Teacher Training in Torquay for Christina

Hello everybody,

My name is Christina Möllers and I’m in the third year of my Music and English studies back home in Germany. As I want to become a teacher later on I am very happy that my work placement in Torquay is at the Torquay Boys‘ Grammar School, where I am currently working as a German Assistant for 3 months. At my TTPL Welcome Meeting (on the 8th of September) I was presented with the opportunity of taking part in a training programme in addition to my work placement. In this blog I am going to tell you more about this intriguingly interesting and very informative experience.

The training started on the 18th of September. From now on we would meet every Thursday morning from 9.30-12.30am. The six Spanish teachers in the group, who had mostly come to England to look for an actual teaching assistant job, and me, got to know Bill, our fabulously good-humored and always helpful and well-informed coach. We also got to know each other as we talked about our ambitions and our reasons for taking part in the programme.

At the job centre!

Cross Cultural Training with Sabina

Over the course of the six weeks we were given a broad overview over the general educational system in the UK. In addition we learnt more about the treatment of students with S.E.N. (special educational needs), security at schools and how to relax and motivate students after breaks with brain gym exercises. Furthermore we got to know educational methods like the white board as a means to get some direct feedback from the students. We were given an in depth insight into the application process in Britain including information on the National Insurance Number, a mock job interview and a visit to the local job centre, where we were able to register ourselves in the system. Our fourth session was a bit different. Sabina Rademacher, a former German business woman, who had first moved to Spain and then to England, trained our Cross-Cultural Awareness. We learnt and discussed that different cultures have different values and ways of doing things, that certain signs can mean completely different things in another culture and that we as teachers in another country need to be aware of these differences and make our students aware of them. During the last session we all got our own white board, a check list to help us survive the first day at a new school and, of course, our certificates. 

Group visit to Kents Cavern

All in all, this teacher training programme was a very helpful experience! I have learnt a lot and would now feel ready to look for a teaching job in Britain. I can recommend the programme to anyone who is interested in getting a closer insight into the British Educational System (like me) but especially to those that actually plan to look for a job as a teacher in England.

Daniela's Story

Hi, 

My name is Daniela Ferko , newly graduated from the two-year specialization in Graphic Design at the Academy of Arts in Macerata. In my studies I have in-depth expertise in corporate identity, Web design, editorial design, completing with elements of illustration and photography.

My work experience in Devon was supported by the Leonardo da Vinci project CAIN.

I am very glad to have met with WNW Digital, the company was very confident in my respect and allowed me to work for graphic design and restyling of websites for their clients as Wells Carpet Brokers and Exmouth Bed and Pine and other customers...

WNW is located in the center of Dix's Field Exeter, involved in web marketing, social media, e-mail marketing or any other digital marketing techniques.

My work in WNW Digital, is based on the design and creation of images and promotional materials for different customers and for the company. In this period I'm working on designing corporate image of the company. Starting from the design and creation of a new simple and modern graphics for the website and then apply it to different social media and promotional materials.

Thanks an infinite A Nigel, (my employer) for his charisma, for involvement me in various activities outside of work and for supporting me with the Visa!

Nigel was also pleased with Daniela - "She is good at her job & a delight to have in the office.  This week alone we have had two clients approve website designs that Daniela has done, plus a new brochure for us and lots of ad hoc blog graphics! Thanks again for sending Daniela" - Nigel Wilkinson

Its fantastic when both our students and our employers are thrilled with the placement arrangements - This is what we strive to achieve with all of our students and cements the importance of what we do.

Good Luck Daniela and thank you WNW Digital!

Andra - Romanian trainee in the United Kingdom

Hello,

I was an intern for 3 months at Unit Seven in South Devon. I am a student of the Romanian – American University and I am studying Domestic and International Business, Banking and Finance.

My work at Unit Seven consisted of helping the various businesses, members of the creative bureau, to improve their social media presence and help, from a marketing point of view, in other areas of the business.

The 3 months I’ve spent as an intern for Unit Seven were lovely. The work placement offered me the opportunity to deal with totally new tasks and a completely different working environment than what I have experienced so far in Bucharest, Romania.

I have met wonderful professionals that contributed greatly to my professional and personal development, my colleagues made me feel part of the team the minute I joined and I was really happy to feel that my work was appreciated.

In addition, my social life in Torquay was sustained by the weekly student meetings organized by The Training Partnership and the trips we’ve done on our own. I met many lovely people from all around the world and I am sure I will keep contact with most of them. The United Kingdom is a lovely country, London was an amazing adventure, being a noob to the city, and the people are really great.  

