Lydia Gleasman

Quiero los saltos de lina sin cambiar el contenido: My name is Lydia Gleasman; I am 23 years old and from Illinois in the United States.

Being a language assistant at IES Palomares has been the best experience I could have ever asked for. At first, coming into the school, it took some time to adjust as I had never been an English teacher or left America before this experience. As time went on, I was able to form connections not only with my fellow teachers but also with my students.

Over the year, I found that students became excited for my presence to enter the room. As there are many students in the school, I was nervous that I was going to have a hard time establishing connections with them, especially with the language barrier, but sure enough, I was wrong. Not all the students can understand me, and I can not always understand them, but with the help of other students being more proficient than others in English, we can express ourselves just fine.

Whether the students need to elaborate more in Spanish or I need to elaborate more in English, we can get our messages across and communicate with one another. Working at IES Palomares, forming relationships with my colleagues and students has been the best cultural experience I have ever had.

IES Palomares has made living in a foreign country feel like home away from home. I cannot thank the teachers and students enough for welcoming me with open arms and allowing me to gain experience in helping others learn the English language.