To conclude... an experience to be made, and to be remade!

If I had to sum up what I gained from my Leonardo programme in Murcia right now (as a reminder, I still have two months left here), I would already have loads of things to say...

From a professional point of view:

From a professional point of view, what I've gained form my Leonardo internship is enormous. I didn't study French as a foreign language, but French philology (French language, literature, and novels in Belgium). As a result, my studies made me want to teach French classes to Spanish speakers. I was, therefore, able to gradually learn how to do things on my own on the job. The material that I was given from the academy offered an enormous help. Following a level A1 book, then A2, then B2, and advancing within the levels little by little allowed me to gain self-confidence, to know how to answer pupils' questions and to enrich my own understanding of the language, as I now know why a certain word is pronounced in such a way, or why a certain rule is applied to a specific word. The grammar books repeatedly saved my life!

It is true that I slightly regret not having the time to get any training from an expert in my current field of work. In fact, the Leonardo internship provides training and observation time, but this time was reduced for me. I only had five hours of observation and it was not only in French but in English, which interested me less as the grammar is different. I was also left to my own devices sometimes, for example when I hadn't seen my French colleagues, or when I had questions that remained unanswered on online forums.

It is clear that I have gained many skills. I now know how to lead classes for pupils with a wide range of levels much better than before. I can reply to linguistical questions in a natural manner. I can create a dynamic, varied lesson, in which I can also tackle the cultural aspect of francophone countries (through literature, songs, poems, cinema, etc. ), along with societal problems.

Finally, I learnt quite a lot about how businesses are run in Spain, through the position of a teacher and with respect to how pupils are taught (in fact, Spaniards have a very different relationship to education than we do).

From a linguistical point of view:

It is indisputable that my level of Spanish has improved since my arrival. On the one hand, I subject myself to studying as I try to jot down every new word in my notebook, and on the other hand, I am learning with my pupils. In fact, I need to prepare my lessons and look up Spanish vocabulary so that I can explain the words correctly. After a certain level (A2), the vocabulary is much more precise and it is, therefore, important to know if the word exists in Spanish. Most of the time, this is not the case. There are a lot more synonyms in French. It is clearly a rather rich language, from a linguistical point of view.

However, I realise that there are lots of expressions in Spanish that aren't really used orally, but which well and truly exist, and therefore I think I should learn then. I will do so before taking the exam when I return... :p

From a human point of view:

I have lived in a flat share for a few months. It is not the first time as, in Belgium, I shared a flat for five years. However, I had a very different experience from that in Belgium. In fact, I was able to form true friendships at the heart of my apartment and weave very different relationships with my old flatmates during my time abroad.

For the first time in my life, I had work colleagues. At the beginning, I was a bit disappointed by the atmosphere, what with the academy being small. We didn't have a staff room and we didn't eat together. But that allowed me to have my own work rhythm, to never bring work home from school, and to always enjoy from my free time to the fullest. Little by little, I began to enjoy the rhythm and the ambiance. There is no doubt that I became very attached my to pupils. It was such a pleasure to hear them ask me to stay for the next year so that I could continue giving them lessons.

I have met many people during my stay and I was able to form new friendships. I checked out the world of work and I started to learn how private businesses function. It was a first for me - negotiating a contract, a salary, asking for a raise... All of that was new and I must ask other employees to find out all the ins and outs of this field.

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