Overall, I believe this experience had a major impact on my life and I will never forget it. Working abroad transmutes one’s perspective on life and lets you realize that you’re adaptable everywhere so the world is yours.

“What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, when we are so far from our own country…we are seized by a vague fear, and an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. "Travel, which is like a greater and graver science, brings us back to ourselves.”

Albert Camus, Exile and the Kingdom

Andra

x

Laia's Story

My Time in England,

After finishing my Energies Engineering Degree last year, I decided that could be advantageous for me, to spend four months in an English speaking country to improve my English and to have my first work experience related with my degree.

My work experience overcame all my expectations. I worked in an engineering company in Totnes and it was absolutely beneficial for me. I was able to work as a project assistant on different projects that were underway. My colleagues were very thoughtful with me and they spent some time to explain me the operation of the project so that I could get new knowledge.

Another really important part of my stay in Torbay was my host family. They were absolutely kind and nowadays we still keep in touch. They made me feel like at home and it was also a great way to improve my speech.

But best of my stay in England, is all the people I've met (French, German, Belgian, Swedish, Italian, Catalan and English!) The best day of the week was Thursday, because it was student meeting day!!! We spent a wonderful afternoon with different kind of activities (cultural visits, bowling, barbeques, cinema...). It was a great way to meet with people from different countries to practice your English and have a good time together.

After the student meeting, drinking a beer or a cider, we decided what we will do on the weekend. We took the train or the bus and we were visiting the whole Torbay zone or even a little further! Totnes, Darmouth, Plymouth, Brixham, Exeter, Bath, Stonehenge and a little trail for the Jurassic coast!

To sum up, one of the best experiences I've ever had in a foreign country and all thanks to the wonderful TTPL team who made it possible, overcoming all my expectations.

Laia

Words from Nacho!

Words from Nacho - aka John Ricon.

John was a great character here at TTPL and he has sent us a lovely blog about his time here - WE MISS YOU! He even brought us Home made soaps on his leaving day! awww :)

Nacho's Story!

When I was offered this experience in the UK, my expectations couldn't be higher. The idea of getting work experience in an English speaking country motivated me a lot, since being abroad is one of the most thrilling things for me to do. And after having completed it, I must say it did not disappointing me, but quite the opposite: both my work placement –LAL Torbay– and the Training Partnership made my time in England amazing.

The variety of tasks at LAL helped me learn a lot from a professional perspective. I was a student at language schools abroad five times, so I was able to totally put myself in students' shoes and understand them. Therefore, it made me so happy to have the chance to help them, and also to widen my experience at language schools, this time from the other side, not being a student anymore, but a member of the school staff. I also found the internship really amazing due to the magnificent treatment I received from the staff members, who were so friendly, patient, and willing to help.

TTPL weekly Student Meetings happened to be the most enjoyable moment of the week. The fact they were every Thursday made the working week seem shorter. The big variety of activities we had, from cultural visits to barbecues and sports evenings, were a perfect way to interact with the TTPL staff members and other students and trainees, as well as a way to make new international friends. I also appreciate the chances I had to visit London on the one-day trips TTPL organized.

To conclude, I would like to say I really appreciate the experience I had and thank TTPL for the great treatment they gave me.

THANK You Nacho and good luck in your next adventure!!

Kim - Event and Marketing assistant at TTPL

I’m very happy to share my experience. I live in Paris and I’m preparing a degree in Business Development in my University. I was in Bournemouth to improve my English skills then I took a coach to go to Torquay. From 1 July to 22 August 2014, I worked at TTPL as a marketing and event assistant in this town. My first week in Torquay was difficult. I arrived alone with my English level. I was lost and I had no idea how to get my bus. What’s happened during 2 months? I remember my first and long week: “I’m sick about this country, I want to go home”. But the other weeks are spent so quickly!!! Yes the first week is difficult, but also your last day with your friends and your colleagues. The events organized by our team (Boat party, Mambo club meeting and Mambo party, London trip, Cockington trip, Splashdown Quaywest … ), but also the people I had met. Contrary to what is said, the weather in England was good. Sunny for our events and raining sometimes. I was responsible to organize the events and creating guides for the trip that we had organized. But I also participate in the conduct of the event. I have also created a “Survival guide: first week in England” for the students who ask helps. For my first days I just had to prepare the welcome pack for the student who arrived the following week in order to help Sam in his work.

The staff in TTPL is fantastic, even if I had to bring some M&M’s for Lorenzo when I needed his help to correct my mistake in English when I had to send email for the student. You will find a very good atmosphere in the office. With very good peoples and a very good coffee! Just the music when you work in the office which should be updated.

Paola...an Italian in Torbay.

Hey, my name is Paola I’m 18 and I come from Italy.

