Here is the province of Teruel, which is the most underpopulated in all of Spain. I went for many hikes over open stretches of prairie, up rolling hills and mountains, through black pine forests and around quiet streams. Teruel is known for its pockets of natural beauty and small villages which have all the enchanting rustic Spanish charm one might be looking for. It was here that I lived for nine years and taught in Las Anejas School. You can see a picture of Las Anejas in the picture above.
¡BIENVENIDOS! WELCOME!
Whether you are a parent, fellow educator, student or just interested in teaching practices related to bilingual, ESL and Spanish education, you will find my website full of useful information. It is a place for me to share ideas, examples and lessons that have worked successfully in the classroom. This site is always under construction and your feedback is helpful. Please feel free to leave your comments and ideas.
My teaching adventure started over 10 years ago when I moved to Spain and began to teach for the Ministry of Education and British Council's bilingual project :
http://www.britishcouncil.org/spain/en/bilingual-schools-project-0
The bilingual project started in 1996 when the Ministry of Education and the British Council signed an agreement to introduce and integrated curriculum in Spanish public schools. It began in 43 public elementary schools and is still growing! Some of the aims of the national bilingual project are to promote the acquistion and learning of both languages through a content and language integrated curriculum (CLIL), encourage awareness of the diversity in both cultures and facilitate teacher and student exchanges. Students who are enrolled in a bilingual school start learning English through CLIL at age three and can continue learning English until they are sixteen in the project.
At Las Anejas Bilingual School in Teruel, I had the opportunity to work with every year group of children and just about every type of content, which has helped me immensely in the understanding of language development and learning continuity. I taught CLIL in the areas of Science, Geography, Social Studies, Art, Math, Physical Education and Literacy. It was an exciting endeavor and I learned just as much as the students! I hope you enjoy some of the samples of students' work that I have posted. Here is the blog for the school: http://lasanejasdeteruel.blogspot.com.es/
Here is a message that I wrote for the parents telling them about the important benefits of bilingual education:
Hola padres y alumnos,
Quiero presentarme. Me llamo Holly Green y soy la maestra de educación de inglés y contenido integrado (maestra bilingüe) de vuestros hijos. Estoy muy contenta este año con el nivel de inglés que tienen la mayoría de los niños y que son muy trabajadores. Hemos empezado de buen pie y vamos a seguir así. Os quiero hacer hincapíe de la importancia de aprender otros idiomas desde edades tempranas y sus beneficios:
INTELECTUALES
Los niños bilingües han demonstrado un aumento de las habilidades cognitivas, tienen una mayor flexibilidad mental y aprovechan estas habilidades para entender conceptos más abstractos, matemáticos o lingüísticos.
EDUCATIVAS
Cuando los niños empiezan a aprender otro idioma desde pequeño logran un mayor fluidez y siguen perfeccionándolo lo largo de su vida. Luego, les vienen más fácil aprender otros idiomas en el futuro.
PERSONALES
El niño refuerza su autoestima y valora poder comunicar y relacionarse con un sector de la población más amplio. El niño abre sus vistas a otras personas y se siente más comodo en otras culturas.
SOCIALES
La persona que puede comunicarse y relacionarse en otros idiomas abre la puerta a aprender de otras culturas y sociedades. Tiene mayor flexibilidad y comprensión hacia los demás.
ECONÓMICAS
Hoy en día sabemos la GRAN necesidad saber otros idiomas y la capacidad de hablar y escribir en otro idioma para tener más puertas abiertas al empleo y la movibilidad para buscarlo. Vivimos ahora en un mundo cada vez más globalizado y es imprescindible poder vivir en ello.
Since 2014 I am proud to be an ELD and Spanish teacher at Brooklyn Center Secondary, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
I share my teaching time between my two loves: Spanish and ELD! Students and parents can use this website to access unit practice and resources.