Every afternoon in Lima, students spent three hours with their Spanish teachers, Irene Arce Zavala, Ana Bracamonte Bardalez and Biviana Goto Sanchez. They belong to the Grupo de Español Inca Garcilaso, a teaching team that offers on-site Spanish classes to visitors in Lima.
Our three wonderful teachers, Irene, Ana and Bivi.
Irene, Ana and Bivi like to get the three classes interacting with each other and with Peruvians as much as possible. They prefer not to focus too much on levels – realizing language learning is a fluid thing – so they named the classes after Peru’s three regions: Sierra, Selva and Costa (mountains, jungle and coast).
Irene, Ana and Bivi are fun, creative teachers who make sure their students get the most out of their class time. In addition to classwork to build skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing, the students wrote and performed short plays for the concluding Despedida (farewell party), interviewed people in a park and practiced the imperative forms by describing how to make some favorite recipes.
Natalie and Neal talk with a little girl on a scooter.
After six weeks of combining classwork with daily interaction with host families, students gained confidence in their improved Spanish skills and were better prepared for their service assignments.
Profesora Irene with members of her class: Amy, Caleb and JonathanProfesora Ana’s class takes a test.Ana watches over her class as they work.Profesora Bivi prepares props for a play while her students work.Students in Bivi’s class hard at work. Bivi gives instructions for interviewing people in the Los Olivos park.And off they go. Jackson and Thomas look for someone to interview.April and Gretchen overcome their shyness and dive into interviewing.Neal and Natalie strike up a conversation with some willing locals.The teachers wait while the students interview people. From left: Ana, her son Joseph, Bivi and Irene.Derek and Gina do an interview in the park.Jonathan and Dean ask their questions.Jackson and Thomas, still looking for a willing interview subject.Jake and Amy interview a child.Natalie and Neal talk with a little girl on a scooter.Thomas and Neal finally get an earful from an opinionated interviewee.Caleb and Malaina review what they learned.Gretchen and April are done interviewing.Students review the experience with teacher Irene.Jonathan, Amy and Natalie talk about how it went.Caleb and Malaina walking back with Bivi.Group photo in the park, with the three teachers.After returning from the park, the students wrote up their interview results on charts.Irene reviews Malaina and Caleb’s results.Derek and Gina’s chart.On another day, the students practiced speaking while preparing some favorite dishes.Nachos are not easy to find in Peru. They were a big hit.The students dig in to the snacks they made.Enjoying the fruits of their labors.The students pose by the table of goodies they made.Our three wonderful teachers, Irene, Ana and Bivi.
