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First, let's talk about teaching children from the age of 5 to 8.

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It's a different experience in teaching older children because these children, these young children, have no English background whatsoever.

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Yes, in kindergarten they learn some words like red, blue, yellow, the numbers.

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But they basically step into that classroom and when you start talking to them in English, they will look at you blankly.

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and so that's really been a challenge and it's really been a struggle because

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as an auxiliar you try to get them to speak English to you or at the very

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least try to get them to keep up a conversation despite you speaking

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English and them speaking Spanish at the very least so when you talk to them in

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English and they look at you with their eyes staring past you you really feel

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challenge to to do something to catch their attention to do something to make

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them want to like want to make the effort to speak to you to do something

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to make them want to learn more English so that's been a challenge but personally

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for me I found that it's quite effective to engage them through through games to

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engage them through activities i find it's quite effective to use english while um

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you're telling them to do things while you're asking about their day or you just use english

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while you talk to them about your own day because um that way they just get used to hearing you

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speak english and then sometimes without even knowing it when they start speaking to you in

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Spanish some English words slip and that's very fulfilling for someone

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teaching in first grade and second grade because you don't expect this children

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to be fluent in English after you're done with a year but you do expect them

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to learn something and the good thing with first graders and second graders is

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they do they do learn a lot they're like a sponge that absorbs um vocabulary

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quickly that absorbs word structure sentence structure quickly although they

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don't really know that they're learning it so yes it's hard it's difficult it's

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challenging but at the same time it's very fulfilling second I would like to

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talk about the relationships I have formed with my colleagues specifically

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my coordinators which have been very good to me I I'm one of those lucky ones

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who have had who has had an awesome coordinator and I think part of why my

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experience as an auxiliar has been so positive was because of my coordinator

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he they because I had one coordinator for my first year and another

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coordinator for my second year they were very good to me they always gave me the

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support I needed they were always asking me if I needed anything and they were

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always interested in what I was doing in the classroom so that has been very good

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for me and and having this good relationship with my coordinator made me

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feel at ease being in the school and that's why I feel like I also owe my

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good relations with the other teachers in school to my coordinator because my

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coordinator made sure that I was integrated well into school. Of course,

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with my co-australiars we work very well together, we have fun, we have a lot

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of fun, and at the same time we support each other, making sure that the work we

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do is quality work, making sure that the requirements we need are passed, making

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sure that no one gets left behind, but most especially the relationship I value

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most after two years as an Auxiliar are the relationships I've formed with my students

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because they have been so inspiring. Working with children has taught me so much about myself,

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working with children has taught me to live life more because with their positive energy you just

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feel as if you too could be a positive energy in this earth but yes i i have grown very fond of my

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kids in fact i feel like i i do love them sincerely and i will miss them a lot when i go but at the

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same time i will always keep my memories of them in my heart uh lastly i'll talk about the highlights

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of this program for me this program has helped me grow not only professionally but also personally

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professionally in the sense that I feel I have grown I have become more responsible I feel like

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I can handle more tasks I feel like um being an auxiliar has helped widen my horizons and has

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helped me realize that I truly want to be in education when I get back to my country

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me. Personally also because it has taught me values, it has taught me so many things

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about myself, made me realize who I wanted to be and why I wanted to be this person.

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So I'm going to miss my school and I'm going to miss my students and my friends and everyone

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I've met here in this program, but I'm thankful. I'm very thankful for this opportunity to

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have worked for two years as an auxiliar de conversacion and i'm very thankful to have met

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everyone that i've met and i'm very thankful to to the ministry for giving me this opportunity so

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thank you and to the future auxiliars out there make the most of the experience and good luck