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.