Goodbye, Richard

ELS ALUMNES D'ANGLÈS I L'AUXILIAR DE CONVERSA D'ENGUANY S'ACOMIADEN

My year at IES Felanitx

Where do I start? It by far exceeded any expectations I had going into the year. I had previously done the program for a year in France in two different primary schools and so I was very much excited, although slightly nervous about doing a year at secondary level.

I arrived on my first day by bus to meet the director, amidst the strikes and two school exchanges (with Denmark and Sweden) to discuss my timetable and meet the teachers in the English department.

I spent the year working with 1eso, 2eso and 3eso, focusing primarily on speaking and conversation. It quickly became clear to me that everybody was very welcoming, both teachers and students, and this made my settling in period very easy. We covered everything in class, from simply talking about our weekends to singing British songs and constructing role plays. I enjoyed conducting various projects with 2eso and 3eso which involved photo or video presentations of fictional stories, traditional Mallorcan food and local sights etc. The list is endless.

In May, I accompanied my two 3eso classes as part of the exchange along with two English teachers Toni and Carmen. I already had well established relationships with the students and teachers and this was probably the highlight of my year. Teaching is a career I want to pursue and the experiences I had both inside and outside the classroom are invaluable.

I cannot thank the school enough for the year it has given me. From the moment I walked through the door at 8am to the moment I left, everybody greeted me in the corridor whether they were teachers or students and whether I worked with them or not. A year to remember, thank you!