Saint Augustine High School. Augustinian Recollects. Valladolid, Spain. Teacher training.

The educational centers of the Augustinian Recollects do not close completely in summer. In addition to the leisure activities typical of vacation times (camps, language immersion, sports, scouting), teachers are also trained and the facilities are renewed.

During the last week of July, two teachers from the Saint Augustine School of the  Augustinian  Recollects in Valladolid (Spain) had the opportunity to attend a formative workshop in Agen (France) on the Comprehensible Input (CI) methodology, which is used in teaching and language learning.

Developed by Stephen Krashen, this methodology affects the fact that a language is learned when we understand it, and this in turn facilitates a person’s acquisition of grammar and vocabulary in a  much more pleasant way, as a more theoretical part of language teaching.

Most of the people who have learned a foreign language at school,However, they have carried out the opposite process: first they have learned about language, its grammatical rules and vocabulary, but all this long before using that language.Thus turned teaching into something tedious, closely linked to memory and little experiences.

The theory of Comprehensible Input is based on the fact of focusing not on the language, but on its message. Language acquisition is not the goal, but the means. And it is made of one pleasant way: listening to music, watching movies or series, telling stories…

The two teachers have maintained fluid contact with other language teachers from different nationalities and languages, and have attended various presentations and talks. The objective is to apply a dynamic, practical and innovative language teaching methodology, fostering a favorable environment for the student to learn that language.

In addition, the summer is also used to renovate the College’s facilities. Masons, electricians, plasterers, painters and cleaners have performed during the months of July and August so that the beginning of the new course has better facilities that allow its time a more complete and pleasant learning on the part of the students.