The village of San Pablo del Lago lies nestled in the Andes at the base of Imbabura Volcano near the shore of Laguna San Pablo, 7 or 8 miles from the famous market town of Otavalo and about fifty miles north of Quito. Colegio Nacional San Pablo, the school where I taught, has more than 900 students, most of them indigenous, who come from San Pablo and neighboring villages. The school is divided into six grades – three “basic” grades (8th, 9th, and 10th), and three “bachillerato” grades (11th, 12th, and 13th) when the students select a particular academic program. Classes ranged in size from fifteen to forty. When I taught there for three months in early 2010, it was the first time most of the students had ever had the opportunity to interact with a native English speaker, but of course they had all seen and heard English on TV and in music. Although Quechua is the first language of some of the students, they all speak Spanish. Most of the students wear school sweaters or jackets, but some of the girls wear beautiful traditional blouses and skirts, and some of the boys sport traditional braided hair.

During my three months teaching at Colegio Nacional San Pablo, I lived with a family in Otavalo and usually commuted to San Pablo by bus. The school day ran from 7:30 a.m. until 1:20 p.m., divided into eight forty-minute periods with a half hour recess in mid-morning.  The school had six Ecuadorian English teachers, whose classes more or less corresponded to the six grade levels at the school.  I worked for two weeks with each of the teachers, which meant I had a chance to teach all 900+ students and to see the different styles of all six teachers. In some of the classes I supplemented the regular textbook lessons, and in others I developed and taught my own lessons on topics selected by the teachers. All the students had studied grammar and vocabulary, but most of them had never had an opportunity to talk with a live native speaker, so I concentrated on getting them to overcome their shyness and take risks and speak, even if their grammar wasn’t perfect.  Two afternoons a week, I met with the six teachers and helped them with their English speaking and listening skills. Other afternoons I took private Spanish lessons in Otavalo, and on evenings and weekends I explored Otavalo and the cities, mountains, coast, cloud forests, and jungle of Ecuador.

Bruce, 2010