Escola Pia Terrassa has been hosting Conversation Assistants for five years now. This year they are hosting for English Conversation Assistants and one French Conversation Assistant. Kayla, who comes from the USA, is the Conversation Assistant that helps children in infant school get used to hearing and speaking the English language. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Kayla!
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I found this program while I was looking for a job where I could have more experience working with children. I had already been working in a preschool in the U.S but I was looking for a position with a bit more responsibility. The travel aspect was a plus as I had wanted to have an experience abroad for a while but it didn’t coordinate with my studies at my University. As this program seemed to combine my two main interests, I decided I would give it a try.
On my first day I had a meeting with the infantile program director and the English teacher in my school. I was assigned to the infantile program meaning I would work with children ranging in age from 3-6 years old. They provided me with an outline of general expectations for the first few months of my program, showed me the materials from the previous conversation assistants and told me I would begin my activities the following week.
My activities include leading a portion of the morning circle, working with small groups in the classroom and working in a separate classroom with 8 children once a week. After morning circle, I begin with my activity which is more or less whatever I think is appropriate to teach. I teach my activity in the classroom with a small group of children while the others are playing with puzzles, tablets, and other materials available in the room. If I ever have questions or need feedback from the other teachers regarding my activities, then I try to arrange a time to speak with them and get their input. Overall, the conversation assistant position in my school is very relaxed and the activities I plan are completely up to me.
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Currently I am living with my second host family. I live with a woman and her 12 year old daughter. During the week I only see them for dinner time which is when I speak with the mother in English. On the weekends the daughter is busy with various activities and the mother likes to do things with her friends. I have joined the mother and her friends for some weekend activities but usually I find things to do with the other conversation assistants from my school. With my first host family, I spent almost all of my time with and I felt very much like a part of their family. I would go with them for big family lunches every weekend and I always felt like they were there for me for whatever I needed. I am still in contact with them and I continue to meet up with them for dinners or sometimes even just to catch up.
The people I have met during this program are what keep me going while I’m living away from my friends, family and my home. I feel very lucky to be apart of the team of teachers at the infantile school at Escola Pia Terrassa and they are like another family to me. From my first week I felt comfortable and welcomed by everyone there. I am so thankful that I get to work with and learn from them. Luckily, at my school there are 4 other conversation assistants who I am happy to call my friends. They all have proven to be a really important part of my life here.
I’m sure I won’t remember the details of my day to day life here after this program is over but I am sure I will look back on this time and remember the relationships I made with these people and for that reason I am thankful for this experience.
