Are you teaching English in the present? What course?
Yes. As you know, I’m working in a school as responsible of conversation lessons for preschool children and also I teach English in first, second and third grade of primary.
What do you thing is the most difficult part of been a English teacher?
Well, I could mention a lot of issues but for me, the most difficult thing is related with new students that come from other schools and their English level is below than their mates. It’s difficult and challenging for me to include these new student in the course of the lesson because they need a lot of support and I’m just one person. For these students, I recommend reinforcement outside the classroom while they reach the level of the other students, but also it’s important that they attend to class and try to participate as much as they can.
Do you need to prepare lessons in a different way in English than in the native language?
Yes, I think so. For example, when I’m preparing the lessons for preschool children, I tried to invent a story that include the context and vocabulary of what I want to teach them. In this grade, the grammar is not very important so I tried to make them to listen a new language and identify some words that they are going to use lately
Do you think that English lessons should be interactive?
I’m glad you asked about that because actually is very, very, very important to make English lessons interactive. The most important thing is encourage children to participate in activities, discussions, ask about things… even if they don’t speak correctly because they are learning a new language and it’s completely normal. There is a great improvement in children who love English lessons and try to interact with others as much as they can, unlike those who do not.
Have you ever feel insecure about your English level?
Of course I did. My native language is Spanish so when I started teaching English I thought that I would not be as good teacher as a native English speaker. Over the years, I learned that there is no matter in not knowing the language perfectly because the most important thing is to have the necessary knowledge to teach children what you want them to learn. Obviously a level of English is required, but if you have been chosen to develop a job as an English teacher, trust me that you can do it.
Do you know CLIL method? What do you think about it?
Yes, I heard about it. I think that is a very useful and successful way to teach a new language. In this school we don’t use it because you need preparation to apply it correctly and our teachers are not trained in this area (also resources that right now we don’t have), but maybe in the future we could renovate out teaching method and use it.
