Teaching English at a Spanish Primary School: My Advice After Three Months
As an auxiliar de conversación, I teach English first, second, and third grade students in a primary school in Andalucía. My school is a bilingual school, so each of the academic subjects are taught first in Spanish and later reinforced in English. As a result, I do not teach traditional English language classes, but rather I assist the main classroom teachers in natural sciences, social sciences, music, and physical education. This job is very fun and rewarding, but it also requires a little bit of preparation and lesson planning.
Looking for complete lesson plans for teaching English to elementary school students? I keep a running list of my lesson plans here. Feel free to download these presentations and use them with your students!
After three months of experience, here are my top tips for assistant teaching English to first, second, and third grade classes in a primary school in Spain.
1. For auxiliares: Communicate with the main classroom teachers.
Though our schedules vary, auxiliares de conversación generally rotate between classes, meaning it is likely for us to work with multiple teachers throughout the week. It is important to establish and maintain good communication with the main teachers of these classes, as they can give you information on the lesson plans and subjects you should prepare each week.
Ask the teachers at your school if they would like your email or WhatsApp information so that you can stay in touch outside of the classroom. I find it super helpful to message the teachers a few days before class so that I can prepare some activities relevant to their current lessons.
2. Sing songs!
Singing songs is an excellent way to reinforce English vocabulary words. Songs are especially important for the younger students who are very much still learning how to read and write. For my first, second, and third grade classes, I find songs to be one of the best ways to engage with the students. When I start singing a song or playing some music, my students start to perk up and get excited.
How do you find songs that include the English vocabulary words the students are studying? Great question! Fortunately, the internet has bountiful resources for English language songs for kids. Especially if you’re working with young primary school students, you should be able to find songs online for many of the subjects they’ll be studying. In particular, YouTube has tons of songs to help teach English to kids.
If you can’t find a song with the exact English vocabulary words you need, you can always make up a song, too! For instance, I used the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to create several short songs with parts of the body vocabulary words. You might feel a little silly, but that’s what teaching these ages is all about!
Click the button below to see the list of English songs I’ve used with my Spanish elementary schoolers!
3. Play games!
Who doesn’t love games? Play lots of games with your students to keep them engaged. They don’t have to be complex, and you can play the same game over and over, and the kids will still love it. Just think of ways to incorporate the English vocabulary words being studied. For example, Simon Says is a great game to quiz students on the English names of body parts.
For finding games, the internet will be your friend. Lots of teachers have created interactive activities for teaching English and shared them online. No need to reinvent the wheel here. Use what works. Some popular websites include wordwall.net, quizziz, and kahoot.it, but many teachers have shared their material on their blogs, too.
Click the button below to see the list of English games I’ve played first, second, and third graders in Spain!
4. Ask for help from other English teachers.
As I said, many have taught English to Spanish speakers before you, so there are countless resources out there to help you. If you can’t find a particular topic you’re looking for, ask other English teachers for help!
Consult Facebook groups and subreddits that focus on teaching English and sharing lesson plans. In particular, I received support from the Auxiliares Lesson Planning Madrid- Primaria, Infantil Facebook group.
5. Have fun!
Your students ought to have fun and so should you! The kids will be excited to see a new person in their school and classrooms, and you will get to be the fun teacher who lets them play games and sing songs. Enjoy the work, and they will, too!