When I arrived in England the first thing that I thought was: “ the weather is very terrible, I can’t survive here for a month”!

Fortunately the weather and the temperature became better and I started to get used to the English clime.

In the starting days I attended school and after I worked for 3 weeks.

My work placement was in The Training Partnership Ltd in Torquay; here people are very helpful, friendly and funny especially Nadine and Sam! I worked in marketing sector with Lorenzo, he was very kind and available to repeat and explain me when I didn’t understand. I liked this work placement and I knew the office job and clime!

In the free time me and my Italian group visited lots of cities like Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter and Cockington Village. We went to the sea and stayed there all day, it was very relaxing ;) I went to pub of Torquay like Mambo and others, but I went shopping because here there are many good shops.

Every Thursday the TTPL organize a meeting for all students, every time in a different place, we went to the water park or bowling for example,  it was very amusing and a way to know new people from different countries.

My host family was perfect and like me upon I arriving. My host parents were funny and spoke a lot with me and my friend, the house was beautiful and the food was very good because my host mother likes cooking!!                                        The English people think outside of the box and have an open mind, here there aren’t prejudices and everyone is free wear the clothes he likes without feeling ashamed… I love this!

I hope to come back here in the future and call in to see my host family!

Paola 

Isabel’s Story at Totnes Rare Breeds Farm

You definitely should love the work on the farm and the animals living there. The Rare Breeds Farm in Totnes does not only have rare breeds like some goats or geese they also have for example a snake, two tortoise and chipmunks. It was very interesting to learn so much about all of them. I was able to answer a lot of different questions after a while, questions like “What is the difference between a lama and an alpaca?” or “Why are the red squirrels a rare breed in England?” The farm manager was a very lovely, helpful and funny person. She explained everything very easily to me and even if I didn’t understand everything right away or I had to ask one or two more times she took time and explained it again or even showed me what she meant. I felt very welcomed on the farm. It was a great atmosphere because we all had the same interest…The animals. That made the last day a little sad. The work on the farm was so great that I also came in on Sundays.

A waterproofed coat, pans and shoes are definitely needed because you never know about the weather in England. If it rains you can’t just say, that you are going to stay inside because the animals still need food, water and cleaning. But if it rained and we didn’t have too much to do outside we all gathered in the ICU (Intensive care unit). There are the snake, the chinchillas, the hedgehog, the chicks and some harvest mice. Because some chicken or geese were rare breeds we tried to hatch the eggs in an incubator which is also in the ICU. I saw one egg hatch on my very first day. That was a great experience. Just one experience from a lot which were great. One other very good thing is that the farm is providing you with lunch. And it was great lunch, always a salad and a sandwich and chips if you wanted with cold and hot drinks.

I wouldn’t want to miss one day of my gained experience on the farm and I hope that the following students have the chance to get a very great stay as well. If you want to find out more about the farm then visit: http://www.totnesrarebreeds.co.uk/ 

It is worth a visit! Especially if you never touched an owl before ;-) 

15 weeks! Au Revoir Cyrille

15 weeks ago Cyrille joined us here at TTPL for his Work Placement. He announced his arrival with this blog - Hello World Well here we are 3 months later and its time for him to return to Belgium.
Good bye Cyrille, good luck and please stay in touch!


Hello world this is Cyrille again! My 15 weeks of internship here in TTPL are coming to an end and to be honest, I will miss a lot of things here in Torquay.

During all this time, the best thing was to meet a lot of European students and that way, to make a lot of friends! Chatting and having a laugh around a pint of beer with them during the weekend or after a day of work is the best way to unwind and relax. If I can give an advice to new students; don't be shy! Nobody bites, go speak to other students and get to know each other. This will make you happier, you will improve your English skills and in the weekends, you will go visit surrounding cities in UK (Plymouth, Exeter, Totnes or even London) and have fun on Friday and Saturday nights.

My work placement in The Training Partnership Ltd was really fruitful for me. Now I know what office work consists of and I learned to be more independent and open-minded. The staff members are very competent and always available when you need them. What is the most amazing with them is that they are like a family, they all get along with each other and everyone is ready to lighten the atmosphere at any time, which makes them a fantastic team!

The host family that welcomed me was the nicest one I could have wanted. They were always happy to have a talk with me and I quite like the food my host mother was cooking, which is not the case for all of the students coming here.

What more could I say? Working abroad for some months is an experience every student should live. I would have stayed longer if I didn't have exams to pass… anyway, every day here was enjoyable and Torbay is a wonderful place to live in even if few people might be very weird sometimes.

I am already looking forward to come back here in the future!

Thanks a lot TTPL for all you have done for me, you guys are the best!

