What is a language assistant?
A language assistant is a native English speaker who comes to our school from his or her home country to help students and teachers with their comprehension and pronunciation of the language.
What do language assistants do?
Language assistants work with the teachers to plan lessons and review vocabulary for various subjects. They also spend time in the classroom with students, pressenting information in English, helping students with pronunciation, and teaching new English vocabulary. Language assistants also help out with special projects during the year.
Our current language assistant:
Hello! My name is Erica. I’m from a small town in the center of Pennsylvania called Jersey Shore (no, not like the television show). Jersey Shore is located along the Susquehanna River in a valley between the Appalachian Mountains. The closest city to me is Williamsport, but the most famous city from my state is Philadelphia, which is 4 hours away by car.
I graduated from Lock Haven University in 2013 with a degree in journalism, but I also studied Spanish as a minor concentration. While at university, I studied abroad in Ronda, Málaga, for a semester. I loved Spain, especially Andalucía, and I wanted to come back as soon as possible!
I heard about the language assistant program from some friends that I met while studying abroad, so I applied to it during my last semester of university. I requested to live in Andalucia, and was placed in El Ejido at IES Murgi for the 2013-2014 term.
I came to El Ejido in the middle of September, and started working at Murgi in October. Since then, I’ve had lots of great experiences both in and outside the school. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the students, teaching them and doing projects, and I’ve had lots of opportunites to travel through Spain.
I’ve met a ton of great people here in El Ejido too, and it will be sad to leave in June. But I’ll definitely come back to visit!
In the past, Murgi has had language assistants from:
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Leeds, UK
- Copenhague, Denmark
- Nebraska, USA
- Oregon, USA
- Pennsylvania, USA
Are you interested in becoming a language assistant or learning more about the program?
The following websites and blogs can provide you with some more info about language assistants in Spain:
- The official page to apply — this page includes an instruction manual and access to the application during the application period. You can apply each year between January and April.
- Go Overseas reviews — here you can read reviews of the program and personal accounts by assistants who have taught in various regions in Spain.
- A Texan in Spain — this blog, run by American language assistant Trevor Huxham, offers detailed information about the program and application process, plus it gives you the opportunity to see Spain from the viewpoint of an assistant.
- Young Adventuress — another blog, written by former auxiliar Liz, provides an in-depth look at the program and is full of travel stories from her time in Spain.
MURGIVILLE BLOG 