dc.description.abstract | The current demand for teachers of English in Primary and Secondary schools in Spain is staggering
due to the implementation of a bilingual curriculum in the various autonomous communities. Recent
graduates with Education degrees are not only looking for alternatives to improve their foreign
language skills, but also to learn about new and innovative teaching methodologies to enhance their
job prospects. As such, the opportunity to receive professional teacher training through an educational
internship in a different country is an experience that, for these recent graduates, can lead to both
personal and professional development.
This article discusses the challenges and opportunities encountered by eighty Spanish university
students from Centro Universitario Villanueva who have participated in a teacher training internship
program in the United States, through Amity Institute, during a full academic year, as volunteer
Spanish teaching assistants. Based in San Diego, California, Amity is a non-profit institution which
offers students from 29 different countries, who have a career goal in education, the opportunity to
become volunteer foreign language teaching assistants in American classrooms and perform as
“cultural ambassadors”. The benefits are numerous: the interns gain essential new teaching skills and
practical hands-on knowledge, improve their English while living with a native host family and learn
how to adjust to a different culture. Consequently, the main purpose of this article is to demonstrate
how this eye-opening experience has been a primary ingredient for success in the students’
professional career, and a turning point in their lives. | es |