the rundown

Today marks the end of my second week teaching at I.E.S. Los Álamos. The school hosts students ages 11-18, and I work specifically with students ages 11-15 who are in the E.S.O. level (essentially, Spanish middle school). Check out the school's website:

I.E.S. Los Álamos

The institute is located 7km (about 4 miles) west of the city of Sevilla, yet my commute takes 45 min - 1 hr. I walk or bike 20 or 8 min to the bus station, wait anywhere from 0-35 minutes for my bus, ride the bus for approximately 18 minutes, and then walk another 8 minutes to my school. I only have to commute by public transportation one-way. The teachers at my school are kind enough to drive me back to my neighborhood in the afternoon.

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The Spanish work day goes from 9am-2:30pm(ish) and then 5pm-9pm. The Spanish school day goes from 8:15am to 2:30pm. Yes, siesta starts around 2 o'clock, and no one works during siesta. They don't necessarily nap, however, it is definitely a time of rest. I work only three days a week, so basically, I hardly work. Even my long days are over by 2:45. I have Fridays and Tuesdays off, which gives me time to travel and a full day to chill in Sevilla every week. 

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I.E.S. Los Álamos is recognized as a bilingual school, which means that subjects are occasionally taught in English (i.e. social studies in English one day per week). The students have been studying Spanish since elementary school, and I expected much higher comprehension than what I have encountered. I have one or two classes that are low intermediate English speakers, and the rest are beginners.

My position is "Language and Culture Assistant" or "auxiliar de conversación" (conversation assistant). I work with several different teachers (one to two times per week), and do activities, lessons, games, and review with the students. My role and responsibility varies greatly depending on the teacher. One teacher wants me to fill an entire hour with my own lesson, whereas another teacher hands me a sheet of word problems to read to the students each time walk in the classroom. Many of the teachers send me out of the classroom to talk personally with two to four students at a time, in order to give them conversation practice.

The problem with English education in Spain is that the language is taught in Spanish. The students can recognize vocabulary but have an extremely hard time listening and speaking.  I am grateful for my Spanish teachers that emphasized the "Spanish only" rule in the classroom. Of course, the native language must be used on occasion to explain certain points or instructions. I am technically not supposed to let on to my students that I know any Spanish, however, this task has become nearly impossible. But I do only speak Spanish as a clarification.

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I not only teach the students, but the teachers as well. Every day during recess, I hold "English Club," in which I meet with a couple of teachers and chat in English about various topics. It's a good way for me to get to know the other teachers, and of course, an excellent way for them to improve their English. Though it is a bilingual school (and almost all of the teachers are required to have a basic level of English), you would be surprised at just how basic that level can be. Furthermore, when their vocabulary and grammar is correct, their pronunciation is often so off that I am unable to understand what they are trying to say. I've been in their shoes many times, though! And I try to remember that when my patience is running short...