My First Month at Salvador Allende – By Amy Baker

My name is Amy and I am the English language assistant at Salvador Allende this year. I received a very warm welcome from all the staff and pupils and have really enjoyed my first month here. I am working with years 4, 5 and 6 in English, Natural Science and Social Science lessons, and I am very impressed with the children’s level of English. In my first lesson with each class, I gave a presentation about myself and about my city, Newcastle Upon Tyne, which is in the north of England. Then, we played a game with the children to see what they had remembered about my presentation. Their understanding and memory were fantastic. Personally, I really enjoyed the classes and I think that they did too!

Also, I asked them to work in teams to write down things about me. Below are some examples of their work:

In my other classes, I generally help out with the children’s pronunciation, by reading out texts and talking with them. I am very pleased with their participation and willingness to have a go. I know from my own experience that learning languages is all about having a go and learning from your mistakes, so I´m very glad that they are not shy about speaking English.

Another highlight of my first month here was Halloween. To celebrate, the children did many different Halloween-related activities. On the Tuesday, I gave a presentation about how we celebrate Halloween in England to each class in the school. Afterwards, I asked questions to check their understanding. Also, on the Friday, the whole school dressed up and paraded around the playground singing Halloween songs in English. I really enjoyed seeing them all having fun and enjoying this celebration.