Fulbright English assistants in Andorra cite language barriers and banking hurdles

Mara Márquez and Gemma Oshiro, participants in the Fulbright programme, say linguistic challenges have been among the most significant obstacles in their adaptation to Andorra.

“My role is to be an English teaching assistant at the Aixovall Vocational Training Centre and to work alongside the English department,” Mara Márquez told EL PERIÒDIC. Márquez, a US participant in the Fulbright exchange, takes part in three or four classes a day and describes the work as “fun,” because her goal is for students to practise spoken English. She works on a wide range of topics, “from nursing to computing and sport.”

Gemma Oshiro supports baccalaureate students at the Escola Andorrana. Although she shares tasks with Márquez, Oshiro says she has “a unique position” because her role allows her “to meet and work with all baccalaureate students.” She helps improve oral skills and also works with second-year baccalaureate students on their research projects.

Márquez’s appointment lasts for a school year; she noted that “on 1 December it had been three months since I arrived in the country.” She described the selection process as lengthy: applications open between March and April, the procedure closes in October, and the final decision is announced in January. Selected candidates then have until September to prepare for the trip and their stay. Oshiro said she arrived on 31 August and will remain until early June.

Regarding language, Márquez said Andorra did not explicitly require knowledge of French, Spanish or Catalan, but acknowledged that speaking those languages can earn applicants extra points. She added that thanks to these languages, she and some colleagues found it easier to communicate with staff during their first months, before they fully understood Catalan. Oshiro noted she spent a semester in Paris during university and currently gives private English lessons and attends French classes at the Lycée Comte de Foix.

Both women pointed to practical and social difficulties. Márquez said one of the most complicated aspects was banking: “because we come from the United States, they have to thoroughly check our profiles and the origin of our money.” She described the process as long and very stressful for her and her colleagues. She also mentioned social integration as a challenge, though she has observed that “as I speak more Catalan, this difficulty fades.” Oshiro said not knowing Spanish or Catalan fully is the hardest part but welcomed the challenge, and appreciated that people in Andorra “value the effort of someone who wants to learn Catalan.”

Another participant, Sophia Barton, described her experience as “incredible,” saying she had not encountered difficulties and that she lives with a “wonderful host family” and feels well adapted to the Escola Andorrana de Segona Ensenyança d’Encamp thanks to the English teaching team.

Márquez said adapting was easier because the country’s border setting reminded her of her hometown: “I come from a border town and feeling this connection with France and Spain, the language exchange and everything, reminds me of home,” which she said she likes despite being far from her usual environment. Oshiro highlighted that her previous stay with a host family in Paris was “very useful” preparation for her current experience.

The Fulbright programme has a 25-year history of collaboration between the United States and Andorra. It operates on two main lines: an annual scholarship for Andorran citizens to pursue postgraduate studies in the United States, and five annual grants for US citizens to serve as English conversation assistants for nine months in different educational centres in Andorra.