Me as a subject expert

Being enrolled in the programs Teacher Education Spanish and English, I have realised that teaching a language requires keeping my professional knowledge and expertise up-to-date. Firstly, I grew up in a bilingual environment which was a fundamental basis for excelling in both languages or, at least, the necessary language skills to perform satisfactorily academically and professionally. Nevertheless, as part of the learning process, I have enriched Spanish and English languages by following a series of courses offered at Hogeschool Utrecht, which directly helped me to expand my vocabulary, improve my pronunciation, understand grammar rules, identify various accents, and deepen into the cultural iceberg of English and Spanish-speaking countries. Additionally, I have been improving my expertise by attending conferences organised by the Spanish Ministry of Education in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg considering that subject and pedagogical knowledge evolve, and teachers need to keep abreast of these changes and continuously develop their practice (Muijs & Reynolds, 2018, p.292). Therefore, attending those courses is a piece of clear evidence that the quantity and quality of professional development are related to school effectiveness and improvement, in which I was able to implement activities such as an escape room in ELE classrooms (Spanish as a foreign language), teach grammar enjoyably while using digital tools relevant to the current trends, and use artificial intelligence as an educational instrument while learning languages.

As well, attending the III ELE Conference on Global Citizenship at Hogeschool Utrecht has provided me with a range of tools to tackle current issues such as migration, stereotypes, inclusion, and the plurilingualism component in the Spanish classrooms. For instance, I decided to incorporate some of those issues into the class by assigning students to an English-speaking country at the ISK Duin & Bollenstreek. Students conduct an in-depth analysis of many factors related to the specified country, including poverty, migration, and other relevant issues. They then develop a website using platforms such as Webnode, Google, or Wix. This assignment has reinforced my vision as a teacher by adapting digital tools to support my students in their academic growth since we, as teachers, play a pivotal role in fostering digital literacy (Martin & Grudziecki, 2006). As a result, students created an online platform which shows their proficiency in the language, their research skills, and their digital competencies.

On the other hand, literature plays a great role in teaching (Ashman, 2018). I have read several books and graphic novels in my three literature courses from the English program and two literature courses from the Spanish program. After a rigorous selection process, I have used some of those books based on my students' preferences and used diverse theoretical approaches such as Erikson's theory of psychological development (1970) and Marcia's identity status (1996, 1997, 1998) to adapt the material in an enriching manner in which students can learn. A clear example of how I have applied the theory in my classroom could be the reading project given to second-year students at the ISK Duin & Bollenstreek. Initially, learners could choose their book of preference based on a list of various books related to their background and everyday life considering that most of them are refugees or immigrants in The Netherlands. This decision was made because by giving them autonomy in their choices, they are more motivated to accomplish their goals, and also incorporating literature that resonates with them before and after living in a new country, fulfils their psychological needs (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The reading project contains four fundamental steps: Pre-reading activities, during-reading activities, post-reading activities, and a reflection. All activities were designed under the communicative language approach, specifically under principle 4-input should be meaningful and principle 5-collaborative learning (Brandl, 2018, pp. 16-18). Perhaps the most valuable aspect of these reading projects was the reflection, as it illustrates how students not only evaluate their whole process during the assignment but also allows them to think about how it has helped them connect their lives with the main characters of the books. Therefore, I truly believe that reading habits should be reinforced at schools since they serve as a bridge between students' reality and fiction/non-fiction characters. Even at my other workplace, Vissert´ Hooft Lyceum, as a new teacher I have started a reading project that aligns with students' Spanish level according to the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2020) since they will take the final exam of Spanish in the upper secondary school. In this case, from year 2 Havo/Vwo, students start improving their reading skills to acquire the necessary vocabulary and learn more about Spanish literature and culture. The most relevant aspect of including literature in my Spanish classes is that students will use what they have learned on a field trip in year 3 and year 4 in two different cities in Spain, which makes it entirely meaningful to their lives.

Regarding my subject expertise in both languages, the most significant part of fostering reading habits and adapting material from different literary movements in the classroom is that I have been able to contribute to the general development of my students. The theory on adolescents' psychological development, identity, and motivation has guided me to compile and select the appropriate input with the aim of students learning and applying that knowledge to their lives. Also, I have become aware of my skills in finding suitable literature of different genres. For instance, as the new responsible person for diversity and inclusion at Vissert´ Hooft Lyceym, I will create a reading club which intends to address LGTQB rights, immigration, and other hot topics at school. The first book to be implemented is a graphic novel, Heartstopper. Then, I am sure that exploring different kinds of novels has brought me to create reading projects for different audiences at school that resonates to their lives. As it has been done until now, in the future I would like to keep updated with relevant literature on how to teach literature and how to improve reading habits. Similarly, I will attend workshops organised at our school group SCOL, Stichting Confessioneel Onderwijs Leiden, to be up-to-date in educational trends to strengthen literature in the Spanish and English classrooms.

Being a subject expert requires several factors to be taken into account such as the target group, the type of school, and the course books used at school which hopefully are aligned with the CEFR and the national learning goals. When I started at the ISK Duin & Bollenstreek, the classrooms were made up of illiterate students in their language, learners between A1-A2 English levels of proficiency, and there were no any books available for these students. Finding, adapting and editing material for my students' level, and interests became the most challenging aspect of my years of teaching experience. A good example of selecting and editing material for my class can be seen with my second-year class during an activity that involves the use of grammar, the second conditional, and the use of the cultural component. Teaching culture is a vital component while learning a language, which is considered a fifth language skill along with listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Tomalin, 2008). Students become not only competent in the target language, but also build interest in target cultures (Krasner, 1999). During this activity, learners were given a Lonely Book Planet, well-known for being a popular travel guidebook in English which comprises different elements of the country of interest such as history, traditional food, important celebrations and events, must-seeing places, routes, and different activities to do. Then, my objective with this activity was to introduce the distinct cultures present at school by bringing my private collection of those books into the class and letting them explore the similarities and differences that exist between them. Students have used English as the target language during their collaborative work and they have presented in front of the class some findings about their chosen country. With this culture project, I have gained enough confidence to keep using authentic material in class, taking into account that rich input is necessary to make the lessons more communicative (Brandl, 2008, p. 12). Additionally, I have learned that grammar can be taught more dynamically and entertainingly. Students were talking about unreal situations while using the second conditional in the English language and applying what they had learned about the country. Undoubtedly, I will use more authentic material which includes cultural elements to enrich the content of my classes, even for myself as a native speaker, there is a plethora of historical knowledge of the Spanish and English-speaking countries that I would like to learn to solidify my subject-specific competence.

During my three years of teaching experience in The Netherlands, three at the ISK Duin & Bollenstreek and one at Vissert´ Hooft Lyceum, I have learnt about the HAVO, VWO and ISK target groups and the expectations of the English and Spanish departments, respectively. I have gained skills in selecting, adapting, and creating material that meets the requirements of the CEFR indicators at school and students' prospects. I have developed a deep understanding of Spanish-English-speaking countries' literature and culture as crucial components of students´ learning process. Last but not least, I have sharpened my skills in creating communicative and useful activities for my students such as the website made by students or the use of digital tools such as Padlet during the second conditional activity. In the future, I will attend conferences related to my subjects and take the CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and DELE ( Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language ) training, both useful to increase essential skills in teaching English and Spanish after graduating.