LBST 390 – My first tutorial self-submission

 

 

Bianca Paun

Tutorial 1 – LBST 390 – 08

Adviser Josema Zamorano, Spanish teacher

Faculty of School of Humanities

 

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS IN CATALONIA/SPAIN: MY EXPERIENCE AS AN ESL INSTRUCTOR

I have always been interested in sports, education, travel, and languages. In 2013, I graduated from Human Kinetics and I decided to continue my educational journey choosing a multi-disciplinary degree. The liberal studies program was the perfect fit for me. This program gave me the opportunity to make meaningful connections between my areas of interest.

Between 2015 and 2017, I was given the opportunity to be an ESL instructor in an elementary school in Spain. The timing of this chance matched up perfectly with the timing of my tutorials and graduation project. As my interest of exploring a multi faced topic, which comprised sports, education, travel, and languages, I found that writing about the similarities and differences between educational systems in Spain and Canada, was a perfect fit as the subject of my graduation project. So, I chose for my graduation project to explore and compare the Spanish and Canadian education systems focusing on bilingualism and physical education.

This tutorial was a complex and multi disciplinary experience focusing on how Spain embraced the English language and why Spaniards are interested in learning English. Furthermore, my tutorial outlines the educational context, and foreign language policy in Spain, particularly in Catalonia within the school I worked at, and the nature of my visit.

Additionally the tutorial summarises the educational approach of teaching English within other academic subject areas, and some of the successes and challenges of teaching through English as experienced at the school level.

One of the unanticipated learning outcomes of this tutorial was gaining awareness that languages are not treated equally in society and the understanding of the aspect that English is a powerful language and that English speakers have an advantage in society and in the world at large. Additionally, I became fully aware that the interest and the political decision of the Spanish government to choose English as a second language in the schools curricula is linked to the educational and employability advantages that English speakers have in the world.

The research methods I used for this tutorial such as : direct observation and surveys were suitable and provided me with a better understanding of the Spanish bilingualism and of the reason of Spanish peoples interest in learning English.

This tutorial preambles the upcoming tutorials in which I will further explore the education system and the methods of learning a second language in Spanish and Canadian schools, and the role of physical education in learning a foreign language. The present and forthcoming tutorials will help me shape the comparison of the Spanish and Canadian education system, with a focus on foreign languages and physical education.

 

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor, Professor Josema Zamorano for his guidance, encouragement and continuous support through the course of shaping this tutorial. The extensive knowledge, vision, and creative thinking of Professor Zamorano have been the source of inspiration for me throughout this tutorial.