Building Bridges Welcoming students to the Centre for the Basic Education of Adults JOSÉ MARÍA IRIBARREN.

Building Bridges

Welcoming students to the Centre for the Basic Education of Adults

JOSÉ MARÍA IRIBARREN

Workshop facilitators

Lourdes Artázcoz, teacher of Spanish at JOSÉ MARÍA IRIBARREN

Jeffrey Schofield, Australian student at JOSÉ MARÍA IRIBARREN and English teacher

From the Heart In order not to be injured we build walls,Those who sow walls don´t harvest anything, Almost all of us are builders of walls, It would be better to build bridges, On those bridges we can cross to the other bank

and return.

Desde los afectos

Que para no ser heridos levantamos muros,Que quien siembra muros no recoge nada,Que casi todos somos albañiles de muros,Que sería mejor construir puentes,Que sobre ellos se va a la otra orilla y también se

vuelve,Mario

Benedetti

On the right track

Our intention is that the bridges we establish with our students and people who we work with in the education system are progressively stronger and help us prevent and avoid students giving up on classes and provide the highest possible quality education.

Interviews

Two interviews with each student:

1. Spanish enrollment for foreign people

2. Coaching and mentoring

Spanish enrollment for foreign people

This is carried out when the student arrives at the school to enroll on one of the courses we offer.

Coaching and mentoring

This is a questionnaire which serves as a guide and has the objective of enabling us to understand the student´s situation within Spain. It is designed to be an aid for the teacher in their position as tutor. It is carried out over the duration of the course and can be conducted in a formal or informal way.

From the results of the questionnaire the teachers evaluate

the necessity to provide a wider variety of groups, provide informative talks about the education system in Spain, help in searching for employment, amending curriculums, and validation of qualifications.

Workshop Eight volunteers Four teachers who will carry out the two

interviews which we are handing out Four students who will be interviewed. Each will

receive a student profile which they will use to play the role of the student

Both students and teachers must use their imagination to fulfill their respective roles

Note that each profile has been taken from actual students from the Centre

Workshop (cont.)

20 minutes to carry out interviews While the interviews are being carried out

other workshop participants are to circulate around the room watching the interviews

To finish there will be 15 minutes for the group to reflect on the process and hear from the volunteers on how they felt in their roles

BORIS MENSAN

My name is Boris. I was born in 1989 in a city in Bulgaria and I am 22 years old. When I was young, my parents didn't have much money so we had to travel a lot in search for work.

In those days, the situation in Bulgaria was very bad. The economy was a wreck and the future was uncertain. That's why my father decided to look for work outside of Bulgaria and until now we have lived in three different countries. I went to the University of London and later I realised that I wasn't going to find a good job there with my degree in English literature. I have always loved learning new languages and travelling and so I decided to be an English teacher here in Spain. I arrived in November of last year. At the beginning it was very difficult. I had to look for accomodation without knowing the language and I didn't have many friends. But little by little, things started to change.

Now things are going well. I know lots of people; not only foreigners but also people from here in Navarra. I feel well accepted and I would like to stay here longer. Also, I need more time to learn the language so it would be great to find steady work. I would also like to continue studying and do a doctorate one day.

LINDA GOMES My name is Linda Gomes. I was born in Guinea Bissau. I am single and I am 25 years old. In my

country I lived with my parents and my older brother. My father had friends who were living in Spain and when they returned to visit their family they spoke with my dad. One day my parents told us a decision they had made: My mother and my brother were to stay in Guinea and my father and I were to leave for Spain. It was very painful but they convinced me saying that it was the best for all of us, and most of all for me.

I have been in Pamplona for four years and I like this city. It has a lot of trees and parks but the best thing about is that the people are friendly and I feel that I am respected here. I live in a flat with my father and a friend of his. I would like to stay here.

I have been very lucky because I found a job in a house cleaning and ironing. The lady I work for tells me that I do a good job and this is enough for me. They treat me very well. My father has not been so lucky. Twice he has had problems with his arm and now he can´t work. I look after him very well because I love him a lot.

The Social Services worker in my area told me about a school for adults where I could learn Spanish. I started to learn to read and write because in my country I had not been able to go to school. Now I can manage pretty well in Spanish so next year I am going to study maths and sciences. I want to learn many things. I enjoy going to the School and I have made friends.

Now I can´t picture myself living in my country. I have the necessary papers to live in Spain and my father has them too so we feel like proper citizens. When we can we will go and see my mother and brother but we will return to Spain.

LUDMILA YELSTIN

My name is Ludmilla which means “care for the people”. I am from Russia. I am 60 years old and I have been living in Pamplona for 10 years. After I finished my university course in Russia, I worked as a mathematics teacher in an institute. Then I married and moved to a remote city where I had two children. In those times, it was very difficult for people in all of the Eastern European countries, myself included. So I decided to emigrate to Spain. I didn´t know much about the country but I liked the Spanish painters and Spanish music.

When I arrived in Spain I didn´t know a word of Spanish. Luckily, I had a friendly neighbour who helped me a lot at the beginning. Nevertheless, my first year was very difficult. I couldn't find work, not even as a cleaner, for three months. I needed to learn the language very quickly. In fact, I was in anguish. I was here illegally and didn´t have much contact with my family and friends back home. It all made my life very sad.

Of course, I met good good people who helped me learn Spanish. I also met foreigners who I felt very comfortable with because of their similar personalities, tastes and customs. Now the thing I appreciate most is that I have Spanish friends who encourage me through tough times. I can say that I am very happy here in Spain. Even though my qualifications aren't recognised here, I always have students who I teach Russian to. I hope to be lucky enough to retire here and to have the opportunity to travel more to visit my family and friends.

MOHAMED HOUALI

My name is Mohamed. I am from Morocco. I am 40 years old and I am married. I have resided here in Pamplona for 6 years. My level of spoken Spanish is acceptable – I learnt it talking with people in the street – but I don't now how to read or write. I barely went to school in my country.

I came to Spain thinking of a better future that what was available to me in Morocco. I chose to come to Spain because I liked what I had seen on TV about the country and furthermore I had some family that already lived in Pamplona as well as a friend to help me find work. So I found work in construction very easily. Now there is no work.

I have valid papers to live here. I have come to this centre to learn Spanish better because I have realised that it is very important to be able to read and write. I have friends who have attended classes here and they recommended it to me.

I have worked on the land, in factories and in construction. My future depends on work and I would leave here to find it. However, I would like to stay in Spain.

For now, I would like to learn Spanish very well, but if I can I would also like to get a basic general education. I am involved in community life here and I am happy. My friends and neighbours treat me well and I also get along well with people I know from my country.

ORIENTATION AND TUTORING DURING THE COURSE