Secret Squirrel

Sarah - a German students view of the Torbay experience

Hey, my name is Sarah. I’m 18 years old and I live in Germany.

At my school, every student has to do a work placement in twelfth Grade to get some insights in economic processes. As our school offered to do this work placement in the UK and English is my favorite language, I decided to take the plunge and have the courage.

On my first day here at The Training Partnership I knew I wouldn't regret it!

I love working here, the atmosphere is relaxed, but also very productive and someone’s always quick with a quip – mostly Ian or Sam. ;-)

Sam is also the one I’m mostly working with or better said for. I support him with searching for different activities around Torbay, so that the Students get some ideas of what they could do while they’re here in the UK. Besides the fun tasks there was of course a lot of paperwork – probably like in every other office.

After work there’s still enough time to explore Torquay. Whether you want to go shopping or enjoy the sunset at the beautiful harbour. There are also a lot of pretty places around Torquay, like Brixham with all its beautiful Coves or Dartmouth with its many Castles.

My host family is very nice and helpful. On my first day of work, I didn't catch my bus, because unfortunately it doesn't stop at my stop…

It was pouring and as I got back home, my host mother already called a taxi for me.

The best way to improve your English is to just talk! 

If you’re in the same accommodation as one of your friends, don’t just talk in mother tongue, but instead talk with your host family. You could definitely learn some interesting things about the UK, you may not knew before.

Also you should definitely go out, have fun and make new friends. There are some nice pubs in Torquay, like Appleby’s or the Green Ginger. 

Another good way to meet new people is the weekly student meeting from TTPL – which, by the way, I helped to organise J  – where you can talk to all of the other students from many different countries.

Unfortunately I’m just staying for two weeks and that is definitely too short to explore the whole beauty of Torbay. But nevertheless I made some of the best experiences, I will never forget.

Thank you TTPL! J

My Life in Torquay - Yasmin, a Swiss Student in Torbay

Before I went to England I was quite excited because I really didn’t know what to expect. Now as I have been here for quite a long time I know that British people really are as friendly and polite as they are said to be. The word 'cheers' is quite a universal one and is not only used as in Swiss German we say 'proscht' whilst clinking wine glasses together as I have learned back home but also covering any meaning ranging from 'thank you' to 'goodbye'. And yes, the English really do drink a lot of tea. But now enough talk about the stereotypes (and I haven’t even started to talk about the weather ;-)) but more insight into my everyday life here in Torquay: I have been doing an internship since the beginning of January at the Riviera International Conference Centre in the Marketing and Sales Department. Here I do various creative tasks such as creating flyers, posters and vouchers and also helping to keep the website up to date, writing press releases or doing paperwork. I especially like that the work is very rich in variety. This week, for example, I will represent the Centre at a Tourism Exhibition.

I stay in a very nice and friendly host family and I think that it is the best way to experience another culture. I am convinced that my language skills have also improved because of the interesting conversations at the dinner table. I think it’s especially useful to learn another language as it is actually spoken – that’s what you can’t really learn at home.

I always look forward to the weekly students meetings; it’s a good way to get to know people from different countries – always a lot of fun! On the weekends we often go out together in Torquay’s various pubs and every now and then we end up in the night clubs as well. In the daytime we explore the towns nearby or go shopping. Sometimes we meet for a cup of tea. Yes. It’s nice to adapt to another culture...

Yasmin

Germans in the UK

Hi, we are Emma (16) and Lou (17) from Hamburg, Germany. A couple of months ago our teacher Birte Oggesen started talking to us about a work placement in the UK. We would go to Torquay for 2 weeks, work in different companies and stay with host families. We were very excited after we filled out the not too short application. We left on Sunday, February 23^rd and flew from Hamburg to London. After a couple hours of us hanging out at the airport, grabbing some food we got on the coach that would bring us to Torquay. After the long ride on a smelly bus we finally reached the Torquay coach station where our host families picked us up. On Monday morning we went to the Torbay Innovation Centre for the Welcome Meeting, where the TTPL staff gave us some information about our stay. On Tuesday we stated our work placement. Lou got placed at the Training Partnership in Torquay and Emma started working at Churston Farm Shop. From the first minute at TTPL Lou loved working there. The colleagues were all very nice and made her feel welcome the second she entered the office. But Emma wasn’t too sure if the cashier job was the right thing for her even though she really liked the staff there. She got replaced after one week at the Churston Farm Shop and joined Lou for the second week at the Training Partnership. We had many different jobs to do which were all very interesting. After one week Lou was even asked to answer phone calls which she really enjoyed. Emma was very happy with her placement and really liked the work. It was just like she expected – working in an office with friendly staff and interesting work to do. 

