1- Monday 27/09/04.
So... what's happening? right, last week it was introductionweek all week long. (which was quite enjoyable
by the way) But today I had my first schoolday, which was rather enjoyable aswell.... Today I met Roel, Eddy and Henriette
who are all teaching Dutch at the uni. I was quite amazed to see that there were people that actually wanted to
study Dutch, so I was astounded to see that there were about 25 students in the classroom. Hopefully i'll be
able to provide these students with some helpfull conversation classes. Luckily I am not the only Dutch native speaking student
at the uni.. there are also two Belgians who will help the students out and another Dutch student. The
Belgian accent might be just great for these students, because it's an opportunity to get to know different accents.
The other Dutch girl is from Utrecht, whereas I am a "brabo" which again provides the students with some colorfull new
accents.. This should be great!
About the other internship I'll be doing... I called Aliona Fatma last week but she explained me that she didn't
have a lot of time this week, but she'll call me as soon as she can. That gives me the possibility to go to more activities
this week...however, I am looking forward to teaching at her school.
Wednesday 7/10/04
Just to recap what has happened the last few days; On monday we had our first conversation
class, which was very enjoyable. Some students were really good at speaking Dutch. Especially the ones who went to summerschool
in the Netherlands. One guy even had a bit of an Utrecht accent, which was quite funny. I still haven't been able to contact
Aliona Fatma, but I'll try again tonight.
My first lecture of understanding crime was very interesting... I shall be doing my research about this subject
I think....
sunday 17/10/04
So last monday I had another conversationclass, this time we used a theme, which was: movies.
On Wednesday I visited Mount Pleasure community centre, where Aliona Fatma works. She and all of her co-workers were very
nice and I really hope I'll be able to help them out. I have been assigned to a group of pre-intermediates and a beginners
group. I am looking forward to teaching and working with these people because they are all very motivated. I'll keep updating
this site with the expierences and progress I've made.
the Arabic class that I am doing on University might even come in handy, because a lot of the people here speak
Arabic. I can use some Arabic words like shukran to thank them for their hard work and motivation. I'll be updating next wednesday..
greetings Jolijn
19/10/04
So, this morning I was observing a beginners class of English for foreigners. This is also
the class where I will teach for the coming month. All of the people were very motivated to learn new words but they were
really really beginners... you have to be able to stay calm and explain, explain again, and again... but that's ok, because
they really want to learn. After watching Farhana (the teacher) first, I taught them a little bit about the human body, and
how body parts are called. This is useful for the students because they often have trouble explaining to a doctor how they
feel or where it hurts.. It was actually really funny because I had to point out all the body parts.. (I almost got tangled
up when I tried to explain toe to one student and bottom to another..)
tomorrow I'll continue this lesson.
The conversation class on the uni is easy peasy compared to the classes with the foreigners, but still very enjoyable.
Yesterday we spoke about addictions... of course we talked about the dutch 'gedoogbeleid' and I was amazed that the students
were mostly against this Dutch policy... We had a nice talk about the pros and cons and about other (dangerous..?) addictions
like chocolate..
greetings Jolijn
02/11/04
Today another day of teaching at Mount Pleasure. I was expecting to teach in Farhana's class again, but one of
the teachers had called in sick that morning, so I had to fill in for her. These students were also entry level 1, which means
they are also beginners. Unfortunately, they were not doing the same subject as Farhana's class, which meant I had to improvise
a little. Luckily all the students were very patient with me and we had a nice lesson about jobs, age and how to ask relevant
questions. Tomorrow I will teach in Farhana's class again, where we will continue with how to make a doctor's appointment
and what to say/do when you are there.
Last week I had a presentation in Non-verbal communication class. I decided to do something active with
the students and I think it worked out fine. The students had to measure the distance between two people, and record when
they started to feel uneasy. Next to this I also had a sheet of possible tests for them to do in public to test out personal
space and the personal bubble. These students were very cooperative and this is probably the level of students I would
like to work with after I've completed school, because I have a feeling I can really contribute something to their education
and they can help me in my own development.
The conversation class was fun as usual, we talked about Halloween, the paranormal, ouji boards, tarot and signs...
the students seemed pretty eager to talk about this subject and I am again looking forward to the next session with them.
I think some students are really making improvements.
2/12/04
Hello everybody, I am sorry I haven't been updating this site regularly but these times are
very busy. I have to write multiple essays and do some work for my home university. So what's been happening these last few
weeks? Well yesterday I said goodbye to my students and the teachers at Mount Pleasure. (Sheffield college) It has been a
very good experience and I think both students and teachers have been great. I am still so surprised how motivated these students
were, and I believe this has helped me to realise that I would like to teach older students rather than younger ones. This was
also supported by the conversation class I had with the University students. I think it works motivating for myself when the
pupils really want to learn. When I did my internship for social studies I came across students who were unmotivated
and unwilling to learn, and although I feel it is a challenge to motivate them, I also feel that this will only be a challenge
for 1 or 2 years, after that I fear it will become dreadfull. I have learned many things and I will be sure to write them
in my conclusions. greetings Jolijn
