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By christinatometchko

It's hard to believe but it's already been two months since I started volunteering at a the Pare Poveda School! In honor of this milestone here are 5 useful tips for foreigners trying to navigate their way through a Spanish elementary school:

Tip #1: If the directory says your classroom is on the 4th floor of the building, in reality it's more likely on the 6th floor. In Spain the ground floor is called "la planta baja" and the first floor above street level is called "el primer piso".  Therefore the "1st floor" is actually on the third level of the building. Knowing this will save you from some confusion and will prepare your lungs for a bit of an extra workout in case you choose to take the stairs!

Tip #2: Students solely address their teachers by first name and never refer to them by last name. The informality within the classroom was tough to get used to at first but it actually ended up working out in my favor. Turns out it's much easier to say Christina than it is to say Senorita Tometchko.

Tip #3: Much like the rest of Spain, elementary schools have a two-hour lunch break in the middle of the day. Some students eat in the cafeteria and goof around on the playground, but many of the kids that live nearby go home to enjoy a nice sit down meal with their families. Teachers love having this extra time during the day and often use it to finalize lesson plans, read a good book, or catch up with an old friend.

Tip #4: Pop quizzes are common--even in elementary school classrooms. If students are continuously misbehaving and not following directions, teachers won't hesitate to give an impromptu pop quiz. Students cringe when they hear these words but it helps keep them alert and ready for anything.

Tip #5: Get ready to answer a million questions! Once your students meet you and learn that you're visiting from another country, their hands will immediately shoot up in the air. They'll want to know all about your friends and family, where you live, where you go to school, and where else you've traveled. Sharing parts of your culture while learning about theirs is one of the best parts of volunteering abroad!

By christinatometchko

Can you imagine being 10 or 12 years old and having a science or art class taught in an entirely different language?  If you're an elementary school student living in Barcelona, this is the norm.

The official language in Barcelona is Catalan-- a mixture of Spanish and French-- that is native to the Cataluyna region of northern Spain. During Francisco Franco's dictatorship in the twentieth century, the Catalan language was outlawed in Spain and school was exclusively taught in Spanish. Following Franco's death in 1975, the ban on Catalan was lifted and many cities throughout northern Spain re-instituted it as their official language.

Flash forward to present day Barcelona and school is now primarily taught in Catalan with additional classes in Spanish and English. From the first day of kindergarten to the end of their primary school education, students in Barcelona are taught in three different languages and often end up being fluent or at least conversational in each one of them. I can't wrap my head around learning three different languages at such a young age and give the Spanish education system so much credit for recognizing the importance of knowing more than one language in this increasingly globalized world!

It's also really interesting that students in Barcelona don't just have an English class or a Spanish class where they learn about grammar and sentence structure.  In addition to those basic language courses, they also have other classes like Math and History that are taught in another language. While I'm sure this can be very difficult for some students, it's a great way to help them vastly expand their vocabulary and learn the language in a relatively quick amount of time.

I witnessed some of these struggles with the language barrier during my first day volunteering in an Art classroom at the Pare Poveda school. The class was taught entirely in English, the students were required to speak in English, and they even listened to American music as they were working on their projects. As I walked around the classroom and helped the students with their work, I spoke to them in English and was surprised by the vast differences in their levels of comprehension. Some students understood everything that I said and were able to respond fluently in English. Some students understood a little of what I said but could only respond in Spanish. And some students didn't understand a single thing that I said and just nodded their heads and smiled politely when I spoke.

Throughout the afternoon I had to consciously stop myself from speaking Spanish when the students were confused or didn't understand what I was saying. Even though that would have made things so much easier, it wouldn't do anything to help them improve their English which was my main purpose for being there. Instead, I had to find creative ways to get my point across like using my hands to help explain what I was saying or drawing things that I was trying to talk about. While communicating with the students was a bit tricky at times, I had so much fun and can't wait to volunteer again next week!