Nora Flower

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Labrador-Rodriguez, Sonia

Area of Concentration

Spanish Language and Culture

Abstract

New College has an internship program in collaboration with Riverside Rotary Club in which qualified Spanish students are sent to San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala to teach English for a semester. We, Kaeli Williams and Nora Flower, completed this internship in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019, respectively. We continued to work on several projects to develop this program upon our return. One of these projects was this thesis, a handbook for future interns that provides a pedagogical framework for teaching indigenous students and students in situations of poverty and connects this to widely used teaching theories and methods that could be applied to the context of this program. This thesis also provides a 3 year curriculum plan with objectives for each year, a set of 8 sample lesson plans, an outline of our grading system, a set of tips for effective classroom habits, a section on our personal experiences and reflections as interns, and an overview of important practical and cultural considerations that will help students prepare and adjust. In writing this thesis, we hope to change the direction of English-teaching, something that has historically been used to oppress and assimilate indigenous communities. This thesis aims to instill upon the intern an appreciation of the importance of teaching based on teaching pedagogy that aims to empower indigenous people rather than oppressing them. It also aims to develop interns’ understanding of teaching theories, methods and techniques through conceptual review and relevant examples, as well as providing a practical guide to teaching and living in San Juan Chamelco. Our vision is an ambitious one, and we frame it as a source of guidance and knowledge rather than a rulebook. However, we believe it is essential to the program that our interns explore teaching pedagogy and share our overall vision in order to have a positive impact on this community and avoid contributing to oppressive practices.

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