It is a little bizarre having the Lyceo La Paz school playground right outside my bedroom window, with its constant rounds of roller hockey and basketball sessions but I've now got used to that! There are several cafes and bars nearby when we need a change of scenery either to wind-down from the day or plan lessons. I have a couple of lessons to plan for Monday with classes I haven't met yet so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

I'm looking forward to next 3 weeks in the school as I settle in even more and get more used to the range of levels and ages I'm teaching. Hasta luego!