Growing up with a Mum who is a primary teacher allowed me to see the teaching profession from a new perspective. Hearing about the exciting activities she had planned for her class conveyed her true passion for her job; inspiring me. In my forth year at high school, I was given the opportunity to complete a week long work placement in her primary school, where I experienced working with children from primary 1 to 7. I thoroughly enjoyed this placement, so much that it made me realise that teaching is what I really want to do. I loved the role of helping children develop their reading abilities during one-to-one reading lessons; to me, teaching children is challenging yet so rewarding and fulfilling. Since that week, I knew primary teaching is the job for me.

With my enthusiasm towards Spanish, I believe that it could benefit the 1+2 primary language agenda. In primary school I didn’t enjoy French lessons as I didn’t have a good grasp for the language, whereas in high school I was able to have my own choice in which language I wanted to learn. Allowing children to have a wider variety of languages to learn from, may be more beneficial as it can get them involved in lessons which they will all enjoy and want to participate in. Speaking another language is a valuable and important skill to have and I believe that learning a language that you enjoy should be compulsory in all primary schools. Giving children more choice in their language lessons may be more engaging and encourage them to participate more in the classroom. Overall, bringing my passion for Spanish to primary schools would be advantageous in the children’s favour as it gives them a chance to branch out to other languages, broadening their opportunities in life.