First impressions from Kieran Lobo

 It's been a month since I started working as an auxiliar at IES Itaca. My initial impressions of the school have been generally positive — all teachers and have been welcoming and have made it a point to introduce themselves to me. 

I currently assist the English, History & Geography, and Physical Education classes. I have the freedom to design some aspects of the curriculum and implement my own ideas. The teachers make sure I interact well with the students, as they realize the importance of the kids listening and learning from a native speaker. The bilingual coordinator has also been very helpful with all the administrative work. 

The students — especially 1º eso and 2º eso — were quite excited by the new auxiliar and always try to have a conversation with me. I particularly enjoy the English classes, as I have the most freedom to decide what the students do and can implement a variety of activities.

Zach's First Impressions

 First Impressions of IES Itaca. How I feel about my time here after 4 months 

My first impression of IES Itaca was that everyone was very welcoming, kind, and full of energy. I was impressed by Itaca in many ways. I was impressed with how they integrated technology into the curriculum. I imagine this transition from textbooks to ebooks and e-learning has been difficult for other schools, especially if they were influenced to make a change due to the pandemic. But IES Itaca seems well integrated already and the students already have a comfortability with the system. The students and the teachers communicate and exchange homework via google classroom and the students already understand how to find and use resources online to complete tasks and find information. I believe this curriculum will greatly benefit the students as education moves more digital in the coming years.

The students are generally very nice and respectful to me. The teachers in the English program have a very high level, which is not something I experienced at my last school. The teachers and I have a great relationship at school and I always feel like my input is respected and valued. One downside to the school, in general, is its lack of adequate facilities. There are not enough classes for the number of students and for a school that relies primarily on wifi and technology to function, often the wifi is down and the computers and projectors are not working. All in all, I am very happy with my experience at IES Itaca this year.

This is me, Zach

This is me, Zach!

Hi, my name is Zach. I am 24 years old. I'm originally from Sacramento, California in the United States. I have been living and working in Spain for the program Auxiliares de Conversación for a year and a half. I enjoy traveling and learning languages. Working as an English assistant in Spain has been a fantastic opportunity for me to grow and learn about the world beyond the United States. In my free time, I like to try new activities with friends or strangers. I enjoy eating good food, sightseeing, or playing any kind of outdoor sports. Although I received my undergraduate degree in Sociology, I have become more interested in education and teaching since I moved to Spain. I believe teachers can have a big impact when they care and are passionate about their work. 

Catherine Louise Deans

 The course 2021-2022 was Catherine Louise Deans' year as our auxiliar. She came from the other side of the globe, from Australia, from Melbourne, Victoria State. She spent only 5 months with us because the year 2022 was a complex one.

We had been assigned 2 other auxiliares to come into our IES ïtaca in October but they both renounced during the summer and in September, (I won't write here their names, but one was American and the other one was British) And surprisingly and luckily, in January we welcomed Cate. She did her best in spite of paperwork, homesickness, and some loneliness. And she was always ready for a good conversation with anyone willing to chat. She left Spain to continue knowing about the European culture, Sweden, France, ...

Do dogs say "guau" in English? or Animal Onomatopoeias

Do dogs say "guau" in English?

A funny question that I have sometimes heard from the youngest students is “Do dogs say ‘Guau’ in English?”, or “How do dogs bark in English?”. It may sound naive or childish but it is not so stupid to make that question as most people think. And of course the answer is NO, dogs don't say "guau" in English

To begin with let me show you this illustration that provides the onomatopoeia used in many languages of the sound dogs make. This will show you that we are dealing with a cultural aspect radically different from one language to another.

It is funny to notice the amount of onomatopoeias that there are in English. There are lots of words that imitate sounds and whose meanings are related to the sounds they evoke. Crash, crack, splash, zip, twank, boo, flip, knock, hiss, jingle, twinkle, boom, … and many more, are good examples

When it comes to animal sounds, and in spite of a few similarities, it is funny to notice how different animals sound in English, that is, how different the word used to reproduce the sound of an animal in English is from the one used in Spanish. This is a very interesting cultural aspect.

If a cow says “moo” in English, what does she say in Spanish? Mu, of course. But when we’re talking about sounds that animals make, it isn’t always that simple.

That shouldn’t be surprising — after all, in English words such as “bark,” “bow-wow,” “ruff-ruff” and “arf” are used to imitate the sound of a dog.

The following list shows the sounds made by various “Spanish-speaking” animals and the equivalent word or sound used by the “English-speaking” animals.

• abeja(bee):bzzz (zumbar)— buzz

• búho(owl):uu uu (ulular)— who, hoo, hoot

• burro(donkey):iii-aah (rebuznar)— heehaw

• caballo(horse):jiiiiiii, iiiiou (relinchar)— neigh, n-a-a-a-y

• cabra(goat):bee bee (balar)—baa, b-a-a-a-a

• cerdo(pig):oink-oink, oinc-oinc (gruñir)— oink

• gallina(hen):coc co co coc (cacarear), kara-kara-kara-kara— cluck

• gallo(rooster):kikirikí, ki-kiri-ki (cantar)— cock-a-doodle-doo

• gato(cat):miau (maullar)— meow

• león(lion):grrrr, grgrgr (rugir)— roar, growl

• oveja(sheep):bee, mee (balar)— baa, b-a-a-a-h

• paloma(dove):cu-curru-cu-cú (arrullar))— coo

• pato(duck):cuac cuac— quack

• pavo(turkey):gluglú— gobble

• perro(dog):guau guau, guau (ladrar)— bark, bow-wow, arf, ruff

• pollito(chick):pío pío— chirp, tweet (That’s why Tweety is Piolín in Spanish)

• rana(frog):cruá cruá, berp, croac (croar)— ribbit, croak

• vaca(cow):mu, muuu (mugir)— moo

• 

 LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS OR AUXILIARES DE CONVERSACIÓN

Every year we are assigned one or two language assistants or auxiliares de conversación that come to our schools to provide a Native speaker model of the English pronunciation. They are only assigned 12 hours of classes with our teachers of the bilingual program but their presence is quite obvious and we hope that their contribution help our students improve their oral skills. 

Our working atmosphere is great and we always hope that they feel comfortable and integrated in our teaching staff and in our school by extension.

This year we have been asked to fill in this Information Sheet for Language Assistant which is aimed at providing a basic information of our school and the town so that they can think better what school they will work in and the town where it is. Obviously beyond the information included there I encourage them to contact the school to ask for any information they might need to have. 

We all desire that they feel comfortable with us and they have some positive influence or impact in our school and students.