Ruth and Gráinne, two Irish language assistants, help us improve the level of English

For a few weeks, the English that can be heard in the classrooms of the school has a very particular accent: the Irish. The responsible ones are not others that Ruth Fagan and Gráinne Cotter, two young Irish students of Faculty of Education of the University of Limerick that are helping our students to improve their level of conversation and of understanding of the language. They have not been slow to become very popular, since their sympathy is coupled with the challenge for our students to put their English into practice in a context of communication with a native person.

The presence of both in the School is the result of the agreement signed last November with the University of Limerick for the hiring of two students from its Faculty of Education as training practices, a project supported by the Foundation San Fernando. Both will work for six months as linguistic assistants, a work that they carry out with great enthusiasm and that they love. This is what they have said to the 4º students of ESO B who have interviewed them for Sanfer Channel: Ainara, Laura, Lucía and Cecilia.

Both Ruth and Gráinne are very happy for the reception they have had at the School, as well as for their fellow teachers, for the students themselves, for whom speaking in English with them is a great motivation. "The adaptation has been very easy and we are enjoying the classes a lot," explains Ruth. In their opinion, the level of English they have found is very good, with the differences of each age group, and they have not found any problem communicating. Gráinne emphasizes that "especially with the little ones, I did not expect them to understand everything I tell them so well". They do recognize the strangeness that sometimes a certain expression or linguistic turn arouses, which also contributes to the growth of students in the language. The main barrier with which they have found is the "fear" of students to make mistakes, so "part of our job is to strengthen the confidence of students." Sometimes, although they know what they mean, they do not for fear of error, "says Gráinne. This problem disappears when the children talk to them outside of class, in the corridors of the school, for example. "Shame disappears when they speak in a more colloquial environment."

Regarding the center, what has most struck them is its size and its large number of students. "It's easy to get lost," they say. Both come from small towns and have studied in centers of a much smaller size, which has not prevented them from fitting perfectly into our day to day. And they have also integrated into the city. Ruth, who is living with an Asturian family, studies Spanish at the University, so this experience is allowing her to practice the language. Both affirm that Aviles likes them a lot and they are also taking the opportunity to get to know the rest of Asturias and even leave the region. Although they are not very fond of the cachopo, they are from the fabada, they have tried the cider and they are very comfortable in Asturias, to the point that, beyond family and friends, there is not much more that they miss Ireland. We hope that the rest of your stay will continue to go as well and that this experience will contribute as much as it is contributing to our students.

You can enjoy the complete interview in the video uploaded to Sanfer Channel or in the following link:

Interview with Ruth and Gráinne