Afbeelding
“I got my Cambridge CELTA qualification while I was spending a year in Northern Ireland. During the traineeship that comes with the course, I realised how much I was cut out to teach English, and yet I didn’t feel I was ready to stand in front of a classroom. I started looking into doing a master’s in Education but could only find very theoretical programmes. What I wanted was a way of improving my practical skills, such as my ‘teacher presence on stage’ and that’s only achievable through hands-on experience.”
Different internships, different experiences
“When I stumbled upon the International Teacher Education for Secondary Schools (ITESS) website, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. Although it meant doing another bachelor’s degree rather than a master’s, the programme included mandatory 2-month internships in each year and that really appealed, especially as you can do the internships anywhere in the world. What’s more, students do a minor subject in their third year, spending a semester abroad specialising in a particular field related to their studies.”
“I decided to stay in Europe for all my internships and the minor, seizing the opportunity to learn some Spanish and improve my French. I spent almost a year in Belgium, first working as a teacher trainee at an international school, and then studying at a francophone university where I could carry out two extra internships as part of my minor. I specialised in teaching a foreign language in primary and secondary education, and spent one of my internships as a French teacher in a high school and the other as an English teacher in a primary school.”
“Each internship has been a completely different experience – especially the two internships organised by ITESS. The first was a total disaster and the second was my best work experience ever! It’s taught me that failing is part of the learning process, and that you need to master interpersonal communication skills so as to avoid conflicts.”
Personal development
“The internships were definitely the hands-on experience I was looking for, but I hadn’t fully realised how different the way of learning would be on the ITESS programme itself. NHL Stenden’s concept of Design-Based Education is nothing like the traditional frontal instruction I was used to and it’s taught me skills I’d not been exposed to before, such as teamwork, problem-solving and ‘proper’ academic research. With Design-Based Education, you work in small groups on projects or assignments set by professionals in the field, fine-tuning your work based on feedback from peers and experts. It meant I had to adapt my individualistic attitude and learn to cooperate and work with other people’s different ideas, personalities and approaches – a skill that is essential in life, especially in international, professional contexts. Thanks to ITESS, I’ve become aware of everyday-life concepts and social skills that I’d never actually encountered before: the programme is not only teaching me my subject field, but I’m also learning how to be a great global citizen, happily coexisting with different cultures and personalities while learning something new every day. And as I believe the best way to live a happy life is to keep my options open, I think ITESS has helped me develop a great foundation to take with me – wherever I end up.”
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.