Why I'm Here

When first accepted to this program I didn't really know what the job entailed. Now, after an orientation and hearing firsthand from many girls who are here for a second or third year, I have a much better idea of my role in the Spanish public school system. In reality, the Spanish government is "using" me and all of the other "Auxiliares" to achieve a goal of plurilingualism here in Spain. They've finally realized that they are sadly lagging behind the rest of Europe in language abilities and have decided to try to make some schools bilingual centers, where a lot of instruction will be ideally in English.

My school is in year zero, which means I am starting with them from the very beginning. They were only just given the funding and approval of the government to become a bilingual school. This year is basically the planning year. One of my roles will be to help teachers who will have to start teaching portions of their classes in English starting next year. I'll help them improve their English and also with lesson planning. The two subjects that will go bilingual next year in my school are mathematics and science... my two least favorite subjects! As far as I understand it, these subjects were chosen over others because the teachers who teach them have the best English abilities at my school.

In addition to planning math and science classes for next year, I will also rotate around to different classrooms every week (which means kids of all ages, as high schools here range from ages 12-18). I'll try to introduce English language and content into their classes. Next year, my school will be in year one, their first year as a bilingual school. But the interesting thing is that the program will not apply to everyone. The bilingual program will start with only one class of 12 year olds, and the students will be chosen by the consent of their parents and then a lottery if there are too many kids who want to be in it. I should mention that here in Spain (and in most of Europe) students are in the same class of about 30 students from age 12-18. The teachers change classrooms here, not the students!

So beginning next year, this "chosen" class of 12 year olds will start having some content taught in English. The next year hopefully more will be taught etc. until they ideally graduate at 18 speaking both languages.

I think that Spain is taking a great first step towards bilingual education with this program. However, there are a couple of things that I'm not too crazy about. For example, is math class in English really a good idea/beneficial? Is it really that important to know the words isoceles triangle, square root, and matrix (for example) in English? Isn't math difficult enough in one's native language? (Or was it just me...!) Also, the students who are put into the bilingual class will probably be the smarter kids, giving them a hugely unfair advantage. The government technically says that every student should have an equal opportunity to be in the class, but, in reality, the kids struggling in school are strongly advised not to apply for this program, or usually don't want the extra work anyway!

Yet despite the kinks, at least Spain is recognizing the need to be multilingual in today's world. I wish the US would do the same. People from other countries already have a huge advantage over me when they speak multiple languages. Here in Europe many jobs require candidates to be fluent in 2-4 different languages. But until the US finally realizes this, people like me will be here in Spain and other countries helping people become multilingual, and thus more competitive and capable on the world stage. Don't blame me when Spain takes over the world!

*For a full explanation of the bilingual program here in Andalucía go here: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/html/portal/com/bin/contenidos/B/InnovacionEInvestigacion/ProyectosInnovadores/Plurilinguismo/Portada/1182945265640_wysiwyg_planing.pdf