Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language in Germany: secondary school experience <

Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language in Germany: secondary school experience

In 2013 I graduated in Translation and Intepretation  from the
University of Granada(UGR). Like most of my classmates, I had applied
for a place on the famous scolarship program  as a Conversation
Assitant. I was one of the lucky ones and from last September to the end
of May I have been a Spanish conversation assistant at KRG school in
Lemgo Germany.

I did not have previous experience in the field of Spanish teaching and altough I had previously given and received classes in English, these months have opened my eyes to a new  and possible future career. This is why, after different  courses and  days througout this year, and taking into account what I´ve already learnt, I decided to carry out this advanced course, thinking about possiblities for the near future.

I have worked in a comprehensive school in Germany, which is a type of school that undertakes studies equivalent to secondary education and to the Spanish higher secondary-education  course, with pupils with all types of marks ( in German the schools catagorize pupils according to their marks and according to whether they are able to access higher education or not). The Spanish as a foreign language class involves  dynamics and a specific preparation which you have to train and prepare yourself for, but it is important to also take into account the specific group of students who you are working with. This aspect was something which I had not especially taken into account and to which I had to adapt a lot in this type of school, apart from the fact that classes are being given to  pupils with different ages, motivations and expectations.

Nevertheless, I would like to especially talk about one of the groups that I worked with during the nine months. Perhaps it was because it was a group of children from 12-13 years of age who I have a particular affection towards, but  it has been a good example of what is required in a Spanish as a Foreign Language class and the work it involves. It was their second year of Spanish as a second foreign language, and with only 3 hours a week, this meant that the level was not excessively high.  The main aim was to motivate the student body and to arouse their interest for the future, creating links with the language and so that they could see the fun and useful thing about a language.

The theoritical contence of the subjects that this school gives always function in the same way: The subject has a book which assigns the theme, as much in terms of vocabulary as in terms of grammar, which means that providing new activities is valid, always taking into account what is proposed and the assigned boundaries.   This aspect can be postive or negative for the teacher, since there are times when you can create more dynamic and splendid activities from scratch but also it is more probable that the teacher is limited or turns to what is already proposed.  As for the distribution of gramatical stages, for me it was very positive since having no previous experience, the book showed me the  different levels that were best adapted for adults.

Another aspect that I have generally noted in the teaching in schools is that they are limited to a series of topics and the pupils find it difficult to talk about other topics, for this reason during my hours as a conversation assitance I have always tried to carry out more dynamic activities which everybody can participate in, whether through movement dynamics, where it is the pupils who are at the front of the class, through groups and including dances.

Through this the pupils not only develop the communication skill but they also really see that what they are learning is meaningful and that it will be useful for them to interact with others.

Thanks to the support of the qualified teachers I have learnt how to prepare a class ahead of time, knowing how to draw nearer to the pupils and taking into account the different factors which make a class work better or worse and how to get respect.

The experience in Germany has been excellent, and because of this I wanted to continue with my training and with carrying out this course online, which has also helped answer some of the questions and doubts which have been arising througout this academic course, and I also hope to be able to put them into practice in the near future once the guidelines to follow are established.