As you all know, I participated in a short term Teach Abroad program in Spain in 2019 through CIEE. Because I served as more of an assistant teacher, my program did not require prior teaching experience nor did they require knowledge of the Spanish language. As a native English speaker, my role was mainly to talk to and play with my younger students and to support the main teachers by working with and helping the older students. Keep reading to learn more about my experience as an Assistant English Teacher Abroad! And as always, if this is something you are interested in participating in, I have included my referral links at the end so that you can save $200 off your program of choice!
First, to give a little background on the logistics of my experience, CIEE paired me with a host mom who conveniently worked at the school I taught at. Thankfully, this meant I did not have to find my way to school on my own. I don’t think this was every participant’s living situation but, if I recall correctly, CIEE does work to ensure you have easy access to your school (e.g. carpool, short walks, etc.). I was placed at an elementary school with students ages 3 to 11ish. I often taught approximately six 30-minute classes per day alongside the main teacher and the subjects were English, Gym, and Art for the most part. Because of the type of program I was participating in, I did not need to get an official work visa. I believe this is also the reason why most participants only worked 4 days a week and had Friday off. I also had at least 2 days that I could take off as long as I let my school director know (I used these days to coincide with my Friday off and a local holiday for a longer getaway). Lastly, as an assistant teacher, I did not make lesson plans (aside from introducing random activities). The main teachers followed their own agendas and I was there as support.
My first day at the school was really nice. All of the staff members were really welcoming and although some younger children were a bit shy, many of the students were excited to see me! I created an introductory PowerPoint to share information about myself, the U.S., and Atlanta. I showed some pictures of my family, a map with Atlanta pinpointed, and my favorite foods. I also decided to share the random fact that a lot of people here eat chicken and waffles during my presentation and let me tell you, those kids were SHOOK! In Spain (and maybe a lot of Europe in general), waffles are eaten as a dessert. So for us to not only eat it as part of a regular meal, but with CHICKEN, they were screaming LOL! After I finished presenting, the students also got to ask me some questions. And of course, their main question was “Do you have a boyfriend???” Like you in my business? Don’t do that! I’m just kidding. We laughed a lot the first day and it was off to a great start.
Working with the younger age group (about 3 to 7) was interesting. They were definitely the shyest at the beginning but once some of them warmed up to me, they quickly became some of my favorites (shh don’t tell the older students). For the younger students, I spent a lot of time singing nursery rhymes and call and response songs (think “Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish…”), reading, playing, and doing simple lessons revolving around weather, animals, etc. Beyond that, the most important thing for this age group was for me to talk a lot! Although they couldn’t always understand me, hearing a native speaker still helps their minds get accustomed to the sound of the English language. So, especially with the 3-year-olds, I found myself being silly with puppets, tossing fake food around, and playing dress up while actively saying whatever came to mind.
Classes with the older students were a bit more structured around specific lesson plans. I spent a lot of time working in small groups for these students. I would typically take 4 or 5 students at a time, move to a separate room, and follow a workbook to practice what they had already learned. The older kids were fun to work with because they would joke around with me. It was extra funny working with them whenever a language barrier presented itself (I didn’t know the Spanish word and they didn’t know the English word). We would end up playing charades and Pictionary trying to understand what each person was talking about. Other activities we did included playing Jeopardy, translating songs, and playing board games.
One of the more unique moments of teaching abroad was realizing that I don’t know as much about the U.S. or the English language as I feel like I do LOL. Although nothing major, there were times — like when the gym teacher asked me to show a popular American game or when I was supposed to help the children write the English names for different types of fish — that I realized “Oh shoot! I honestly have no idea!” Another unique aspect would be the fact that, at times, I felt like a local celebrity. The 3-year-olds would stare at me, the teachers would excitedly interact with me and ask lots of questions, and the children would go out of their way to say hello. It was so weird but also really nice!
There will definitely be more blogs to come discussing my experience teaching abroad but, all in all, I really enjoyed my time and hope to do it again someday! Feel free to leave any questions in the comments and make sure to use the referral links below if you would like to sign up for one of CIEE’s programs!
Save $200 With These Referral Links!
Hope this served as your sign to step outside of your comfort zone and teach abroad! I thoroughly enjoyed my experience! And if that wasn't enough, I also have a referral link that will save you an extra $200! (I wish I would've had one of these before my trip, $700 to cover housing, meals, placement assistance, etc. while living abroad for 3 months is honestly a steal! That would normally only cover 1 week in a hotel lol.)
And of course there's no hiding that there is benefit for me too if you use my referral link because if you get $200, I also get $200. Win win lol. However, I'm not in it for the money. I genuinely did enjoy my experience and would recommend a thousand times! Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
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