English in Barcelona - Schools of the World

Schools of the World
English in Barcelona

English in Barcelona

Hi, I am Michelle. I am Gina´s English teacher. This is our first blog and we have a lot to learn but hopefully we will have fun and learn a lot.

Hi, I am Gina. I am 16 years old and I'm doing English summer classes with a great teacher.

Why is it important to learn English?

I think it's important because if you can't find a good job in your own country you can find a better one in another country and you can travel to a lot of different places in the world. You have more chances to make friends or meet someone special and you can comunicate with them anywhere.

I think that learning another language makes you more open-minded and gives you an opportunity to experience new cultures. English is also necessary for navigating the internet, doing international business and various other reasons.

How to improve your English?

It is important to watch TV in English to improve your English and your accent. If you don't want to watch TV shows that you like because you don't know a lot of English, you can watch some episodes or films that you have already seen which you know what they are about.
Some TV shows that are easy to understand are Glee, Gossip Girl, Bones and Friends. If you want to put subtitles on it's better to put them in English rather than in Spanish or your native language.

Reading is a great way to improve your vocabulary, grammar and knowledge. You could read magazines, books, newspapers or just read on-line. It doesn´t really matter what you read as long as you are interested in it and it is in English. Listening to music is also a good way to improve your listening skills. At first I suggest choosing slower songs like something by the Beatles. Maybe you already have a favourite group? So just look up the lyrics on youtube and sing along.

Watching films

The film Alice in Wonderland, in which Jonny Deep appears,is easy to understand and it´s a very good film, but you have to watch it without subtitles. Everyone knows what the story is about because when we were younger we saw this children's film or read the book. I also recomend American Pie because it's about high school students and they play jokes and pranks on each other. It's a funny film that makes you laugh.

Watching films is an excellent way to improve your English and it´s fun. It is difficult at first but it will get easier if you practice. One way of making it easier is to watch a film in your native language and then a few days later re-watch it in English. Just be sure to pick a film that you really like so you don´t get bored. I suggest doing it without subtitles so that you really focus and listen. Another option is to read the book first and then watch the movie in English. Be sure to choose a book that has been made into a movie.

Travelling

English is very useful for travelling and it makes things a lot easier when you go abroad. Finding a hotel, ordering food, taking a taxi and moving around a new place are almost impossible if you don´t speak the same language. Sometimes people claim to speak English just because they want to earn extra money from the tourists and they are sometimes taken advantage of.

When you travel to another country to improve the language that you are learning it's important to talk with the people and to try not to speak in your native language. If you go on an exchange with your school and friends it's ok but you have to always talk in English because if you talk in your native language you won't improve your language skills and you spend a lot of money for nothing. There is a very good school that is called Ilearn in Canada where they get people from many differents countries. The teachers give the students exams to find out the level of the students. The students are put in a house with a good family for the summer.

Boring English Classes

Yes I admit it, sometimes English can be boring even for me the teacher. Preparing students for exams isn´t particularly exciting and it means a lot of preparation and correction which basically means homework. However, it is nice to have a goal and both students and teachers feel happy and proud when students pass exams such as the FCE. On the other hand, there are so many ways to make learning English fun and I try to be creative so that it´s enjoyable for everyone. I like playing lots of different games such as; boardgames, trivia games, puzzles, computer games and even running games once in a while. It keeps students on their toes and hopefully helps them to have fun while learning.

In the school English is very boring because with my teacher me and the classmates the only thing that we do is a lot of grammar and homework. Although when I have private English classes with my friend it's different because we have more chances to do things, to talk, to improve and to ask questions. In the private classes I do lots of games based on grammar and it's better and I don't do exams but my teacher makes me read every day because she says that reading is a very good way to improve your vocabulary and your grammar.

Where to practice English in Barcelona?

There are many ways to practice English in Barcelona. There are lots of English academies and a few international schools if you want to study English. Of course you could also hire a private English teacher. There are lots of webpages where you can post an ad and find a partner and set up a language exchange. There are also lots of other social events in English but they are usually for adults. In addition you can find lots of summer camps with sports, camping and other activities for kids and teens. The only problem is that the kids end up speaking to each other in Spanish and Catalan. If you are really keen you could just walk up to tourists and ask them questions.

Barcelona has a lot of activities to improve your English. Some people meet in a pub to talk in English or other languages that they want to learn. Some English people go there to help the other people and go for walks or have breakfast, you can find more information in 'English Activa'. Another group that is huge is the 'Englsih Speaking Club' that organize parties, excursions, dinners and sport activities.

English Education in Barcelona

Actually I think that the level of English is much better now compared to 13 years ago when I first arrived. This is surely related to the increase in tourism which is continually rising. I also think that the government is slowly tryig to improve education and there are small changes being made. Some schools offer subjects such as PE and geography in English. Official exams are also becoming more popular and acadamies are booming. Teenagers and young adults also watch more televiion and movies in original version which is a step in the right direction.

I think the students at my school have a good level of English, we do a lot of exchanges with different countries like Germany, Portugal, England, etc. Now our generation speaks better English than they did 13 years ago. Most young people speak enough English to give tourists basic directions. If you go to the center of Barcelona a lot of Catalan people speak the basic English and the tourist can ask with them for help. Yesterday some tourists asked me where to find a shop and the metro station. I gave them directions to the metro.

English is fun

Sadly, our classes are coming to an end and we will finish up tomorrow. I really enjoy teaching English and I have had lots of fun with Gina. We have read 11 different story books, nearly completed three readers, played games, done many listenings and watched 2 episodes of Glee. Blogging has also been a new and enriching experience for us both. Tomorrow we are making cupcakes and iced tea. We will tell you all about it.

These two weeks were very fun with interesting things that my teacher has prepared. I have learned English by differents ways such as; playing games, doing listenings, readings and boring things like grammar but it's neces[sary. We did 3 hours a day and it was great. Tomorrow we're going to cook delicious cupcakes and iced tea and we are going to post some pictures.

GOODBYE

Today we made cupcakes and iced tea and they came out great as you can see from the picture. We found an easy recipe on youtube and just followed the instructions. Our iced tea could be better because we didn´t use a very good kind of tea but I am really pleased with the results. We also finished our third reader and I am really proud of Gina because she has read three books on her own. Happy summer!

Today is the last class and we made very yummy cupcakes and iced tea and I had a great time with my teacher. Now I'm on vacation and I'm going to go with another student of Michelle´s to 'La Molina' for the weekend. In September we're going to continue English classes but only once a week.

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English in Barcelona (Schools of the World) - Author : Michelle - Spain

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last update : 2015-07-17

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