Assistants

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Ava Lonergan & Carla Adelgren (2018/19)

Interview with Ava and Carla

(Click on the image to watch the video)

During the month of May 2019, some of our students interviewed our two language assistants this year: Ava Lonergan (Virginia, USA) and Carla Adelgren (Miami, USA). Thanks, Ava and Carla, for this great year you have shared with us! Thanks, Ava, for designing the format of the interview and for recording and editing everything (with Carla’s help). We wish you our best!

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Taneum Bambrick (2017/18)

Interview with Taneum

(Click on the image to watch the video)

In April 2018 we interviewed Taneum Bambrick (USA), our language assistant. It was a pleasure having you with us! Your students wish you the best with your teaching and literary projects. Thanks for everything!

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Nathan L. Williams (2016/17)

Interview with Nathan

On 21st February  2017, some students form 3º ESO A interviewed our assistant, Nathan L. Williams. He is from Melbourne, Australia.Click on the video above if you want to know about him. Here are the questions our students asked Nathan: 1. Nathan, where do you come from in Australia and what is it like? 2. What was your job in Melbourne? 3. Why did you choose a Spanish school to help students speak English? 4. What is the most interesting place you have visited so far? 5. What other places do you still want to visit? 6. Nathan, what are your hobbies? 7. Do you play any sport? 8. What type of music do you listen to? 9. What’s your favourite Australian food? And do you like Spanish food? 10. What are your plans for the future? 11. Will you come back to Spain in the future? 12. Why is Canberra the capital city of Australia? 13. Nathan, do you know any aboriginal people? 14. Is it true that water turns in the opposite direction in Australia? 15. Is it true that you shorten many words in Australia? 16. Have you ever eaten kangaroo meat? And are they really boxers?

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Nicole Jones (2015/16)

Interview with Nicole

On 25th February  2016, some students form 1º ESO A interviewed our assistant, Nicole Kiyo Jones. Nicole is from Portsmouth, New Hampshire (U.S.A.). Click on the video above if you want to know about her origins and projects. In case you can’t hear our students’ questions, here they are:

1. Nicole, where do you come from in the USA and what is it like?
2. What did you study at university?
3. Why did you choose a Spanish school to help students speak English?
4. How many languages can you speak?
5. Which is the most interesting place you have visited so far?
6. Which other places do you still want to visit?
7. What do you like most, Spain or the USA?
8. What’s your favourite food? And do you like Spanish food?
9. What are your hobbies?
10. What type of music do you listen to?
11. Do you have any pets?
12. What are your plans for the future?
13. Will you come back to Spain in the future?

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 Allison Fedor (2014/15)

Interview with Allison

On 27th May 2015, some students form 1º ESO C/D interviewed our assistant. Her name is Allison Fedor, she comes from California (U.S.A.), and she tells us about her origins, projects and dreams. You might not hear some of the students’ questions very well. Here you have all of them:

1. Where do you come from in the USA?
2. What did you study at university?
3. How many languages can you speak?
4. We know you travel a lot. When did you start travelling abroad?
5. Which is the most interesting place you have visited so far?
6. Which other places do you still want to visit?
7. What do you like most, Spain or the USA?
8. What are your hobbies?
9. What type of music do you listen to?
10. Which would be your ideal pet or animal?
11. What are your plans for the future?
12. Will you come back to Spain in the future?

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Clay Mitchell (2013/14)

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Mel Speaker (2012/13)

 

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Stef Zavala & April Birkmire (2011/12)

 April                                                              Stef

Stef tells us about herself…

My name is Stefanie Díaz-Zavala and I was an assistant in 2011/2012. I am originally from Los Angeles, California but moved to Portland, Oregon with my family in 2000. I graduated from Western Oregon University in 2011 where I studied International Relations. I had already studied in Spain before in Oviedo in 2009 and Valladolid in 2010. I loved Spain and I knew I wanted to go back to work there. I started traveling when I was 16 years old. My first trip by myself was to Japan. I was learning Japanese in high school so I participated in an exchange program. Since then, I have loved to travel and my next adventures were to Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Mexico, and El Salvador. I love learning languages and I speak Spanish, some Japanese, and some Portuguese. I also love listening to music, reading, and playing with my two dogs. My experience at IES Nicolás Copérnico was life changing and amazing! My experience was different from other assistants because I came from a Latino background so my perspective of American culture was different for me. I grew up with a culture similar to the Spanish culture so my idea of American culture was a mix of my Latino background and American lifestyle. I think the students enjoyed that I was able to connect with them more because of this. I had so much fun teaching and making my own lesson plans and activities for my students. I was immediately accepted and loved by all the students. Saying good-bye to them was so hard. Even though I was not able to continue teaching there another year, I was still able to visit them the following year while still teaching in Seville. I have always kept in touch with most of my students there. I came back to the U.S. in 2013 but my connection to them is still there. They even send me postcards from their vacation destinations, birthday cards, and letters. I will always have a connection with that school, its students, and staff. I even met my husband there while I was an assistant, so Ecija is now my home. I know that I will continue to visit Spain in the years to come and Ecija will always be my second home. Since then, my experience teaching there helped me become a teacher. I am currently working for an organization that helps immigrant and refugee high school youth in Portland, OR. I teach classes to help youth explore careers for their future and I assist them with getting into college. Also, my husband traveled from Ecija to Portland and we got married in 2014. I benefitted in many ways from being an assistant. Overall, I am very grateful for the experience I had at IES Nicolás Copérnico and I am happy that it helped me get into the career I wanted to pursue.

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Julia Lehnbeuter (2009/10)

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