Isabel Martín and Judith Sales, students of the third year of Primary Education of the University CEU Cardenal Herrera in Castellón and Rocío Artero, who already finished the degree of Nursing Studies, are currently completing an ERASMUS-internship London. The three students are all of the opinion that they can learn a lot from this experience, in professional terms as well as in personal terms, and that it will improve their career prospects.
Isabel works as an assistant teacher and gives Spanish lessons as a foreign language course to all the classes of Blessed Dominic Primary School. Judith has the same position at Martin Primary School. Besides assisting the teachers, Judith also works in a Spanish club to help the professors who teach the language. Furthermore, she updates the school’s website together with another fellow student of the University CEU Cardenal Herrera, Vicent Martí. Rocío is also an assistant teacher at St Ann’s Church of England Primary School.
“The experience is more than positive”, affirms Rocío. “The school is treating me well, I feel like being part of them and above all they are helping me with the language in an extraordinary way”, she adds. The student, who has already graduated, is very satisfied with the good relation she has with the children. “Furthermore, I can support the school with many activities and more and more responsibility is passed on to me, which encourages the motivation. The grant is just valid for three months, so the time really flies by.”
Rocío undoubtedly recommends this experience: “Developing in an environment which is not the one you are used to and getting to know new methods and ways of working in the field of education is an enrichment both at a professional and at a personal level”, she concludes.
Isabel, who describes her experience as a “very positive opportunity and an enormous gain despite the initial feeling of nervousness”, shares the same opinion.
“Every day at school is different and certainly not monotonous”, adds the student of the University CEU Cardenal Herrera. “There is no working day like any other and during the classes you are often confronted with problems arising between the pupils. You should help the students solving their problems quickly. That is a task which makes you acquire new habits.”
The most gratifying aspect for Isabel “is to see how my pupils are developing and participating in my classes, how they try to communicate and speak to me in Spanish when they meet me in the corridors. Or to see that they are looking forward to my classes when they ask me on which day I will teach them and it turns out that it will be on this day. Those are the moments in which I realize that the efforts and hours invested in preparing the classes really pay off.” Furthermore, the future teacher explains that ”completing the internship in the United Kingdom, which provides one of the world’s best education systems, is a dream for any student of Education.”
The student also recommends applying for an ERASMUS grant to her fellow students and to “go there with a broad mind and to be ready to tackle the problems arising because good English skills do not necessarily ensure that the experience abroad will be a success.”
For Judith, the internship also means being able to slip into the role of a teacher and “experience how it feels to stand in front of the pupils who want to learn from you.” The student also appreciates the importance of getting to know the differences existing between the Spanish and the British ways of education, “besides learning new methods of teaching.”
Next year, the student wants to apply again for the grant “because this experience has helped me to grow in a professional and personal way. Being away from home for such a long time helps you mature, to appreciate what you have and to be more independent.”
Just like the other girls, Judith also recommends applying for this grant to her fellow students, “because it is a way of learning new teaching techniques, which can be very useful for our future career as teachers. Furthermore, it is great to get to know new cultures, new ways of life and to improve your English skills.”
