Since graduating from my bachelor’s degree in English Language with Creative Writing, I have gained various work experiences teaching English to teenagers in camps, schools and academies across Spain. I have taught in two Spanish secondary schools, in which I led spoken English classes, marked and assessed the spoken English exams, and attended after school English classes. I also prepared students for their Cambridge English examinations and worked on achieving their yearly targets to get into university.
I have also worked as a camp counsellor in Spanish summer camps, where I ran free-choice activities such as dance classes, musical productions like ‘Mamma Mia’, and creative writing workshops, which included poetry writing and dramatic reading. I also worked at a rock-climbing adventure camp for five months which was really fun! There I taught English classes in the mornings and took part in adventurous activities in the afternoons. These included: rock climbing, bouldering, caving and zip-wiring.
Before recently embarking on my PGCE (postgraduate teacher training course), I achieved a master’s degree in Intercultural Communication and graduated with a 2:1 in 2016. This course gave me an insight into intercultural studies and ethnographical approaches, whilst providing me with the love for literary classics after undertaking a module in film translations of literary classics. Furthermore, it developed my interpersonal and organisational skills and gave me more confidence in presenting to a wider audience.
During my teacher training course to become a secondary teacher, I also successfully completed two master’s modules on planning for progression and supporting individuals. For the first one, I created a scheme of work with the aims of building on students’ understanding of poetic techniques and developing their ability to analyse and interpret how these techniques contributed to meaning. For the latter, I presented strategies to support those individuals with dyslexia in the classroom.
In my role as a secondary English language and literature teacher, I was responsible for the delivery of English lessons throughout KS3 and KS4 (ages 11-16) in my school in England. I had two full-time GCSE groups, which were challenging yet highly rewarding, especially on results day in August. However, the most rewarding part was when my year 11 students were preparing for their exams and they were thrilled when they could remember and analyse quotes from books they found ‘boring’ at the beginning of the year. Also, I created schemes of work such as: Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Orwell's Animal Farm and representations in the media.
Voluntary experiences have proven to be some of my best experiences, from volunteering at Tapton School in Sheffield, to assisting with a French resilience trip, and teaching in China! During these experiences, I got to lead English classes, go on a 20km bike ride, abseil the whole of the Ardeche, debate and discuss topics including gender inequality and global perspectives, run a poetry club, and take part in talent shows (which I contributed in with a skipping routine!)
All of my experiences have exposed me to new types of people and different ways of living. I have always imagined helping others the best I can and with the teaching skills and experiences I have gained, I feel I can help share my passion for the English language!