IES Albujaira: language assistants

welcome to ies.albujaira!

Welcome to Huércal-Overa

How to arrive

Weather

Spanish Education System:Bilingual Programme

Language assistants

IES Albujaira

Huércal-Overa is a little town located in the south east of Andalucía with 20.000 inhabitants approximately.. We are not far from the coast (30 mins by car). Some popular touristic destinations nearby are Garrucha, Mojácar and Vera. Moreover Huércal - Overa is slightly more than 100 kms to Almeria and Murcia, both capital towns of two administrative communities. Although we are not a big place in area or number of inhabitants, we have a big hospital and a few medical centres, courts, two secondary education schools, several primary education schools, school of modern languages, a little cinema and lovely theatre, sports centre and all types of basic shops. If you enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits, you will be delighted by our Monday and Thursday markets, which attract many visitors from the surrounding places every week (especially the former, as it is a big market). Huércal-Overa people are proud of their XVIII century church and the muslim tower on one of the hills around our town. In addition to this, most of the social meetings take place in the Plaza Mayor, where there are some bars and restaurants. If you want to gather your friends here, that will probably be the place to go. Two of the most enjoyable moments throughout the year here are La feria (by the middle of October ) when people gather to eat and dance in the Casetas , and Easter (with religious parades that people spend months organising). You can find some information about our town and what is going on here at http://www.huercal-overa.es/ https://es-es.facebook.com/Huercaloveraface/

Once at the airport (usually Madrid, Alicante or Málaga) ,the only way to arrive at Huércal-Overa is by bus or by car. We are located on the motorway and there is a small bus station 5 mins walk to the schools and town centre. You can check bus times and prices here: https://www.busbud.com/es

Our Mediterranean weather offers milld winters and hot summers. The cold season begins in November and ends in March, finding an average temperature of about 10º-19ºC then. When you arrive in October, the days will still be sunny and warm (almost summer weather). Of course, in winter you will need a coat and warm shoes, but not very heavy clothes. Nevertheless, you don't need to worry in case you lack some clothing items as there are local shops where you can get anything (even at the Monday market, at a cheaper price!). You will see we have very few rainy days here, so you can avoid bringing umbrella or jelly boots . There are a couple of places where you can buy a cheap small umbrellas when the rain comes. The coordinator at your school can give you good advice.

Compulsory school education in Spain begins at 6 (Primary Eduation). Our children enter Secondary Education at 12 and finish when they are 16 / 17. This stage is commonly known as ESO (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria). After that ,students can choose to continue their education (non compulsory) in two different ways:

Bachillerato (baccalaureate): two years. This is meant for students who want to go to university. There are four different types of bachillerato, according to the choice of subjects that can best prepare students for their future university degree (Bachillerato de Ciencias de la Salud, Bachillerato Tecnológico, Bachillerato de Ciencias Sociales y Bachillerato de Humanidades).
Formación Profesional (vocational training): two years for the basic degree. Then students can take a higher degree.

During the first two years of ESO, all our students have the same subjects (Spanish, English, French, Maths, Geography and History, Biology, Music, PE, Art). In the third and fourth years, students can choose among different optional subjects, considering what they want to do when they finish later. Most of our Primary and Secondary Education Schools develop the methodology of the Bilingual programme, which started in Andalucia a decade ago. This programme tries to make our students more competent and fluent in a foreign language (English, in the particular case of our school, IES Albujaira) offering the opportunity of learning the L2 in a more natural and communicative way. Therefore, different subjects- not only English) are delivered in this language. every bilingual school has different bilingual subjects, this depending on the teaching area of the qualified teachers they have. Also, different cultural, sportive activities are conducted in the foreign language ,too. But above all, one of the most enriching tools we are granted in our programme is the help of our language assistants, whose motivation and effort is greatly appreciated by both our students and teachers.

Language assistants' role in our schools' bilingual programme is invaluable. They are real ambassadors of their country and culture; they broaden our students' minds while bringing them closer to a teaching based on interculturality, respect and curiosity towards other people, their language and their traditions. The language assistant works hand in hand with the group of teachers in the bilingual programme in their school. He / she will need to cooperate with the teacher of each subject to design different activities, which will guarantee these are suitable for the group of students, their level of English (which can be quite different , even with students of the same age) and the adecuacy to the contents they are covering. Something to bear in mind is that students in the programme are not really bilingual: they are leaning English and using the language to learn different academic contents in different areas. Depending on the level of each group, the amount of English used by both the language assistant and the teacher will be more or less extensive. In addition to this, teachers are always eager to hear proposals and suggestions from the language assistants. Moreover, this close contact between them is an excellent way to keep the teacher's level of English updated and even improve it. Remember, they are not English teachers and some of them may not be using the language except in these classes. In our school the bilngual areas included in the bilingual programme are Music and Mathematics (1st and second year groups); Geography/HIstory and Biology (3rd and 4th year groups); Philosophy (baccalaureate groups); anatomofisiología y dispensación de productos (Pharmacy -vocational training degree). As soon as they arrive, language assistants become part of the school, so they will be quite easily invited to take part in social and cultural activities organised throughout the year, and it is a good way to integrate faster. The mentor or coordinator will also let you know by activities being held in Huércal-Overa that you can find interested in. Language assistants' begin their work at schools in October. The coordinator of the bilingual programme (who must have contacted the language assistants previously) under the supervision of the Head teacher, will have to provide them with a timetable that will be checked and agreed on by the language assistants. They do 12 hours every week, 4 days a week. As they are visitors in our country, they normally Monday of Friday off, so that they have a longer weekend to travel around if they want to. Soon after their arrival, all language assistants in Almería, our province, are gathered together in our Delegación de Educación in Almería (Cortijo Sta Isabel). There, they are given relevant informations such as how to obtain the residence card, health insurance, their role at schools, etc. Your mentor at school will also be helping you with all this, so don't worry: you won't miss any information. Find below the link of the Plurilinguismo blog in Almeria, where you can find some more useful information for language assistants. https://blogsaverroes.juntadeandalucia.es/plurilinguismoalmeria/auxiliares/ Auxiliares de conversaciónAuxiliares de conversación en los Centros bilingües de...Plurilingüismo https://blogsaverroes.juntadeandalucia.es/plurilinguismoalmeria/files/2020/10/guia_auxiliar_AACC_2020-21.pdf

In H.Overa there are two secondary education schools, located next to each other on Avenida Guillermo Reina. one of the two main streets in our town. We receive students not only from the town, but also from little villages and neigbourhoods nearby. IES Albujaira teaches different levels: -Compulsory Secondary Education -Baccalaureate -Vocational Training Courses: Electricity, Administration, Pharmacy, Nursing If you want to find out more about our school, visit our web or facebook https://iesalbujaira.es/ https://www.facebook.com/albujaira