Meet the Auxiliar

Hi! My name is Alyssa King, and I’m the language and culture assistant at I.E.S. Atenea this year. I’m from Akron, Ohio and attended Ohio University for my undergraduate and graduate studies. I first got to know Sevilla when I studied abroad here in 2017. I loved Sevilla then like I love Sevilla now, and I feel very fortunate to be able to live in Andalucía.

This is my third year being a language and culture assistant in Andalucía, but  it’s my first experience working in a high school. I’m currently working with first through fourth year students in geography and history, art, technology, physics and chemistry, physical education and music. 

In art classes I’ve been working with students in small groups. Small groups ensure that I am able to work with students individually, and students often feel more comfortable asking for help and participating in small groups. I believe that these classes enhance both language skills and confidence. 

One thing I’ve really enjoyed this year is helping students with their projects in technology classes. Assisting students with their work allows me to build rapport with the class. Over the course of the year, I’ve noticed that these informal classes improve the quality of my more formal lessons because the students feel more comfortable working in English.

Likewise, I believe that small group conversation sessions in music and physical education are important not only because they allow the students and I to get to know eachother better, but also because conversation is an important language skill that is often not prioritized in second language learning. 

Co-teaching more formal lessons in geography and history and physics and chemistry has been a valuable experience for me personally. I’ve truly enjoyed working with all of the teachers that I’ve had classes with this year and am excited to continue to collaborate with them as we foster students' English language skills.