Cilian from England. It was really fun meeting the students at first. They’re so excited to see you and when you come to their class to teach, they’re so excited and beg to be chosen to teach them in your small teaching groups.

Cilian 

British/Irish

Vic

The school is really great. Most of the teaching is with small groups of children (4-8 people). And I have also taught some full classes with the assistance of the teacher, the program is for small group teaching but if you want to teach full classes the teachers are happy for you to do this with their assistance. From my experience of teaching children, they love to play sports and games and to be outside in the summer season. Most activities I’d involve some sort of sport to engage the children in an outside environment whilst learning English. The more you can do this the more the kids appreciate your class as they are inside most of the day, and it gets very hot. I get on well with all the students and the teachers. Some students can be very good at English due to extra studies, and some might be new to school and know no English at all… this can be a challenge but it was important to keep it in mind when teaching them. The teachers are very welcoming and friendly always there to help. They even invite me to join them for a drink after school, and during lunch break at a local cafe. One thing to keep in mind is half the teachers don’t speak English, and they appreciate it if you show a little effort to speak Catalan (not Spanish) with a simple hello/good morning.

I have had a great experience living with the host family. From day one they welcomed me into their family and even introduced me to many of their family members from grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles… Literally on day one! (I happened to arrive at a big football game – they love Barcelona football team). Every weekend we would go out to visit different places in Catalonia. We’d normally go for walks together in different areas of the mountains like Matagalls, Montserrat, and even to a country called Andorra to explore the mountains (Pessons Lake) and the city there. They cooked very good food and were super healthy. I adapted to the Spanish diet quickly as it tastes so good. I also didn’t realise that they don’t speak the Spanish language here, it’s Catalan… So, the family were helpful in teaching me basic Catalan language to communicate better with the locals. I’d go out to watch and support the children in their activities such as music concerts (Clarinet), and Padel sports tournaments. The family are very generous and always offer things when we’re out together such as food, ice cream, and drinks. They also gave me a tour of their city and helped me find local places to join for activities such as the gym, sports centres, and language schools. I had such a great time here, and the time went very quickly living with the family. I noticed improvement in their English-speaking skills, and could see the children feeling more confident in themselves at speaking English which was great to see.

I didn’t have many expectations to be honest. I came to Vic city with an open mind as I’ve travelled a lot… Only a couple things where I expected to be teaching big classes and ended up teaching small groups of 6-8 children. But I asked the teachers in the school to help out in their class and managed to lead some big classes following their main English teaching book resources. I was also hoping to learn the Spanish language coming here but the locals try to avoid speaking Spanish due to Political reasons and they’re proud of their language (rightfully so). I didn’t learn much or speak much with the locals. However Educados made it clear about the Catalan language before starting the teaching program so I did know in advance they didn’t speak Spanish.

I have gained more confidence and insight in teaching during this program. I wanted to do the program to know if teaching was for me, and I have enjoyed it and would like to try and continue teaching when I’ve finished. I realised through being a fitness coach in the past that it can have some small similarities to teaching English. For example, kids love to move, and be entertained. So involving some sport or dance gets the kids excited to learn the English language and they pick it up quickly because of this. I ended up learning my own style of teaching that the teachers have noticed and enjoy this concept, seeing the kids playing and speaking English (mostly outside in the sun).

I found when I joined local clubs, I would meet many people and they’re always friendly and curious about you as it’s unusual to meet English speakers here in Vic. They invite you out to things, like dance socials, grabbing a drink/food, and other activities. Also, if they’re younger (in their 20’s) they have a good level of English and like to practice with you! It is also nice to put the effort in speaking a little Catalan. I find that even when I went to the bigger cities like Barcelona/Girona and spoke Catalan the locals would be more helpful and happy to help you, as they’re not used to hearing tourists speak Catalan and appreciate it. Of course, I recommend spending a lot of time with the family. They want you there to learn English and about your culture. And they like to show you and give you a tour of Catalan whether it’s in the mountains, or on the beaches. They’re proud of where they’re from and like to share this with you. It’s also nice to cook them a traditional meal from your country or to make a drink. I made them a roast dinner, and elderflower drinks to give them a taste of British culture. And making an effort to play with the kids and show interest in them is important. I felt like I may have not made as much effort as I could have and wish I did things a bit differently with them. Which is a shame. Hopefully I’m mistaken about this assumption.

My biggest advice is to make friends with the teachers, even if they can’t speak much English. They respect this, small things like going to grab a coffee during their lunch break at a local cafe, every Friday the teachers like to grab a drink to celebrate the weekend. These examples are a nice way to spend time with them and show interest outside of school hours. By doing this the teachers will more likely help you out when needed. For example, I wanted to find a volleyball club/bachata dance class… and the teachers would advise you where to go and what to do… I was thinking of staying in Vic and had a couple teachers offer accommodation… These things are useful and come in handy when you spend time with them. As well as this I’d recommend asking the school for the English learning books, as this gives you an idea of what the children are learning and what level of English they speak. The school had lent me a laptop so you wouldn’t need to worry to bring your own unless it felt necessary. Neus my tutor in the school is very helpful in the school, she takes care of myself and of the past volunteers and is always there to help out, and stays in touch with your host family, and gives advise about Vic city and the school. The school here is very big! Around 1,600 students I believe. It’s one of the biggest towns/schools here with the Educados placements. Which is perfect for myself. The other volunteers were living in smaller towns. Many of the children will shout your name, give you high fives, hugs, and love a lot of attention. It can be a little overwhelming but it’s really nice and shows that the children are happy to have you here at the school. My placement was at the end of the school year in the summertime. I’d recommend trying to take the kids outside to get some fresh air and cool in the shade whilst learning as it gets very hot for them in the classrooms as there’s no fans, or air conditioning. The kids will really appreciate this and can make learning more fun for them.

