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“I already knew NHL Stenden but ITESS was new for me. As soon as I heard about it during an open day, I was sold. And it still meets all my expectations. My aim is to teach abroad in international schools so this degree is perfect. It’s the teaching practice I enjoy the most. It’s such a great feeling when I walk into a classroom of teenagers and get to apply my knowledge in a real-life situation. And as we get to teach in schools around the world, it’s a great way of exploring new places too.”
Psychology minor
“The ITESS programme encourages us to get as much experience abroad as possible. I wanted to study psychology for my minor as I thought it would be interesting as well as really useful in my work as a teacher. I’m currently enrolled in the ESOP (Exchange Students from Overseas Programme) at Hosei University Tokyo. The school offered a lot of psychology classes that I was interested in and I liked the idea of studying in a country with a different culture to my home country. I was born and raised in the Netherlands, had already studied for a few years at NHL Stenden, and really appreciate the approach our lecturers here have where they treat us more like equals, taking us seriously and with mutual respect. But I also love spending time abroad and meeting internationals. An exchange programme is a great way of meeting new people. Everyone is studying in a new country without their friends or family close by, which means everyone is very open to connect. It means you get to make a lot of friends.”
Appreciating differences
“The one drawback of being abroad is that you spend so long away from your family. Some days, you really want to be close to them and spend time with them, but you can’t. You can’t just pop round for a visit and the time difference of seven hours means it’s difficult to keep in touch. Despite that, the benefits outweigh the struggles. Living in a different country is the best way to learn about its culture, and that’s what I love doing. Japanese culture is so different to Dutch culture that this is an aspect I’ve particularly enjoyed. In terms of the education system, the experience has helped me appreciate the Dutch school system and my degree back home more. I think the lecturers in the Netherlands work together more and there are very clear guidelines and expectations for each class, which means I know what to expect too. In Hosei, I’ve noticed that rules and expectations are different for every class and that makes it difficult to prepare. I’ve never sure what questions I can expect on an exam or how strict the marking will be. That said, I really like that I get to choose the classes I’m interested in; that wasn’t possible in my own programme.”
To find out more about the programme, check out the International Teacher Education for Secondary Schools programme page or request the factsheet and handy course overview . Or check out the different international opportunities NHL Stenden offers.
