EOI (English Outside hIghschool)

Hello, everyone!

I have decided to write this post in English because, at long last, I have found something related to Didáctica das linguas that I wanted to talk about.

I've been thinking hard since we first created our blogs to find something useful or mildly interesting to write. Having no experience in teaching, I found it a little hard. So, what I offer you is the conclusions I have reached as a student.

When I think about my English learning, I never really link it to high school. I had really, really good luck that my parents insisted on me going to the EOI (Escola Oficial de Idiomas) when I was about 14 (3º ESO). I will never be able to thank them enough, I assure you. I spent three years there, and I think I can say that's where I really started learning and loving English.

But you know what's curious? When I try to think about the teachers, I only remember them vaguely. How is this possible? How can't I remember those lessons more clearly?

I'll tell you why. I don't mean to diminish the teachers' work, of course. They also did a really great job using the tools they had available. But I believe it was the environment what really worked for me. I remember almost all of my classmates, because they made the lessons going, they made them dinamic. There was always someone ready to raise their hands and answer or offer themselves as volunteers. That allowed me to forget all my nerves and fear and become one them too. I have always been shy and insecure, especially when it comes to speaking in front of people. And at that age, when everything becomes greater and scarier...well, you can imagine. I had never had the opportunity to exploit my knowledge like that.

Another thing I remember perfectly well is the English assisstant we had in the second year. For me, that was the beginning of a whole new world. I had never met a foreigner, I had never heard a real English person speaking. It may seem a small thing, but in that moment, everything he taught us about the culture, the places and the people was a huge breakthrough. That was the moment I decided I had to travel to England, come what may.

You might be wondering, why this post, then, if you're not talking about the teachers? It's because I have realised how vast the teaching world is. As my classmate Andrea said on one of her posts, every detail counts. You have to think about every student in a particular way, but also as a whole. How are we supposed to do that?

I don't mean to compare the EOI with highschool. I am aware that they are completely different realities. But I do think we can adapt some methods or little tricks to try and reduce the gap between them. Here are my conclusions about the experiences I've told you about:

• Even though we will most probably not have the opportunity to have an English assisstant, I think we can encourage our students by telling them our experience in foreign countries. We can even show them pictures of monuments we took ourselves. It really makes a difference, because they can find pictures of the Big Ben on the internet, but they have nobody to tell them what they felt when they were walking through the bridge and admiring that awesome and enourmous tower. I think it's a huge advantage that we're missing. Of course, this is much more difficult if we haven't been abroad, but surely we know someone who has or someone who is living in a foreign country, so we could make the most out of it.
• Every person is different, and we behave differently depending on where we are and with whom. In our class, we should not only try, but fight to create an environment where everyone can talk without being made fun of, or known as the 'teacher's pet'. We should take a little time to know our students, asking them about their interests and even worries, and then going for that. Once you have a topic that really thrills them, they will participate, even if they don't want to. I think they will want to talk about themselves and their experience. And if you have that atmosphere, those who are almost always quiet will participate too. I know it's a difficult task, but I assure you it's worth a try.

I hope I have contributed something interesting and useful! And remember, never underestimate the power of your own exprience.

See you soon!