Every year a group of Gaztelueta 6th grade pupils travel to Ireland for a month. Each will live with an Irish host family during this time and attend classes in a Dublin school. This Language ProgrammeThe Gaztelueta Internationalisation Programmeis organised through Rockbrook InternationalThe company, a company with extensive experience, coordinates English immersion programmes for children.
The aim of this trip is to provide each student with the ideal context in which they can live the experience, gain maturity and autonomy, and of course to grow in the language. In order to do this, each student is expected to immerse themselves as much as possible in the life of Dubliners. It must be borne in mind that the participants in this Language Programme will have to adapt to a language they know but spoken with a different accent; to a new culture, a new way of doing things. For example, the customs of many Irish families are very different, as well as the schools, the prevailing sports, etc. We want them to be open-minded, eager to absorb and learn, because that is how a trip like this is truly enriching.
The aim is none other than to get them in the right frame of mind so that they can get closer to what they are going to experience. To do this, the school offers the students several sessions beforehand in which, through images and videos from other years, they are shown experiences from other years, causing many doubts to arise which are resolved at the time. In this way, the students have a smoother landing into Irish life.
Once there, each student is closely monitored. A differential part of our programme is that a teacher travels with them for the duration of their stay. The teacher, who knows them beforehand, is attentive to the needs of each pupil and helps them in the process of adaptation. After all, they are still children. An important function of the teacher is to liaise with the pupils' families.
The immersion is total from Monday to Friday, as well as on Sundays. However, every Saturday they spend in Ireland, the Gaztelueta kids get together with their teacher to enjoy a fun plan that aims to recharge the group's morale and give them strength to face the following week. In this way they have a short-term weekly horizon: "On Saturday I see my friends from Gaztelueta".
In addition, from Monday to Friday, each student coincides in his or her school with two or three other children from Gaztelueta. In this way, the children are distributed among 7 or 8 schools each year. Through Rockbrook, they are asked to be alone in class and so they only meet in the playground. In this way, they are immersed in a class where only English is spoken, but they feel accompanied in the school.
Of course, the students improve their level of English. The school offers an ideal context where a 6th grade student lives in English, the immersion is total. This means that listening and reading comprehension will inevitably improve significantly. And, if the learner's attitude is right, speaking, pronunciation and fluency will also improve. The experience is very positive. Students grow in maturity and autonomy, learn to cope in a different environment. In addition, seeing other schools helps them to appreciate what is different and value what they have in Bilbao. Students improve their English, but also gain more self-confidence and improve their self-esteem. In short, travelling to Ireland with Gaztelueta is a great opportunity and a privilege.
