Hi friends! I'm writing with some brief updates before I leave for Cartagena this Sunday! Next week is Holy Week known here as Semana Santa and we have the whole week off from school. Many of us volunteers are going to travel to the coast for some much needed sun. But much more on that later...
This week I have been in full teacher mode as the first quarter comes to a close. I have of course had some trouble figuring out the grading system and triple checking that I have actually been grading my kids correctly this whole time. It's stressful stuff,so I will certainly appreciate this welcome break.
I have had the pleasure of visiting a public school in the south of the city with my Spanish teacher and will write more about that next month. It's great to be exposed to more schools and to compare various forms of the Colombian education system. I am going to visit another school after Semana Santa with a teacher that works both at Minuto and a public school. So stay tuned!
But here at Minuto, classes are in full swing and I feel like I have found my groove. I confidently know at least 80% of my students' names and have even successfully chatted with their parents in Spanish. My Spanish is improving a lot, and I feel pretty confident that I am capable of becoming proficient while I am here. I understand at least most of every conversation and am working on my confidence in speaking. I learn new vocabulary words every day, and I suppose its even a little fun speaking a new language now.
Today I taught my 10th grade boys how to play Jeopardy. They had never heard of it before! So of course I taught them the "do do doo doo" theme song for timing. They were so quick to catch on to the strategy of going for the hardest questions first for the most points. We reviewed verb tenses from this quarter and used the 25 most common English verbs. They were pretty into it, one of the team names was "Friends of Chewbacca". It's a great feeling to teach a lesson that the students find fun and engaging. It was also great to see how well they did and how much they have learned in just a few months. My students have such wonderful potential and I'm so glad to have a small role in tapping it.
I am welcoming other native English speakers to my classes from near and far, so expect if you visit me that I will bring you to my classroom. You will be asked a million questions from your age to your hair color and your weird accent. You will be told "Aye profe! En Espanish por fa!" But then they will start speaking English, and maybe listen to you too. And all the hard work starts to pay off.
This week I have been in full teacher mode as the first quarter comes to a close. I have of course had some trouble figuring out the grading system and triple checking that I have actually been grading my kids correctly this whole time. It's stressful stuff,so I will certainly appreciate this welcome break.
I have had the pleasure of visiting a public school in the south of the city with my Spanish teacher and will write more about that next month. It's great to be exposed to more schools and to compare various forms of the Colombian education system. I am going to visit another school after Semana Santa with a teacher that works both at Minuto and a public school. So stay tuned!
But here at Minuto, classes are in full swing and I feel like I have found my groove. I confidently know at least 80% of my students' names and have even successfully chatted with their parents in Spanish. My Spanish is improving a lot, and I feel pretty confident that I am capable of becoming proficient while I am here. I understand at least most of every conversation and am working on my confidence in speaking. I learn new vocabulary words every day, and I suppose its even a little fun speaking a new language now.
Today I taught my 10th grade boys how to play Jeopardy. They had never heard of it before! So of course I taught them the "do do doo doo" theme song for timing. They were so quick to catch on to the strategy of going for the hardest questions first for the most points. We reviewed verb tenses from this quarter and used the 25 most common English verbs. They were pretty into it, one of the team names was "Friends of Chewbacca". It's a great feeling to teach a lesson that the students find fun and engaging. It was also great to see how well they did and how much they have learned in just a few months. My students have such wonderful potential and I'm so glad to have a small role in tapping it.
I am welcoming other native English speakers to my classes from near and far, so expect if you visit me that I will bring you to my classroom. You will be asked a million questions from your age to your hair color and your weird accent. You will be told "Aye profe! En Espanish por fa!" But then they will start speaking English, and maybe listen to you too. And all the hard work starts to pay off.
Enjoy your vacation- you deserve it, girl! I am so impressed by your Spanish skills and can't help but think what an excellent teacher you are in the classroom. Can't wait to hear about your trip!!
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