Stephanie Smith, BA (Linguistics) /11
Studying Spanish at Carleton taught me more than just the language. After learning about Latin and Spanish culture I decided I wanted to experience living in a Spanish speaking country. This eventually led to me looking for jobs in Spain.
With the help of my linguistics degree and CTESL I quickly found a job as an ESL teacher that brought me to Spain for a year and allowed me to gain valuable teaching experience while funding my travels around Europe. I taught in a small academy located along the Camino de Santiago and had students of all ages ranging from 3 year olds to adult medical students. Some days were incredibly hard, others were incredibly rewarding. I learned about my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher and that there is no better feeling than seeing your students progression and success. Living in a small town forced me to improve my Spanish and appreciate a slower pace of daily life. Sleeping in late, siestas, long and late lunches, and there being no such thing as ‘coffee to go’ were things that were a lot different from fast-paced life in Canada.
While I was sad to leave, I take comfort in knowing I will always be able to gain similar experiences in new places. I could not have asked for a better intro into Spanish culture than given by my former professor, Eva Schnitzer. This combined with my linguistics and CTESL background left me more than prepared for my year abroad (and future adventures) as an ESL teacher.