I entered my second year as an Auxiliar de Conversación bolstered by my teaching experiences from the year before … but also prepared for the fresh challenges it would bring. In this section, I outline some of the expectations I had as the year began, some of the experience and abilities I have been able to bring to my role, and discuss how all of this has shaped my teaching philosophy.
EXPECTATIONS
As I’ve already discussed in the ‘About Pete‘ section of this portfolio, my first year as an Auxiliar was a great introduction to life as a teaching assistant. It gave me a baseline of knowledge around which I was able to build realistic expectations of my second academic year in the programme.
For someone going in to that first year, it’s easy to feel adrift as you navigate life in not just a new country, but also a new (perhaps completely alien) teaching system. Colleagues and coordinators can occasionally forget to tell you the things that everyone else accepts as a commonly understood norm (for example, when random holidays happen, or what amazing resources are available to teachers). Without knowing what questions to ask, an Auxiliar can often find out about resources, activities and events totally by accident. And even when you know the questions to ask, when it comes to the often byzantine administrative side of starting life in Spain, even coordinators can be a bit lost for an answer!
In truth, of course, this is all part of the adventure! My advice to all new Auxiliares is: ‘Don’t panic! These things will all become clear in the end. Be proactive and keep nudging things forward, but also know that many of the administrative requirements (bank account, criminal record checks etc) that appear to have urgent deadlines are often more flexible than you first thought. Just try to maintain a positive attitude to the whole process and keep a dialogue with your coordinator.’ (For the benefit of new/future Auxiliares in Madrid, I will be developing and adding to an ‘Admin Advice’ section of this portfolio throughout the year.)
Having completed one year as an Aux, I was able to repeat this advice to myself as I set myself up in Madrid. This time, I had an idea of the questions I should be asking, so felt confident I could deliver the most effective/efficient teaching assistance possible.
Of course, this year would be different to my last. Different Comunidades (Spanish regions) have different ways of organising their programs, for example. Additionally, this year I would be teaching ‘adult’ students at vocational colleges (Formacion Profesional or ‘F.P.’ centres), so I knew I would have to think about how I might adapt my teaching style to suit a more mature classroom. My expectation was that these older students might be more open to learning English – their route into education being more of a non-compulsory choice than a legal requirement. (This was not necessarily the case, as many courses included English as a bolt-on element. Often students had had negative experiences of English learning and were therefore resistant to lessons – or resigned to never achieving any English skills. I expand on this elsewhere in this portfolio.)
EXPERIENCES & ABILITIES
Certainly my 15 years’ experience working as an editor and writer taught me a lot about interacting with different cultures around the world. Indeed, in many ways there are similarities between journalism and teaching: both processes involve taking (often complex) concepts and presenting them in an engaging, easily comprehensible style. In a more practical sense, my experience reporting on new architecture proved useful in designing a set of Final Project classes for my Proyectos de Edificación students. Much of my work as a journalist focused on lighting design as part of a wider set of design disciplines; how these different disciplines worked together to deliver the most efficient/successful completed buildings and structures. This helped me create lessons that not only improved English in the relevant areas of vocabulary, but engaged students in a conversation about building design and construction. Hopefully one which will be of use in their future careers.
As outlined in the ‘About Pete’ section, I have 8 months experience teaching young teenagers (12-15 year olds). This first year as an Auxiliar de Conversasion gave me a good grounding in how the Spanish educational system functions and bolstered my confidence in front of a class. Through conversations with other teachers (and observing their teaching styles), I was able to pick up invaluable tips on how voice, body language and attitude can be used as subtle tools to ensure a class stays engaged and under control (without the need from any disciplining from the class teacher).
Back in the UK during the summer break I completed the globally recognised CELTA English teaching course. Although not essential for Auxiliares by any means, it fulfilled my thirst to know more about best teaching practices. It gave me a solid framework for creating different types of lessons (grammar, reading, listening, functions etc), but also taught me how to develop good teaching habits that would make my lessons more effective (how to elicit answers, avoid echoing students, correcting mistakes visually, enabling self-correction, etc).
My own experience as a student of (Castilian) Spanish has also had a major influence on my teaching style. I was lucky enough to study at the Instituto Cervantes in my hometown of Manchester and so have been able to adopt some of the best techniques I observed as a student. Key among these was the importance of encouraging mistakes as a positive part of building language, and animating the class with encouragement and enthusiasm.
I continue to take Spanish classes in Madrid; they act as a useful reminder of the frustrations that learners can experience and the need for kindness and clarity when delivering lessons. It has helped give me empathy and understanding for my students.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My teaching philosophy has been strongly influenced by the inspirational teachers I’ve had over my lifetime, as well as through my own teaching experience in front of the classroom:
– “We love mistakes!” is a mantra I have adopted from my time learning at Instituto Cervantes. Creating an atmosphere where students feel no embarrassment about making mistakes is really important. Making mistakes is an important part of the learning process.
– Make learning an adventure. Many students get turned off by the predictable trudge of lessons where the teacher drives through a course book page by page. My aim (particularly as an Auxiliar de Conversasión, with a little more time to develop lessons than the permanent teaching staff) is to find ways to bring the curriculum to life. For example, hooking in a class with a warm-up exercise before explaining the theme of the lesson. Even the most rowdy classes can be drawn in by something unusual/different happening at the start of a lesson.
– Create an atmosphere of fun and play. In my experience, if the teacher is willing to look a little silly (while remaining professional), students (particularly adult students) are more willing to try an activity or attempt to answer a question without the risk of looking a fool.
– Create an atmosphere of respect. The teacher can set an example for the mood of the class. Remembering that each one is an individual helps to foster a general mood of respect. If you are able to try to learn names, that goes a long way towards students feeling that you are invested in them. Equally, I try to greet students as they enter the class. This direct verbal contact seems to make students more comfortable asking direct questions or even trying out their English in brief informal chats as the classroom fills or empties.
– Mix it up. We all have different learning preferences. Some people work better alone, some prefer to talk things through with classmates, some are visual learners, some learn better through kinesthetic (moving things around physically), some prefer to learn on-screen, some process their ideas better by physically writing things out, some prefer to start with a framework of rules, some prefer to discover for themselves…. the list goes on.
There are some fantastic tools available now to help make learning as clear as possible, and many impressive Web 2.0 techniques to ‘gamify’ and enhance classes. In addition to these, though, I feel there is also a place for physical tools: cards that can be rearranged on the desk; post-it notes to be stuck on walls; creating a ‘second whiteboard’ with acetate rolls stuck to a wall; getting student to stand up and move around. An over-reliance on ‘on-screen’ learning can leave some learning preferences ignored.
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TEACHER PETE 