https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs en-us 2016-11-01 20:40:00 UTC 2017-01-07 14:05:21 UTC hello@padlet.com lulaslk https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626049 During the flights, we got to know the other teachers we were going to be with during the four weeks.
Once in Norwich, I had a good first impression about my host family: they welcomed me outside their house and showed me everything I needed to know inmediately. I really like my cosy bedroom.
On Sunday, some of the teachers met downtown to discover Norwich. We were walking around, chatting to each other and having lunch in a proper pub. They seemed really nice.
During the weekdays, we had very interesting lessons at NILE. Although the first day we met all the teachers and did a group activity outside, the rest of the week we were working in the different classes and learnt useful ideas and activities. My favorite activities were the ice-breakers that we can use everyday with our students, and my favorite lesson was Songs and chants, with Antonia Claire.
We had also some social activities in the evenings, such as the welcoming drink and the Norwich tour.
On Saturday, we went to Cambridge by coach. We had a great time and learnt many things about the universities and other buildings.
I did not spend much time with my host family because they are used to having foreign students and teachers around every week, so it is not special for them.But in the evenings we had dinner together and the parents always asked me how my day was. They are very open to my questions and help me with anything I require them.]]> 2016-11-01 20:40:48 UTC https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626049 lulaslk https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626102 On the second Sunday, I went with the other teachers to visit the castle. It was not what we expected but I found fascinating all the activities and resources addressed to children. As a primary teacher, it was inspiring.
After it, we were talking about ourselves and education from our point of view in a pub. We already have a close relationship and I am learning a lot from them.
On Monday, I went to Queen's Hill Primary School with Ana Sánchez. The school was wonderfully decorated and distributed. There were big differences with our education reality, such as the amount of adults per class, the parents entering the classrooms and staying there until the beginning of the first lesson, the absence of content books...
Observing the way English teachers teach was inspiring, but we were treated as students instead of as colleagues, being asked to make copies, hang stuff on the walls, ordering some papers...so we went to NILE in the evening. The coordinator told us that a person from NILE's staff would visit the school the following day to ensure they knew who we were.
And that is exactly what happened: we had a meeting with the head of studies and the member of NILE, during which we could explain how we felt and the things we would like to do. And from that moment everything changed: we interviewed teachers and counsellors, were free to enter any class, take pictures, etc. 
The last day we taught our Spanish lesson. Although the children were in 4th grade, just few of them knew very simple Spanish words. It was a challenge to make them participate in 30 minutes, but they seemed engaged. 
On Saturday, we went to Cromer, a town by the sea. It was pretty but the weather was too cold to enjoy it.]]> 2016-11-01 20:41:07 UTC https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626102 lulaslk https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626123 Back to NILE, we talked about our different experiences in the primary and secondary schools. Based on what we had seen, we were asked to design in groups our perfect school, describing the characteristics that we found more important. I personally think it was the perfect activity to do after the previous week of observation because, doing it in groups, we all reconsidered out teaching methodologies and the targets we want to fulfill as teachers. 
That day, we also explained the person that was going to our school placement what we had found interesting and what we would advise them to do there.
In the afternoon, we had a meeting with Liz McMahon to watch the videos we recorded of our teaching and get feedback from her. It was a valuable opportunity to see us from the students' view and her advices were very helpful. 
Because there was a Science fair during that week, we could choose between going there and taking some ideas or staying and work on our Padlet.
During that week, we were very lucky because we had lectures and classes from well-known teachers. The most appealing one was Drama with David Farmer. We enjoyed ourselves, got many ideas for our teaching and bought some of his books.
On Saturday, the social programme took us to London. All of us had alredy been there, so we divided into groups and visited our favorite attractions. I stayed the night with a Spanish friend who works there, so the next day she took me to non-turistic places, which gave me an idea about how life really is there.]]> 2016-11-01 20:41:12 UTC https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626123 lulaslk https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626153 This week I was in West Earlham Junior School. The neighborhood, the buiding, the families...everything looked very different from Queen's Hill, as this school is located in a deprived area. Another interesting fact is that most of the teachers are men, meanwhile in Madrid we barely have male primary teachers.
From the first moment, we felt that all the staff knew what we were doing there. We observed different lessons and the teachers came to us to explain what they were doing and why. 
We loved the science lessons. It was very inspiring to see how they made the children formulate their hyphotesis about magnets, gravity...instead of telling them what they were and how they worked.
On Thursday, in NILE, we were working on the Padlet. The Madrid coordinators came to visit us and they asked us about our experience, taking notes about the things we think could be improved and the ones we think should stay the same.
Then, in the afternoon, we showed them our portfolios.
That same day we had our last family dinner. In my case, I was feeling very sad because I did not want the experience to finish, but my host family cheered me up and I had a wonderful time.
On Friday, we had our last lessons in the morning, and in the afternoon we continue showing the Padlets. Then, we were given a diploma and went with NILE teachers to have a farewell afternoon tea.
In the evening, most of the Spanish teachers are going to have dinner and a pint together. After that, we will be ready to depart, but I am sure we are going to see each other soon, because these four weeks together have changed everything...]]> 2016-11-01 20:41:18 UTC https://padlet.com/lulaslk/1km8teh6ysgs/wish/134626153