Lou

Emma

Living Coast - Greta and the Penguins...

I am Greta, I am 18 years old and a student from Germany. I did my 2 weeks work experience at Living Coasts. It was a wonderful and awesome time! All the staff was very friendly and attentive, that was one of the first things I noticed at my first working day.

In the first week I worked at the the 'Education Department'. In the summer that means that there is a lot to do with groups of children but in the winter there isn't much to do so I did some research for a new area about sea turtles and the new 'Pole to Pole Campaign' what was very interesting because I learned pretty much. In the second week I worked at the 'Animal Department'. That was a week with hard work but also around the different animals. For example the penguins: Every morning I had to rake the sand of the huge penguin beach to clean it from leaves. That was quite exhausting but all the time the penguins were directly around me and some of them also wanted to play with the rake or my feet. Afterwards I was allowed to feed the penguins what was really amazing! Besides I fed the seals what was great because they catch every fish I threw to them. Of course there was also some kind of work that was not interesting. I worked in the kitchen what means cutting fish and squids, weighing fish for different animals or doing the washing up. To be honest

more than half of the time was like that but I forgot that while feeding the animals. Later I often worked with the different animals inside. I cleaned the aquariums, checked temperatures and salinities and fed again some animals. There were many several aquariums with seahorses, crabs, a lobster, rays and a lot of other fish. I gave food to all of them what was really interesting because they all eat in their own special way. For example the octopus that gets living crabs or the seahorses that have no stomach and get their food every few hours.

At the weekend I also did a few trips, for example to Exeter, Brixham or Dartmoor. My great hostfamily drove with a friend of mine and me to the Buckfast Abbey and afterwards we drove through the Dartmoor.

That was an amazing experience because it is very different to Germany and we saw some wild ponies. We stopped and my friend and I were able to stroke them. That was unique because in Germany are no wild ponies.

Travelling to England with the Training Partnership was a very good idea! It was a excellent chance to improve my English and getting more confident with the different language. It was a gorgeous time and I hope I will come back in the future!

Hello from Cyrille, TTPL work placement student

My name is Cyrille, I am a 21 year old boy from Belgium. I had to do a 15-week internship in a foreign language company for my last year of school. So I chose to go abroad to improve my English. I contacted WEP Belgium to organize my internship, everything went well and they found me an accommodation and a work placement at the Training Partnership Ltd in Torquay, United Kingdom.

The day of my departure, I was a little stressed but now I know I didn’t have to.

I arrived in Torquay on the 2^nd February; the taxi driver showed me a bit of the town and then brought me to my lovely host family that will have to put up with me.

Now I am working for The Training Partnership Ltd. The first day I saw the office and the staff, I knew I would love working here, and I was right!

This is my first week here and I can tell that people here are very nice and really help me feel comfortable. I already thank them for being that kind with me!

For now, the only defects I found about England are the rain and the cars driving on the ”wrong”  left side of the road haha.

Gianluca...Working at Living Coasts

My name is Gianluca and I am an 18 year old student from Germany. I came to Torquay for a 2 weeks lasting work placement. The Training Partnership chose the Zoo and Aquarium Living Coasts to be the right place to work for me.The first thing I noticed on my first day was, that the whole staff was very friendly and open minded. That helped me feeling confident, although English is not my mother tongue. But getting along with the language emerged to be very easy, taking new instructions and tasks never was a problem.

Working in the animal department was exhausting, but mostly fun.  There were two different sides of work. On the one hand I was allowed to be right next to animals, which is very interesting. Arousing the sand of the penguin beach with a rake was a lot of work, but being in touch with the cute penguins was a great and unique experience as well. Additional to that I was allowed to feed seals, and loads of birds I can not name, rays, seahorses and jellyfish in the aquarium ect…. On the other hand there was also work, which was not so much fun, but it also had to be done.  Loads of food had to be prepared for the animals. That means: Cutting loads of sprats and other fish into small pieces, handle quids and care for meal worms. I don’t know if you can imagine the smell in the kitchen, which you carry home in your clothes as well of course. Again this is a unique opportunity to see what happens behind the walls of a coastal Zoo. Animals can not really help you to improve your English, but talking to a lot of people really does. Most of the employees were very talkative and interested in my personal background, so I got a lot of chances to take part in conversations. My vocabulary didn’t grow a lot during this short time, but I got a lot more used to use the language actively. Finally a chance to realise, that the huge effort at school pays off. You overcome your inhibition level faster than before and feel more self-confident about the language than before.

In conclusion I have to say, that the impressions I got here will last forever, I am glad that I have been here!