Teaching English here is fun!
About English Opens Doors program
We started preparing to apply for the English Opens Doors program in Sep, 2015. And from then on, the NVC team (National Volunteer Centre which handles all the processes related to the program) has been just amazing — so prompt in replying to our emails, always helpful and so diligent in inquiring about our visa applications. The first week after we arrived in Chile was to be spent in Santiago for the orientation, which introduced us to Chilean culture and prepared us to be good English teachers. All this work done by a 5 member NVC team — happy to be part of such a public initiative.
First day at Pedro Leon Gallo school
It was the day for my welcome at the school. I entered and was clueless about where to go. Suddenly, there came a teacher who pointed at me and said — ‘de la India’ :) There were decorations in the school where they made a Taj Mahal and stuck pictures of girls doing kathak. Then, there was an assembly where the whole school was present. The students and teachers danced and sang along in the celebration. At the end of this day, there was another gathering — this time only with the teachers where they welcomed me and had pastries, crackers and soft drinks. At the end of the day, I was definitely overwhelmed.
Everyday at school
Here in chile, English is a second language for the students — so they have only 2–3 hours of English in the whole week. And this makes me teach ~300 students. So, in the morning when I enter the school, it feels like you pass the school gate and there is this whole different world inside. I know almost all the students at school — so everyone is smiling and saying hello. Even in their recreation breaks, I walk around and all the kids are doing high 5 or chit-chatting. There is a conversation gap with everyone, due to the language — but everyone tries.
In the classroom
We have fun learning English in the classroom. As taught by the NVC team, each of my classes must include pedagogical games and yes, kids enjoy that! There is a classroom management system where-in all the classes are competing to get a party at the semester end — I have a long chart representing each class by a horse. And there are more real-time awards like chocolates and stars on their name-cards!
Overall — going good so far…
