Ahhh so I've got news!! I got an internship abroad. It's at a language institute as stated in the title. It's actually a french business, but it's very international with its employees and students.
For my internship, I will be teaching conversation classes in English to international students and by students I mean 10yrs old to 70 yrs old. It's a broad spectrum!
I just started yesterday and I LOVE it so far. As of yesterday, I've decided to work towards my TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. I just decided this on a whim. If I pass this exam, this will allow me to work abroad anywhere that needs an English teacher. Soooo basically I have an endless array of countries to choose from and live in! How awesome is that? If I don't have a job by the time I graduate, I'm mostly likely going to do this and go on from there.
The institute itself is small but cozy and comfortable. It has a good atmosphere for learning. When I went for my interview a couple weeks ago, I accidentally passed the building and got lost (typical). But a kind gentlemen lent me his knowledge of the area and soon enough I found it. Honestly, I am the idiot abroad if I can't be observant of my surroundings. There were blatant English and American flags hanging in the window. Whoops.
This internship is my very first internship, therefore it was my first interview for one. I had nooo idea what to expect. I didn't really prepare because I actually thought I was automatically accepted since it's in association with IAU (the school I attend now). Nope, the patron named Gilles said he was interviewing 10 other Americans. I became more nervous once he said that and I became extremely nervous when he started asking me questions about my resume (C.V en français). Obviously I didn't prepare for this interview at all and I didn't check whether the resume I sent him was up to date. As you can tell, these are things not to do before an itnerview!! Thankfully, he was very nice and the environment was relaxed.
However, waiting for a response made me sweat. When I finished my interview, I felt terrible. I was not at my best. So waiting a week just reconfirmed those sentiments. Finally, I decided to call them back and I heard unofficially that I got accepted and he would call me tomorrow. And guess what? He did. Woohoo!
Thus my official first day was yesterday! I met Jim and John my trainers. Another girl from IAU also got accepted, so it was the two of us that attended the training and information session. It lasted around 2 hours. Both of them explained the function of the institute, its goals, professionalism, techniques etc. As I said before, my job will be to teach conversation classes. I will only practice speaking with the students, no grammar, writing or listening. Which is fine with me. The language levels in Europe are different than in the US. There are the typical levels like Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced but they go by letters followed by a number. For example, A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C3. A's are beginner, C's are advanced etc. The numbers denote the level within that level.
Today, I got to sit in 3 classes to observe. Two were with Jim and the other was with Natasha (she's ductch). Jim was teaching a mélange of things like grammar, speaking etc, you get the point. It was interesting to see how he taught a class and how he got the students engaged. For my job, I will need to come up with lesson plans 2 weeks in advanced. These plans include engaging activities and helpful tips for the students. This is a job for a certified teacher, but I get to do it as an intern. I'm pretty excited to start teaching! The other classes went well except only 2 students showed up for the night class, c'est dommage. I like everything I've seen and observed and all the people I've met so far.
John and Jim my trainers are from the UK. John is English and Jim is from Ireland. Jim is my favorite because he's a great teacher and is a really fun person. He's quirky. I think I will fully enjoy this internship! Oh, there are only 3 interns altogether: myself, Emily from IAU and Tyler another american. I can't wait to see how the rest of the semester goes. let's hope I'm a good teacher!
One last thing. It's weird to be in the other position where I'm teaching a language and not learning it! It's so different to be on the other side. I now understand how hard it is to learn a language and how hard it is to teach. It's a weird but cool feeling. Lots of patience of course!!
For my internship, I will be teaching conversation classes in English to international students and by students I mean 10yrs old to 70 yrs old. It's a broad spectrum!
I just started yesterday and I LOVE it so far. As of yesterday, I've decided to work towards my TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. I just decided this on a whim. If I pass this exam, this will allow me to work abroad anywhere that needs an English teacher. Soooo basically I have an endless array of countries to choose from and live in! How awesome is that? If I don't have a job by the time I graduate, I'm mostly likely going to do this and go on from there.
The institute itself is small but cozy and comfortable. It has a good atmosphere for learning. When I went for my interview a couple weeks ago, I accidentally passed the building and got lost (typical). But a kind gentlemen lent me his knowledge of the area and soon enough I found it. Honestly, I am the idiot abroad if I can't be observant of my surroundings. There were blatant English and American flags hanging in the window. Whoops.
This internship is my very first internship, therefore it was my first interview for one. I had nooo idea what to expect. I didn't really prepare because I actually thought I was automatically accepted since it's in association with IAU (the school I attend now). Nope, the patron named Gilles said he was interviewing 10 other Americans. I became more nervous once he said that and I became extremely nervous when he started asking me questions about my resume (C.V en français). Obviously I didn't prepare for this interview at all and I didn't check whether the resume I sent him was up to date. As you can tell, these are things not to do before an itnerview!! Thankfully, he was very nice and the environment was relaxed.
However, waiting for a response made me sweat. When I finished my interview, I felt terrible. I was not at my best. So waiting a week just reconfirmed those sentiments. Finally, I decided to call them back and I heard unofficially that I got accepted and he would call me tomorrow. And guess what? He did. Woohoo!
Thus my official first day was yesterday! I met Jim and John my trainers. Another girl from IAU also got accepted, so it was the two of us that attended the training and information session. It lasted around 2 hours. Both of them explained the function of the institute, its goals, professionalism, techniques etc. As I said before, my job will be to teach conversation classes. I will only practice speaking with the students, no grammar, writing or listening. Which is fine with me. The language levels in Europe are different than in the US. There are the typical levels like Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced but they go by letters followed by a number. For example, A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C3. A's are beginner, C's are advanced etc. The numbers denote the level within that level.
Today, I got to sit in 3 classes to observe. Two were with Jim and the other was with Natasha (she's ductch). Jim was teaching a mélange of things like grammar, speaking etc, you get the point. It was interesting to see how he taught a class and how he got the students engaged. For my job, I will need to come up with lesson plans 2 weeks in advanced. These plans include engaging activities and helpful tips for the students. This is a job for a certified teacher, but I get to do it as an intern. I'm pretty excited to start teaching! The other classes went well except only 2 students showed up for the night class, c'est dommage. I like everything I've seen and observed and all the people I've met so far.
John and Jim my trainers are from the UK. John is English and Jim is from Ireland. Jim is my favorite because he's a great teacher and is a really fun person. He's quirky. I think I will fully enjoy this internship! Oh, there are only 3 interns altogether: myself, Emily from IAU and Tyler another american. I can't wait to see how the rest of the semester goes. let's hope I'm a good teacher!
One last thing. It's weird to be in the other position where I'm teaching a language and not learning it! It's so different to be on the other side. I now understand how hard it is to learn a language and how hard it is to teach. It's a weird but cool feeling. Lots of patience of course!!