Here at Isaac Albeniz High School we recently had a special visit from a guest named Isaac Song. He is an American student who is here studying organ donation in Spain representing the Fulbright program.
Fulbright is a competitive program of grants that is aimed at enabling students, teachers, professionals, etc. to travel abroad for educational purposes. This could be studying, conducting research and so on.
During the tutoring hour he gave a very interesting speech in English to the Batxillerat students which had two parts. Firstly he introduced himself and spoke about his life back in New York. Afterwards he told the students about the Fulbright program he represents and spoke about organ donation, the subject he is studying, and informed the students that the organ donation system in Spain is one of the best in the world!
Following his presentation with the Batxillerat students, we met in the management office over the break time and had something to eat and drink. During this time we had a conversation with Isaac and some of the teachers who are involved in the plurilingual programme and some English teachers too. Isaac and I shared our experiences about living here in Spain and compared the differences between what he is doing and what I am doing. It was interesting to hear about his studies and the work he is doing with regards to organ donation and the Fulbright program.
I think this visit from Isaac was a great opportunity for our Batxillerat students! It´s so important for our students to meet young people from other countries and hear about their lives and experiences. This was also such a useful experience for our students as it gave them the chance to listen to a different English accent. There are so many different English accents and it is important not to get used to one as the next English-speaking person you speak to is likely to speak differently! I hope that after meeting Isaac Song, our students will be encouraged to think about travelling abroad to study or work as it´s such a brilliant experience and a great chance to practise your language skills!
Amy Willett