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.
