Well let’s continue about my work. I was given 2 elementary group classes: one from 10-12pm and the other from 5-7pm. My afternoon class was the continuation of my class in July. I was supposed to have three students returning: Rosa 1, Rosa 2 and Elu. However, one of the Rosa’s never came most likely due to her job. But the other 2 were the highlight of my day. Rosa is an older woman who basically has a lot of free time and money to try different things. She has travelled the world, knows how to speak four languages, dances flamenco, and other add-ons to a huge list. Elu is studying to be a doctor, which causes him to have erratic schedules and little time to do his homework. He arrives late to class frequently because he travels straight from work to the academy. I’ll say one thing for my students, they have motivation. But the thing that made this class so unique is the way all of our personalities clicked. After 2 months, I feel so incredibly close to both of them. I was apartment hunting in Madrid and Rosa spent hours on-line looking for available rooms. Elu constantly brought me drinks and food to share with him during our breaks. They always invite me out for drinks and dinner. We tell stories about our lives, tell jokes about the other’s cultures; yet I am able to teach them everything I can about English.
Angela, Elu and Rosa
My only wish for this month was that I could have connected to my morning class like I did with my afternoon class. They just didn’t have to personalities that my other class had. I tried to make the same jokes and do the same activities, but the charisma just wasn’t there. In this class I had 2 return students that had already taken a group class with another teacher. The other students were new to ALA which posed some serious problems. My 2 returning students had already learned the basics of English (present, past and progressive tenses; grammar rules; sentence structure; etc) On the other hand, the other students had not practiced in years or retained no knowledge of English in general. So this was a task to catch the beginners up to where they needed to be without boring the returning students. Needless to say, I managed to get all the students the information they needed to know to continue to the next level but it was not the most memorable of classes.
My private lessons were very interesting this month. I felt connected to many of them and was sad to see them go. I especially enjoyed my time with a younger student Alicia. She had just graduated colegio (high school) and was preparing for a college entrance exam in English so she could study in the US if she wanted. I saw a lot of myself in her when I was 18 (even with the culture difference). I could tell she was slightly awkward with people her own age and could better express herself to older adults. She had a strong exuberance for learning and living life to the fullest but didn’t know how to do it or where to even start. She yearned to be taken seriously and be seen as an adult. Yes, I definitely saw myself at her age. So I planned that class with care and took time to talk with her about other things besides grammar and pronunciation which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Another student also stands out in my mind as I write this. Vanesa, a young lawyer from one of the large companies (Tecnicas) our academy works with. She was one of my special alumnos because she is one of the few students to receive lessons during siesta time. I didn’t mind having class in August during this time because I had nothing but time during siesta. I was still living in Toledo; I had no where else to go. So for 2 hours/ 3 times a week, I gave Vanesa lessons. I think the reason why I connected to her so much is because she reminded me a lot of my Aunt Colleen (one of the biggest role models in my life). She just turned 30, is well-educated, motivated, extremely independent and self-sufficient. She just received at huge promotion and needed to have a higher level of English because of her new dealings with international clients. She works hard and takes pride in everything she accomplished. She just bought her own home: a much more difficult task in Spain than in the US, especially during the current economic crisis. She is proud of everything she has accomplished (particularly for a woman in Spain) and yet retains such admirable modesty. I enjoy teaching her not only because of her accomplishments but her incredible stature and sense of humor. I can tell that she is a complete professional from 9 to 5 but knows how to get a little crazy when she can. Many of the past classes we have spent simply discussing and debating current issues like women’s rights, abortion, religion, government, economy, and culture. Even after August classes ended and I moved to Madrid, I didn’t hesitate a moment to continue giving her lessons this month.
Well all in all that was what my schedule (and basically my life) consisted of in August. I taught Manu, one of students I gave lessons to in Toledo. But with my crazy academy schedule, I only had time on weekends. So in the end, I only saw him 3 times in the course of the month. Time flew by, probably the quickest and busiest months since my time here.
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