One of the unexpected joys of my placement is getting to fall in love with literature again. I loved English lit in high school, but never got the chance to study it in college, so it was definitely something I was missing. I think one of the benefits of secondary school students is that they can use English to describe more complicated topics, and that really expands the things you can do with them. For example, in my 4th of ESO classes, we are reading The Importance of Being Earnest together, and I really enjoy getting to have discussions about themes like marriage and social class with them. It’s a play, so it’s very fun when the students fully commit to acting out their assigned lines. Because it’s a satire, the more dramatic the better, and I always enjoy it when they deliver. I also just finished my The Great Gatsby reread, so I am all caught up with my International Baccalaureate students. Preparing questions for mock internal assessments on the book is one of my favorite parts of the job. I love seeing the way that reading literature expands their understanding of the language and the myriad of ways that they can use it.
Even when my students aren’t reading a full text, we often discuss English language writers. My 1st Bachillerato classes are currently working on presentations about different literary works and periods, and I have been so impressed by the depths of research and their ability to pretty much memorize entire presentations in their second language. I also discovered that many of them were hiding some serious artistic talent, and some of the posters they have made are very impressive.
One of the most interesting aspects of this is seeing how researching one book or author can open one’s eyes to an entire movement or historical period. One of my favorite presentations was about Langston Hughes, and the students gave a really detailed summary of the Great Migration, and I love that they got to learn some American history through such a unique lens.
Even with some of my younger students, where the conversations might be less complex, exploring literature is always fun. If only because I get to remind my thirteen-year-olds that they are the same age as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and as such, forbid them from marrying someone and killing themselves all within the span of five days. Fortunately, they agreed not to do anything of the kind. Thank god. I didn’t expect my placement to rekindle my love of classic literature, but one of the great things about being a Language Assistant is being pleasantly surprised along the way.
Author: Mary W.