Blog 13: Post Travel

This study abroad trip to Costa Rica gave me something that I could never get just sitting in the college classroom. It gave me confidence. It gave me confidence in myself and in my future teaching. The reason I say that it gave me confidence in myself is because I normally do not step outside my comfort zone and I found a way to do this almost everyday I was in Costa Rica. One of my goals of the trip was to step outside my comfort zone and I can say proudly that I did accomplish my goal. Living with people who were strangers to me and they also spoke another language really scared me, but it turned out to be an amazing experience. I got to meet two wonderful families who cared for me as if I was one of their own children. Trying to speak to them in a language other than my native language was out of my comfort zone, but after a couple days I felt comfortable and tried my hardest to make it work. When it didn’t work we found other means of communication such as hand gestures, pictures, or we used our resources such as the Spanish English dictionary.

In addition to gaining confidence within myself, I gained confidence as a future teacher. Another goal that I had for this trip was to learn what it is like to be in the shoes of my ELL students and learn strategies to help them in my future classroom. Living with my tico families, going to CPI, going to the elementary schools, and just living day to day in Costa Rica really helped me understand what it would be like to be in the shoes of my ELL students. Throughout my study abroad trip I learned strategies that I used myself and also strategies that my peers learned from our own experiences that I can use with my future students.

I learned not to make things easier for my ELL students, such as do not use their native language to help them because in the long run that will not help them. When I lived with my first tico family my papa tico spoke very good English so if I did not know how to say what I wanted to say in Spanish then I would say it in English. In my second tico family my parents did not speak barely any English, which forced me to use my Spanish and so my Spanish got better. I will not try and make it easier for my students or push them to do their best because they will learn more in the long run if they really try and need to use their English.

More strategies that I learned were to use pictures to help my students understand concepts or the language better, use resources (Spanish to English or English to Spanish dictionaries), use games, and use hand gestures. These are many things that helped me learn and speak Spanish when I was Costa Rica. Other things I learned on this trip from my own experiences were to let my future students work through things and not just correct them right away. I also learned that I need to make sure my students truly understand what I am teaching them and they are not just saying they understand so we can move on. I caught myself saying yes (si) to many things people were saying to me because I actually did not understand what they were saying, but I did not want them to know that. I also learned that I need to make sure my classroom is a comfortable environment because that makes my students feel comfortable and able to learn. I felt comfortable in my second tico home so I was not afraid to attempt to use my Spanish and be wrong or make a mistake. Their hospitality was great and we built amazing relationship and trust and that is something I know I need in my classroom with my future students.

In my future classroom, I am going to incorporate all the cultures of my students because I want them to know that their culture is important to me and the other students in the classroom too. I want my ELL students to teach the other students some words, topics, and things about their culture so that they understand that we all are different, but we are all also so similar. Whenever my tico parents would ask me how to say something in English it made me feel good that I could actually teach them something that I know, instead of my solely learning what they know. I want my ELL students to have the feeling in my classroom too.

My advice that I have for people considering this study abroad experience in the future is to be willing to step out of their comfort zone and just know that there are going to be times that are going to be stressful and hard, but they need to just make the most of it because the end result is absolutely amazing. I want them to try and speak as much Spanish as they can even if they are not very good because I know I was not the best. They need to take tons and tons of pictures and just take in everything Costa Rica has to offer. Be willing to create deep relationships with strangers have a ton of fun with the kids teaching in the schools.

My overall experience was great and I am so proud of everything I did and all the things that I learned. I am so eager to have ELL students in my future classroom so I can truly help them and feel confident doing it because I know what it is like to be in their shoes. I feel so proud to have all the strategies I now know up my sleeve to help them because this is so beneficial for my ELL students and for me.