Teaching Totally Techless ...

A few weeks ago I went to a local school in a small village called Pacoche. To get to Pacoche we have
to leave the beach and head south. We veer off a little bit away from the water too. We drive through
semi-arid terrain with some bushes and vegetation till we arrive at this small school. I went to visit the
school with my family so we could offer to volunteer in the classes teaching English.

THE DRIVE - photo credit screen snapped from Google Maps - it was too tricky to snap while moving! 

OUR RIDE - not the exact one but we do travel by 'camionetta' to get there and back.
 - photo credit screen snapped from Google Maps 

MORE SCENIC ROUTE - photo credit screen snapped from Google Maps 

I immediately loved the feel of the school. We were taken out to visit the school by a friend who has a connection to the school. The school has two classrooms. One class has 15 students who would are ages 4 to 6. The other classroom has 22 students ages 7-12.

LOVE this place of inspired LEARNING! 

They were agreeable with the idea that I would be able to come in for a couple days a week and on each
day teach one hour of English to each class. I could see from just looking around that there were no
computers in the classroom. I wasn't really expecting to see them so I wasn't overly surprised. But as I
was leaving that first day I inquired with the Director of the school (who is also one of the teachers there)
if they had Wi-Fi? Again, I was not at all surprised when they told me that along with no computers there
was not even access to the internet.  I would be left to my own creative skills to teach the students some
English a few days a week. I left that day already planning how I was going to make this possible.
English is part of the Ecuadorian curriculum but there are not very many English speakers who are able
to teach the classes. Each student does have a beautiful English workbook in their desk and the teacher
guide comes with a CD but there is no CD player in the school.
Plus, I am not really a workbook kinda gal! :)

Now, not all schools in Ecuador are tech-free. There are many private schools also within the area that
I've also had the pleasure of visiting and speaking with the staff and students. You can take me out of
Canada but you cannot take me out of school! :)

Part of my educator experience has never encompassed being formally trained in English as a Second
Language. However, in our global world and in many of my experiences teaching I have encountered
tudents who are English language learners. Also, some of my favourite teaching experiences were
teaching French as a second language.

So, along with my family, I went back into the classroom the following week with all the skills and
strategies I had from my previous experiences and also my desire to teach students through authentic
and game-based learning, focusing specifically on oral interaction with the ultimate goal of being to be
able to communicate in a different language.

Off to School - But really just going because they love snack and recess! 

Although this school has no tech available to access as a tool for deeper learning these students are a
pure joy to interact with and learn with. It is definitely a shared experience. While I am helping them learn
English I am simultaneously improving my Spanish the same time. (Sidenote: My journey learning
Spanish will be a whole other blog post coming soon!). As in most second language classrooms some
students a little hesitant to participate and speak but all were actively engaged in all the activities. The
students in the younger classroom enjoyed learning to count by playing dice games and learning some
of the names of the family members through it interactive song “Baby Shark”. They enjoyed learning the
days of the week by singing songs. We are all working towards specific goals to use dates, times and
greetings to be able to interact with each other. The older classroom is more active and less shy. As with
every classroom you have  a range or personalities. The student who is eager to participate, the one who
just giggles, the one who shouts out in excitement, the one who cannot sit still, the one who is ultra
attentive, etc. And, like most first days of a foreign language class even the student who just hides
under the desk.

#NoTech #NoFilter #NoMakeup

One thing I love is to notice the pure nature of kids. They love to play! Not unlike any school I have been
in, but when the recess bell rings off they RUN! They run to their favourite spot in the school yard to play.
Football, soccer, basketball, dodgeball, hand clapping rhyming games - they kids just love to play and our
two girls are no exception. They love going to school as long as we can stay for recess so they can play
with their “friends”.

Where Kids Play Free #FreeRangeKids #RecessRocks

I feel joyful and blessed that this small community has welcomed to me and my family into this school.
We are proud guests. I will happily return next week and the week after to build the English language
skills of these #EcuadorAwesome students.

Peace, smiles and learning from me to you!

Amy :)