Our thoughts on the first term

Upon arrival to Sant Feliu I was astounded by the beauty of the place; a school set between the mountains and the Mediterranean sea, overlooked by the impressive Castle Burriac. I was also quite nervous! I have never done any teaching before and my only experience of public speaking had come on small History projects during my university course. Despite harbouring ambitions to learn, I couldn't speak any Spanish, and was unprepared for the additional challenges arising from the fact that everyone here, including the other teachers, speak Catalan, my new school's preferred language. It was therefore rather scary when, at 9am on the first Monday morning, I was asked to introduce myself to a class of 25 fifteen-year-olds! Thankfully I passed my first challenge, and since then I have really enjoyed myself. The students here are really enthusiastic and friendly, and working with them is a pleasure. The teachers are also incredibly friendly and have made a potentially difficult settling in period in the first term a comfortable, exciting, and hugely rewarding experience.

Onwards and upwards!

James


I had no idea what to expect when I was departing from Yorkshire to Catalonia, but the first term has gone as well as I could have imagined. 3 months before I arrived, I was still a student myself, so settling into the role of a teaching assistant was a strange thing. I have had a very enjoyable and rewarding time so far, making some good friends, teaching some very good students and improving my Spanish - I´ve even learnt some Catalan! I´ve been working with all the classes - from P5 to 3rd ESO - so I´ve had some different teaching experiences. The students here are very friendly, have a great level of English and even let James and I join in the football games at lunch. I´ve now returned after Christmas from the cold British weather and I hope that the next term is as good as the first.

Feliz Año!

Brendon