The biggest challenge
that I faced this semester was language. I came to a country where everyone
speaks German and I spoke none. In my day to day life, there were times where I
really wished I could understand more but I could get by speaking English. In
the classroom, I was the odd one out. I was the only person in the school that
had no experience with German. When other teachers would walk by or attempt to
ask me something in German, my students would all rush to tell them that I
don't speak German, only English. It was a strange feeling. Everything I was
used to as a teacher was different. Coming into a new environment, I like to
observe the teacher in the classroom to see how he or she interacts with
students and what sort of classroom management routines they have in place. I
then use those observations to inform my own teaching and make my transition
into the classroom a smooth one. But, I could not understand anything that my
CT said to my students and even had a hard time getting cues from the tonality
of her voice because it is different when speaking German. This definitely put
me in a less comfortable place to begin with.
As a teacher, you come face to face with
challenges everyday and being able to think on your feet and be flexible is a
big part of succeeding as a teacher. So I came into this experience ready to be
open minded to differences and ready to be challenged. Working with a population
that spoke very little of my first language and whose first language I was just
beginning to learn, was truly difficult. Trying to build a connection with
students who cannot understand you at first seemed hopeless. Even something
that seems so frivolous like small talk is significant in establishing trust
and getting to know someone else. Without the ability to use speech as a main
form of communication, I learned to resort to other methods. I would
participate in games that students were playing to show them that I am fun and
enjoy spending time with them. I took interest in the work they were doing and
they would get excited to show me their projects on the wall. I found small
ways for them to get to know me and build a connection with me. This was my
biggest goal of the semester. Because relationships and community play a vital
role in teaching. I am proud to say that I overcame this language barrier and
created relationships with my students that made our learning together more
effective and fun.
Having this eye opening experience helped me to
understand what it is like to be a minority in a classroom and even more
specifically an ELL student. I think this will help me to promote equity and
social justice in the classroom. To experience being in a classroom and being
expected to learn in a language you don’t understand, really shaped my
perspective. Through this experience I will better be able to empathize with
and teach ELL students.
I hope I have left
these students with excitement and positive memories associated with learning
and specifically learning English. I was lucky enough to have them teach me
about myself and education each week so I hope I too taught them something they
can cherish.
Lauren, it's impressive that you were able to build connections with your students despite the language barrier. I have also found my language struggles have helped me understand better. I am leaning Spanish, and can hold a basic conversation, but found myself floundering in many situations. For example, to get to my school placement is a 25 minute drive from where I have class in the morning, so a man named Adrian(who works at the school) picks me up. Adrian only speaks Romanian and Spanish. I was nervous that my Spanish wasn't going to be adequate enough and that a semester of long, silent car rides awaited me. These car rides ended up being one of my favorite things about my experience in Madrid and taught me to appreciate the necessity for patience. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that Adrian let me struggle through my thoughts, that he didn't mind waiting for me to find the words to express the idea, or else helping me figure it out. Having the patience to guide students to discovering answers is an important skill, I think, for any teacher. For me those car rides were as valuable to me as the time I spent in the classroom.
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