We asked Talicial how her first year of teaching English ended after everyone had been in lockdown for over a year in Carrillo. Not only was this her first year of teaching after graduating from receiving her teaching degree, but it was spent teaching 100 percent online. She told us that while the lockdowns have been a challenge for everyone, the children are trying their best to stay calm. The end-of-year preparations were also quite challenging, especially with the deadline of evaluations for over 60 students. Last week, she also had to plan classes and write comments for the scholarship students for their sponsors. She mentioned how the students took longer than usual to end the last classes because they love classes and didn’t want them to finish.

We are lucky to have such dedicated students who love English at Na’atik. Talicial told us how online learning is now the children’s primary contact with the English language, so they are doing their best to continue learning as much as possible. There are many advantages as well as disadvantages to learning online; while it has increased accessibility to children in remote areas, many students have problems with their internet connection and some students do not have a computer so they have to use a cell phone. Cell phones can be tricky to navigate because they can limit the student’s ability to participate in class, with some having to speak louder for their fellow classmates to hear them.

When asked about what her most challenging aspect of teaching has been for her this year, she told us it was about trying to keep the children engaged without having them physically present, so implementing online games was integral to her class planning. She mentioned how her youngest students who are 6 and 7 years old, in the Big Tots group, love to learn with songs and games, especially when their favorite characters are featured. Knowing that children love to sing, play and draw, and playing online games such as Kahoot, helped her to prepare and guide her classes so they were fun and engaging, although online! As we all know, children love to play while they are learning and Talicia won over the hearts of her students this way and their English excelled.

 To celebrate the end of the year Talicia needed to be creative as the Na’atik tradition for year-end class parties has been to celebrate with pizza and soda. This year, Talicia organized a small, virtual party where the children enjoyed online karaoke instead. Each student chose their favorite English song and performed it in front of their classmates; they had a lot of fun.

We’re extremely proud of Talicia and how she dove into her first year of teaching - and online - with dedication, creativity and fantastic energy. Her students learned more than we thought was possible and we look forward to seeing her and our students again in the fall.

When you book a class with Na'atik, your support helps subsidize our local English language program. Visit our donate page to learn more.