After a particularly bad day working in a café at home in Scotland, I drove home and googled ‘opportunities to live and work abroad’ – and basically, that’s the long story short of how I ended up as an English Language Assistant with Meddeas.
I’m from a very small village in Scotland, which I absolutely love. The landscapes and, of course, my friends, family, and beloved dogs make it home for me. However, as I grew up and watched my friends, co-workers, and people I had once played with in the playground become real-life adults with real-life responsibilities, I realised that my own path would look a little different. Although I had graduated from university, I wasn’t ready to settle into a long-term career without first exploring other opportunities and gaining experience beyond Scotland. Whilst goals such as buying a home, getting married, or starting a family are things I may aspire to in the future, I knew I wanted to spend this stage of my life discovering new places, developing personally and professionally, and broadening my perspective before making those long-term commitments. So, I left Scotland for what I thought would be six months.
I’m now in my second year of the program and can confidently say that moving to Spain and becoming a Language Assistant was one of the best decisions that I’ve made. Of course, it comes with its challenges, but I would repeat the hard times any day for the life that I live now.
I chose to stick with the same school in a small city called Manresa outside of Barcelona. It’s a great school, and I felt that after 6 months, I had just found my place in the city, so I made the choice to renew with Meddeas and return. My placement includes 24 hours a week with ESO and Bachillerato students, which is so much fun and only intimidating sometimes… The students visit me in groups of 2-5, and we have a conversation for about 20 minutes, which consists of me encouraging them to do a relatable task to their class topic.
Before I came to Spain, I thought, “How on earth do I teach a teenager English?” And then, during my first few weeks in Spain, I thought, “How on earth do I teach a teenager English, who already speaks fluent English?!” I really did not have that much experience with kids, and especially teaching them. It took me a while to adapt my lesson plans to each class, but eventually I became capable of teaching the basics to those who needed it and guiding the other kids to improve their English. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity that Meddeas provided, and I would truly recommend that anyone who is considering it take the leap and apply for the program. Teaching abroad has given me a great space to grow, and every other Language Assistant I know would agree.
Author: Kendra C.