ABOUT THIS BLOG

 What is this blog all about?

If you're confused what this website is all about, here's a little explanation as to why this blog was created and what type of content you'll find while you're here.

The purpose of this blog is to serve as a medium for the English language assistants to share their experiences and their contributions from their time working at school in Spain. 

So what is NALCAP? The North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (or otherwise known as NALCAP) is a language assistants program that recruits North Americans to work as English language and cultural assistants in schools all around Spain. As it is stated on the NALCAP website, "American college students and graduates—who are native-like speakers of English—partner with elementary and secondary schools in Spain to bolster language programs, as language assistants (TA's) under the supervision and guidance of teachers in Spain". The TA's main purpose at their given school is to contribute to the English learning program and teach English to the best of their ability. This may include creating and giving lessons in English, engaging in bilingual activities or extracurriculars, and sharing aspects of American culture with their students. This blog's intention is for the TA (or the auxiliar as it is normally referred to in Spain) to demonstrate what contributions they have made and to share their experiences they have had over the course of the school year. 

Creating a space for the language assistants to demonstrate their work and experiences is important due to the fact that being an auxiliar can look very different from one school to another. Each school might have a different understanding or expectation of their language assistant, thus there are some auxiliares who might take on a bigger role in the classroom than other assistants based on how much they choose to get involved at their school and within the lessons in their classes. The reason for these differences can also be due to the type of school the assistant is at whether it be a primary school, a secondary school, a baccalaureate school, or an adult school.

Many schools request that their auxiliar create a blog or a website of sorts of their contributions to the school as proof of completing the necessary requirements for the program as well as show the impact they have made on the school in general. This blog serves to allow all of the auxiliares at Sierra Sur to put their work in one easy to find place.

If you have any further questions about the blog or about the NALCAP program, don't hesitate to reach out to the contributors of this page. Contact information can be found in the sidebar under "Contact Us".