Auxiliares de conversacion
Hello students and parents! My name is Colin Marshall. I am from the United States of America and lived in Washington, DC before moving to Spain last fall, 2020 as the 2020-21 English Language and Culture Assistant at C.E.I.P. Maestro Rafael Bravo Martín. I assisted and taught lessons in social sciences, natural sciences, music, English and physical education in the first through sixth levels, aiding the teachers in carrying out the lesson plans from the students’ books and sometimes brought my own lessons and games to teach the English language and culture in the United States. I am excited to share some of the materials from the past year, as I had an amazing experience teaching these students, and I hope it gives you a window into how I interacted with them.
The Brown M&Ms
This was my favorite lesson that I gave to the 5th and 6th level music classes. It is a story about USA rock band Van Halen, who demanded that at every concert they performed, there needed to be a bowl of M&Ms in the dressing room, but with the brown ones removed. We investigated as a class why they made this request.
After the presentation, students were asked to create their own rider (a list of requests an artist or group gives to a concert venue to prepare for the show). Their creativity was incredible!
Advertising Techniques
In the 4th grade classes, I gave a presentation about techniques advertisers use to persuade consumers to buy their products.
To conclude the class, students were asked to create their own advertisement for a product and describe two or more advertising techniques they used.
Immigration
This lesson about population, immigration and emigration builds on what the students have learned in their textbooks. We talked about movement of populations in and out of Spain, and at the end of the class, we read a story from an immigrant of the same age as the students, who emigrated from India to the United States.
Easter in the USA
Of course, Samana Santa here in Spain (and especially Sevilla) is unlike anywhere else in the world. In the United States, we celebrate Easter on one day – Domingo de Pascua («Easter Sunday»). I created a presentation to give students an idea of what spending Easter Sunday in the United States is like.
The European Union (Quiz)
I assisted in teaching the capitols of each European Union country with this quiz. Later, we worked on a crossword puzzle that used fun facts about some EU countries.
Giving Directions
Students learned how to give someone directions to navigate a small map. After we all understood how to direct each other, we played a game in which one student directed the other to reach a destination on the map.
Cooking and Recipes
I love to cook (and eat), so I wanted to teach the students about a classic American breakfast food: pancakes! In this activity, students needed to read and understand the directions to make pancakes, and put the steps in order. It was a challenge, but I was proud of their ability to order the instructions correctly. One student even made the pancakes at home!
Women in Music
For International Women’s Day, I brought a few songs written by famous United States female artists to play for the students. Their goal was to listen to the songs and fill in the blank spaces with the words they heard. Here you can listen to the songs and follow along:
Song 1: «I Will Always Love You» – Dolly Parton
Song 2: «You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman» – Aretha Franklin
Song 3: «Something’s Got A Hold On Me» – Etta James
Thank you to the wonderful students at C.E.I.P. Maestro Rafael Bravo Martín. They were always eager to learn, excited to have class with me, and put a smile on my face every day I taught them. Thanks also to the teachers and staff there, who are professional and passionate about their work. These students are in great hands.
En la actualidad, dada la sociedad plurilingüe y multicultural en la que nos encontramos, se hace necesario el dominio de varios idiomas y el conocimiento de distintas culturas. Esto no solo nos enriquece a nivel personal, sino que favorece la inserción en la vida laboral y facilita la convivencia de distintas culturas en un mismo contexto. Nuestra intención es dotar a nuestro alumnado de la mejor formación posible facilitándoles, por ello, las herramientas necesarias para desenvolverse en la sociedad actual. Para hacer de lo anteriormente citado una realidad, contamos con distintos Proyectos, Planes y Programas Educativos, a los que durante el curso 2009-2010 se sumó el Proyecto Bilingüe.
En este Centro la enseñanza bilingüe se desarrolla a lo largo de toda la etapa educativa y, aunque oficialmente comienza en el primer curso de Primaria, contamos con la anticipación lingüística del idioma inglés desde la etapa de Infantil, concretamente desde los 3 años. Una vez iniciada la etapa de Primaria, el alumnado, además de la enseñanza del Inglés, aprende en dicha lengua otras asignaturas: Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Sociales, Educación Artística (Plástica y Música) y Educación Física (actualmente en el primer y segundo ciclo). La lengua inglesa pasa a ser una lengua instrumental, vehicular y de aprendizaje, igual que la lengua materna. Es muy importante subrayar que la enseñanza bilingüe es un programa dirigido a todo el alumnado. Esto quiere decir que nuestro proyecto contempla la atención a aquellos alumnos y alumnas que presentan necesidades específicas de apoyo educativo. Gracias a este proyecto, contamos con un/a auxiliar lingüístico/a, procedente de un país de habla inglesa, que cada año permanece en el Centro desde octubre a mayo. El/la auxiliar lingüístico proporciona al alumnado un modelo de corrección fonética y gramatical, reforzando sus destrezas orales, y le acerca a la cultura de su país de origen.
Un reciente estudio sobre la educación bilingüe en Andalucía concluye que, tanto en Educación Primaria como en la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, el alumnado bilingüe obtiene resultados significativamente superiores en las destrezas lingüísticas en la lengua extranjera, frente al alumnado no bilingüe. Y no solo esto, además, el programa bilingüe beneficia el aprendizaje de la lengua castellana.
Sin ninguna duda, podemos sentirnos orgullosos/as de que nuestro colegio, el CEIP Maestro Rafael Bravo Martín, sea un centro bilingüe.
La coordinadora,
M.ª Ángeles García Vidal