The host family are just as nervous about meeting you as you are. When you both realise this, you strangely start to feel comfortable with each other. I’d recommend a small gift or something to give to the children. They all love Barcelona football club here in Vic so it’s a safe bet to buy a gift relating to this. The kids can be shy at first but they will come out of their shell soon. And the parents normally have a good level of English so communicating shouldn’t be a problem. Simon the founder of Educados is very good at finding and choosing the best families to suit your interests/personality. My family is active like myself so we had a good interest when it came to fitness like hiking, and cycling. And the family are proud of where they live and like to show off all the amazing places and sights to see in Catalonia. They take you to places, and recommend places you wouldn’t even know about as a visitor, so you get to see some great hidden gems of the area only locals would know. Again about the language, the families understand Spanish in general but prefer to speak in Catalan and like to teach you the basics of their language, and for you to show interest in it. Every weekend the family likes to at least take you out on one of the days for a day trip and activity. You will find it easy to fill up time with so much to do. Normally you’d finish school at 1pm so you have a good 4-5 hours to yourself, and is good for preparing your school work. But as soon as the family are home you will have plenty to do and they always show interest in you and want to know about your day.

It was really fun meeting the students at first. They’re so excited to see you and when you come to their class to teach, they’re so excited and beg to be chosen to teach them in your small teaching groups. You feel like a celebrity in the school and they even say hello to you when walking around in the town outside of school. I related my name to a famous footballer called Kylian Mbappe, from that day on I was called ‘Kylian Mbappe’ but I loved it and found it entertaining, especially as he plays for their rival city Real Madrid. I joined teachers for a drink on Fridays which was fun and got to meet other teachers from the secondary school (I taught Primary). And I even joined an Air Yoga class with the teachers which was a new, fun experience. The family were so nice and welcoming and would be respectful of you as I hope I was with them. We’d always do something together and do things on the weekend. My best memories with them are the trips to the mountains. As I’m near the end of the trip I’m really starting to appreciate the beauty of this place as I don’t get to see this at home. And I requested one weekend to see Andorra and they were more than happy to take me and it was such an amazing day! It was always really lovely to meet their family and spend time with them. They’re interested in learning and speaking English to. I really enjoyed meeting the other teaching volunteers in Barcelona and we got on so well we met again in Girona city, and would even meet the odd one or two of them as they lived near to my city. I wanted to meet some locals and try some new things/interests here in Vic. So, I joined Bachata classes and ended up going to big dance socials, where I ended up meeting Spanish speakers, like the Latinos. And really enjoyed playing Volleyball as I got to mix with people of my age and they invited me to things and wanted to communicate in English to learn. I’m a city person, so I ended up going to Barcelona a few times to the beach, meeting many people and playing volleyball with the locals. It was really good fun and I was happy putting myself out there to meet new people. The food here is great in Catalan! I fell in love with the Catalan diet, and they’re all naturally great cooks! I spent a lot of time eating a lot of food in the school cafeteria and the teachers found it very funny and amusing. They eat at later times here in Catalan than where I am from, but I adapted quickly to it and would eat late anyway at home.

I don’t have any regrets joining the program. I know I will miss Catalan when I leave as I’ve made many memories and connections here. I would definitely recommend the program to others, even if it’s for the experience of seeing Catalan. It’s a good way to learn about yourself and to know if teaching is for you. It’s better to try a 3 Month teaching program than to commit to a whole year, with uncertainty. I have learnt that I would like to continue my teaching journey and has made me want to experience more places locally around Europe/the world. In the school I’m at they’re open to helping you if needed, but it is expected for you to teach on your own mostly and to use your experience from what you’ve learnt during your TEFL studies. What’s important to the schools is for the children to speak English naturally and through conversation. They learn vocabulary, hear, and see English words every day in school but need to learn to speak it more and use the sentence structures correctly when speaking. I’d focus most activities on speaking when teaching here in Vic. And the kids find it fun to be outside when learning in the summertime with some sort of activity like sports whilst learning English. You’ll need to be open to adaptation as life is different from home. Such as eating times, school finishing times, food, culture, mentality… But it is all positive and it starts to make sense why it’s different due to the climate and weather here. Also, language, it’s so different to Spanish, it’s not a dialect, it’s very different! I know basic Spanish and it’s not the same. So be aware that you won’t learn much Spanish here. The locals all speak Catalan, and some would prefer to speak English over Spanish due to political reasons, and because they want to grow their language as it’s quite small. Some people view Catalan as its own country and don’t want any relation to Spain.