Intercambio con Francia

Arranca el intercambio a Francia. ✈️Vuelo Sevilla París esta mañana bien tempranito. ¡A por una semana llena de actividades y experiencias! 🗼🗼🇫🇷🇫🇷 #Bilingualnervión @speiandalucia pic.twitter.com/bmRxRyif0N

— Instituto Nervión (@IESNervion) March 23, 2023

Estancia lingüística en Edimburgo

Nuestros alumnos de 3°de ESO han pasado un sábado estupendo con visitas culturales en Edimburgo, incluida la Catedral y Calton Hill. @speiandalucia @erasmuscepsevi #bilingualnervion pic.twitter.com/X02fR45vdF

— Instituto Nervión (@IESNervion) March 19, 2023

Estancia lingüística en Edimburgo

Hoy comienza la estancia lingüística del alumnado de 3º de ESO en Edimburgo. ¡Mucha suerte en esta semana en Escocia! @nervionbilingue @speiandalucia @erasmuscepsevi pic.twitter.com/WnCDYYD1hI

— Instituto Nervión (@IESNervion) March 17, 2023

NARRATIVE REPORT by Mia Peters

I eagerly awaited my acceptance letter for what seemed like forever when it finally arrived on the most beautiful sunny day in May. At the time, I was just weeks away from finishing my first year as a language assistant in Osuna, a small town about an hour away from the capital of Seville.

I only planned on participating in the program for a year, but I fell so deeply in love with all that Andalusia has to offer and wanted nothing more than to continue my experience in the uniquely beautiful and charming city of Seville.

My experience at IES Nervión has exceeded all of my expectations for my second year as a language assistant. From the very beginning, the students and staff have welcomed me with open arms and made every effort to integrate me in the school’s community. The courses that I assist are varied between subjects and course levels, which was slightly intimidating at first, but the teachers I’ve had the pleasure of working with this year have been so supportive and communicate with me regularly.

The overall level of familiarity and engagement with the English language varies depending on the course level and personal backgrounds of each individual student, but all of the teachers I’ve worked with in the bilingual program have made every effort to ensure that I have the tools to work as effectively as possible with students at all levels.

That is not to say that it is always easy-there are always going to be some days that are more difficult than others as an educator-but even on the days that I find it hardest to engage with my students and maintain their interest, I never feel unsupported. Another thing that I’ve loved about my experience at IES Nervión is how deeply involved I am with the school’s community.

The students and staff at the institute truly embody the beauty of Spanish culture and kindness and have extended to me the warmest of welcomes even prior to my arrival to Seville. I have also been invited on many field trips through which I have been exposed to the immense wonders of Andalusian art, history, and landscapes, but while the school community gives me every opportunity to develop my appreciation for their home, they also express a profound interest in and appreciation for mine.

In the coming months, we will be celebrating “New York Day” at the school, in which I get to share the very many aspects of my culture that I’ve missed so dearly with my students and coworkers here. I love that I have been given the resources to recreate a piece of my home in the States thousands of miles away in Seville and that the school community shares in my excitement. Once you overcome the stress of the visa/renewal process and finding a flat, the worst part of your time participating in the language assistant program is over.

I am so grateful for the kindness and warmth that I’ve received during my time at IES Nervión and while I dread the end of my second and final year in Andalusia, I am glad that someone else is going to have the opportunity to experience everything I’ve loved about my time here. To IES Nervión’s next language assistant: enjoy every second and take every opportunity you can to fall in love with the school and the beauty of the city it’s in. Most importantly, have fun! I know you will.

KARAOKE de recreo

Hoy ha comenzado el Karaoke en el Recreo de la mano de nuestro auxiliar filipino Bim Sagun "Sing, Listen, Watch and Have Fun". En el aula de Música, todos los días de 11:15 a 11:45h @speiandalucia @education_spain
#bilingualnervion pic.twitter.com/pyBMaxKOHI

— Instituto Nervión (@IESNervion) March 15, 2023

NARRATIVE REPORT by Bim Sagun

 It has been an incredibly fulfilling experience to be an auxiliar de conversación in IES Nervión. From the moment I arrived, both students and teachers have shown their welcome and appreciation for me.

 One of the most rewarding aspects of being an auxiliar is the opportunity to work closely with everyone in the school community to help students develop their language skills in a meaningful way. I have made a handful of subject-specific presentations and activities (CLIL), but activities rooted in my Filipino culture made lasting impressions.

 As a Filipino auxiliar who is an authentic resource of Philippine English for IES Nervión, I have drawn from my multicultural background to promote students’ understanding of both the English language and aspects of Filipino culture. To reify the auxiliares’ dual role of being language learning resources and cultural ambassadors.

Here are some of the activities I have organized for IES Nervión:

 Nervión Berde

I proposed Nervión Berde as an activity in consonance with 1º ESO students' celebration of the International Day of Languages on 10 November. It was supposed to be an interdisciplinary activity for their Geografía e Historia, Biología y Geología, and Inglés classes. It took a turn for the better when the school accepted the proposal and expanded the scope of the activity to include all students and submissions in Spanish and French as well.

Students had to submit poems following the stylistic features of an ambahan—a poetic form indigenous to the Hanunuo Mangyans of Mindoro— that is, comprising seven-syllable lines, mono-rhyme scheme, and figures of speech describing the interplay between man and nature.

 

Nervión Berde poster

 

 One of the three cork boards filled with the students’ ambahans

 Parol-Making

As the Christmas season began to approach, Mamen, the bilingual coordinator, inquired if the Philippines had any distinct Christmas tradition that the students can do. I told her that it's customary to put up parols outside houses as decorations. I thought it would be a fun hands-on activity for students to create their own parol from recycled materials.

 

2º ESO C students gluing bottle caps along the cut-out base of a bottle

where the arms of the star will be attached

 

Empty plastic bottles being filled with torn and scrunched scratch paper

Finished parol decorating the door to the classroom

Oral History Project

Karaoke de Recreo

Because karaoke is a culturally important pastime in the Philippines, where it is frequently enjoyed at social gatherings, family reunions, and even in public places, I thought about how I could share it with everyone at school.

 I took the chance to propose having karaoke during the students’ break (recreo)—hence, karaoke de recreo—to avoid disrupting classes. The activity encourages students to sing English songs to make the process of learning English engaging.

Graduation Song

Ideally, 4º ESO students sing this during their graduation as homage to their parents and teachers. It also serves as a showcase for the school to establish itself firmly as a bilingual institution and successful partner of the Auxiliar de Conversación program in not just improving the students' English language skills but in promoting cultural exchange.