Interview with Jose Luis Vera

By Adrián García, Eduardo Campos, Saymara Dama, Gisela Delgado

On February 18th, four students from the First Year of Bachillerato -Adrián García, Eduardo Campos, Gisela Delgado and Saymara Damas-, had the pleasure of interviewing Jose Luis Vera, responsible for the Bilingual Programme that our school has developed for so many years.

If we remember correctly, we were just kids when the programme started and we received the news that from that moment on, we would be doing all subjects in English, except for Maths and Spanish Language. This represented a milestone in the evolution of this language in our school. All the families, as well as the learners, were informed, and obviously concerned, about the consequences and the results that would be obtained in the short and long term. It was not an easy decision for the centre, since there was a certain risk in implementing the programme.

However, the center bet everything on this programme and it seems, without any doubt, to have been a good decision according to the results.

So, let’s see what Jose Luis Vera has told us in this very interesting interview.

-What is the most important aspect to take into account when teaching and learning a foreign language?

-«The first thing that Jose Luis Vera told us about this programme was that what matters the most is communication. The entire interview revolved around this thought and this is why it makes it so essential for understanding the rest of the interview.

As Jose Luis Vera described it to us, communication is essential for any language, even more important than concepts or words. The example he gave us was the following: Jose Luis Vera arrived in the UK when he was just a disoriented young man, not knowing how to speak a single word of English. It was early morning and all shops were closed at that time. He was  hungry, but he couldn’t buy anything. Then he saw a police officer and asked him where he could get something to eat using gestures. The officer pointed to several bottles of milk that I was able to get from the front door of a house. (as it used to be in the past). Jose Luis Vera, took one and left the money in the space of the bottle.

And that’s where communication comes in. As you may have noticed, no words or language were used at any point in the situation. Only communication could be seen between the police officer and the disoriented young man. And that’s why communication is the most important part of a language. No matter how well you know the concepts and words of a language, if you don’t know how to put them into practice, they won’t do anything».

-What should a learner of a foreign language have at first place to help the acquisition?

-«He emphasized the three main pillars when learning a language: concepts, attitudes and procedures. The most important of these three are the attitudes. He delighted us with different examples (just like the one we mentioned before in which he told us about his arrival in the UK), that just with a good attitude and without knowing any English, he was able to communicate in a different language.

José Luis represented these three pillars as if it were a truck: the truck would be ourselves; the concepts are the load that goes on the truck, the procedures are the body of the truck (with its engine) and the wheels are the attitudes. Without the wheels / attitudes it is impossible for the truck to move forward».

-Could you talk to us about the pros and cons of setting such a pioneer programme in our school?

-«Finally, we talked about the pros and cons of this pioneering program. The cons were, especially, with the families. At first, families did not like the idea of their children having several subjects in English and many of them came to the centre to express their disapproval. For this reason, it was necessary to hold meetings with the families for several months in order to assess its development and progress. Their initial attitude changed when they were able to appreciate the benefits of the programme.

In terms of the pros, the programme was not only positive for the students, but it was also positive for the teachers. The fear regarding future studies outside the centre lost strength at the end of the first year.

In our experience, this interview has been a very rewarding and interesting job. Not only we have learned about the origin of the great change that marked the beginning of English in our lives, but we have also enjoyed the company of José Luis Vera during the time we spent together. Let’s not forget that this interview will also be featured on our radio programme, Radio Colegio Virgen del Mar, where we are waiting for you all to continue talking about this matter with José Luis Vera».