Just three months ago, I traveled to Ireland
for a month in order to improve my English. It was not in the strict sense,
therefore, a leasure trip, but a travel for study: I pretended to get an immersion
in the language of Shakespeare, while I lived with very welcoming Irish and I
knew their customs and traditions. If, besides, I had the chance to meet some corners
of ancient Hibernia, the objectives of my trip could be considered more than
satisfied.
My partner, who went to Ireland to visit me for
a week, and I rented a car, and we finally found some lovely places: the Cliffs
of Moher, Aran Islands (where people still speak mostly Irish Gaelic), Dublin...
But the place that caught our attention was the Burren region. Located in the east of the island, this area
is now a national park, and suddenly stands among Irish meadows and fields, as
a not very steep karstic massif, which forms a distinctive landscape.
Actually, we went to that area because we heard
from a perfume factory receiving visits, while had a small shop, a very nice
coffee shop, as well as another facility from which we had no news then.
This facility was actually a garden with three
different areas for dissemination, carefully designed and maintained —for aromatic,
medicinal and culinary herbs—. The three areas were clearly marked, far
exceeding its educational objective.
It was at that moment when I thought about the
range of possibilities that would offer a similar place to teach my subject,
which would be, in the case of Valencia, its Botanical Garden (the ideal for everybody
would be to have a garden like that in high school, something currently
impossible due to lack of funds).
This session would be conducted in English,
which would require special preparation of words as the name in this language
of species, in addition to the preparation of botanical vocabulary. Students
also have to take into account all questions, concerns, etc. should be
submitted in English. Thus, an interaction between the teacher and themselves in
a real environment and referents would be achieved.
