By fuentescaro
The most memorable experience I have is teaching English at a school in Sevilla named Sagrado Corazón. The ages of the students ranged from 15 to 17 years old. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would wake up at 6:30am to eat breakfast, get ready and head to class. I had four classes that I had to prepare lesson plans for. Every day they greeted me with great enthusiasm and laughter.
One of my favorite moments was during my second to last class. A student from cuarto de la ESO (10th grade) approached me and told me that I had made an impact on her. She thanked me because every Tuesday (one hour per week), she looked forward to see me because she always had fun in class. I stood in silence for a couple of minutes not knowing what to say. Those words had meant a lot to me because I had cause a little happiness on a student's life. I told her I was lucky to be able to talk to them and to get to know them.
Further, the students of segundo de bachillerato (seniors), on my very last day were able to show me a little bit of the flamenco culture. They took out their instruments and started to sign typical songs from Andalucía. I was happy to join them and I learned a couple of steps here and there. It were moments like those that reflected a great time as an English student teacher.
This story reflects who I am as a individual. As a first generation student, I was able to connect with many of them and help them in any questions they had not only about the Spanish education system, but also the American one. I was and am proud to say that I am bilingual, and my second language is English. Being able to share that story with the students made me more comfortable when teaching and it made them realize that they were also capable of learning the language. I am so thankful for having the opportunity to teach these students. ¡Hasta luego!