A total of 14 centers in Guadalajara will have conversation assistants

A total of 14 conversational assistants will collaborate this year in language teaching in several early childhood, primary and secondary education centers in the province, thanks to the program developed by the regional government to promote bilingualism among students.

The Delegate for Education, Culture and Sports, Angel Fernández Montes, welcomed these assistants in Guadalajara, on a day traditionally held at the beginning of the session, to assist them in the integration tasks in the public centers assigned to them, and to prepare the necessary documents to settle their stay in Spain. Thus, besides educational issues, such as skills in the classroom and activities that can be done with students, the meeting addressed other topics of interest to them, such as procedures for regularizing their situation in the event that they were not able to do so previously. . To facilitate these procedures, representatives of the Guadalajara Immigration Brigade also attended the meeting.

Specifically, the centers that will benefit from the cooperation of the auxiliaries are the early childhood and primary education schools “El Coto” in Alcázar, “La Paloma” and “Maestra Placida Herranz” in Azucica de Henares, “Las Castillas” in Torrejon. Del Rey and ‘Maestra Teodora’ in Marcello. In addition, the auxiliary conversation staff will strengthen language teaching at the Alcaría Baja in Mondejar, Alejo Vera in Marcelo, Ana María Mattute in Cabanillas del Campo, Brianda de Mendoza in the capital, and Campinia Alta. ´ in El Casar, `Newton Salas` in Villanueva de la Torre, `San Isidro` in Azucica de Henares, `Alcolea del Torruti` in Torrejon del Rey and `Harivolar` in Aloe Vera.

Six assistants from the United States, four from India, three from the United Kingdom, and one from Australia will cooperate in these centers, all of whom this time are English speakers.

The regional government offers the possibility of assistants to centers in the region that have bilingual projects, and in the end they are the ones who should ask for it. This is a very interesting initiative for the centres, as it represents an added advantage in learning other languages ​​and cultures for the students.

All Conversation Assistants are native speakers, graduates or final-year students and their classroom intervention enhances students’ oral skills, carrying out specific conversation practices and conveying the culture of their places natively to the students. The assistant person never replaces the teaching staff, but rather supports them in the process of teaching the foreign language, but they do not live and in the classroom they are always accompanied by the center’s teaching staff.

The Delegate for Education, Culture and Sports highlighted the regional government’s “firm and sustained commitment to providing quality training that creates competent citizens in a society where language learning is essential.” Moreover, Fernández-Montes noted that the access of these assistants to the classroom, along with the support included in language teaching, provides students with knowledge about the cultures, traditions and ways of life in their countries, which is an added advantage. .

In addition to these assistants, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training will provide more assistants throughout the course to other centers, through its own programs, to learn the English, French and Italian languages.