I just came back from a workshop in BCN about teaching English as a second language; it was all about working with 8 - 18 year olds, and was fascinating...mostly games and activities that don't require a lot of resources...the bag of tricks sort of stuff...
What fun, I hope my group this afternoon is in a sufficiently good space that we can try some of it out...
Hmmmmm......
I LOVE good professional development, it brings you back all excited and ready to get going on what you have to do next...
It was also extremely strange to be in a room filled with native speakers and converse for an entire morning in English...I speak to the man and my kids and all, but still it was kind of weird. I kept not understanding them...I was trying to put them through the Catalan filter and it just didn't work. Though there was quite a variety of accents which was interesting as well...my but there are a lot of Brits here.
9 comments:
Are you now maybe closer to understanding why so many people living abroad fall into the trap of living in their "native" ghetto and never learning the local lingo properly or trying to get integrated into the native culture?
It's sooo much easier, simpler, relaxing/efficient and time saving to ignore it all.
AND from a pragmatic point of view - who will ever use this strange language once you're back home?
I'm so proud of you for what you are doing and your enthusiasm for the process your grinding through!!!GM
I radically disagree with anoynomous above. Getting skills in the local language especially somnething as widely used as Spanish is a BIG plus. Opens up all sorts of options work wise too. With more people more mobile and looking at all sorts of options a second or third language skill is a great gift and skill. And it makes you just that more acceptable and accepted in the country where you are resident too. That must be a good thing, even if in the local market or supermarket. Even basic skills are appreciated by the locals.
And yes, a meeting with people in your own first language can be a great pleasure, you are still o/s and need to act accordingly. Afterall "when in rome do as the romans do" is sensible, and pragmatic.
Sometimes the local language IS difficult - eg Mandarin or Dzongka, with a different script. BUT some skills are really appreciated by most locals.
Hope your group was receptive to that "bag of tricks."
Love your enthusiasm.
I just heard you speaking Catalan in a prior post, well done!! I have lived in 3 countries other than my own and I have learned a different language in each, which has opened me new doors all the time. It took me 6 years to get the C diploma in Catalan (Spanish is my native language) and now I have twice as many books available at my local library ::wink::
Hope your group enjoyed the new games and activities!!
I guess as an ESL teacher you would be looked upon as a great resource too. Sounds like a lot of fun. Funny about the amount of Brits there. We have a lot of Brits in our company who are so happy to be out of Briton.
GM, thank you indeed....I do sometimes wonder what the point of this language is outside of here...other than private conversations with the family...
Peter H, I think you may have misunderstood GM above...I think read it that she thinks it is worthwhile to integrate rather than stay with your own 'native'language, for me English....As an aside, I am learning Catalan at this point which is a substantially less usefull language than Spanish, though I am working on Spanish as well....
Beth, they were to some, and not to others....that is to be expected....
Mar...*wail* SIX YEARS!!! and your a Spanish speaker!!! I just failed the A level too!!! EEEeeekkkk congrats on the accomplishment! What other languages do you speak?
Sirdar, the place is blanketed with Brits...well and truly, it where we are though....
Good professional development is great. I feel like that after attending the home school conference.
It would be strange to go back to your regular language when you are used to speaking something else in public.
Rocky: you finally get around a bunch of people speaking English, and you forget how!! ;)
I can speak very, very little Spanish...just words and a few phrases....nothing near conversational.
It's odd. I don't live with French in my ears on a daily basis. I'm completely immersed in "the local language", aka "english". I think I couldn't ignore and keep speaking french in there, could I? :D
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