Interested in applying for the 2 week Primary Teachers’ Project but want find out more?

We interviewed 5 teachers from Enfield, North London who took part in a project in Spain. Here’s what they had to say...

What were the benefits of taking part?

Anushka Sonpal is the languages coordinator at Bush Hill Park Primary School. She went to Mallorca in October 2007:

There were so many benefits for me both personally and professionally. Professionally, meeting other teachers was a great opportunity. Spending a lot of time together has also meant that we have become good friends. Having the chance to network and share ideas was really helpful. What’s more, I’ve kept in touch with colleagues since the visit and we continue to support each other with ideas for teaching Spanish.

Yeshim Ahmet is a Year 3 teacher at Bush Hill Park Primary School. She went to Murcia in October 2009:

The language training in the first week meant that I became much more confident teaching Spanish to my class. So the children have really benefitted from the project too.  It was good to put myself back in the position of a learner and experience what children may feel like sometimes in Spanish lessons. As a beginner, I found the language classes demanding but I made huge progress.

What did you gain from the week job shadowing in a primary school?

Anushka:

Having the chance to set up a successful link with a Spanish school was so valuable. Being there and meeting teachers was so much more effective than trying to organise things via email. We have maintained the link really well since the visit. I’ve also developed my ICT skills as the link progresses since we now videoconference with the Spanish school.

Liam Hackwood is a Year 6 teacher at Bush Hill Park Primary School. He went to Murcia in October 2008:

Finding out about a different primary curriculum and school timetable was really interesting. Having the opportunity to be in a new environment really made me reflect on the differences  between the two education systems. Also, the children were really keen to teach me new words and phrases. They really enjoyed teaching an adult and were proud to do so.

What impact has the project had on language teaching in your school?

Anushka:

The project has really raised the profile of Spanish in our school. All the teachers who took part are now more willing to have a go with teaching the new language. There have been other knock on benefits of being involved.

For example, one teacher who went to Spain has also started teaching Turkish to Year 2 because she now feels more confident with language teaching generally.  In addition, given that the link with the Spanish school is working so well, a number of my colleagues are keen to go out and visit the school in the future.

What advice would you give to a potential applicant?

Jan Wilson is the languages coordinator at St Paul’s C of E Primary School:

I would just say go for it. The project offers such a great opportunity to really look around another school and see what daily routines in another country are like. The week in school was the most useful part of the project for me as I already have a French and Spanish degree. Having said that  I did find the language training useful. The classes refreshed my memory on grammatical structures that I don’t often use in my KS2 language lessons.

Many thanks to all the teachers who took part in this interview.