What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

My role involved teaching English as a foreign language to Chinese children. They ranged in age from 6-16 years. I had a training week prior to the teaching course, then was frequently observed throughout my placement. Each week day I had 6 hours of lessons to teach, spilt over the morning and afternoon, with classes of varying ability. Then each evening I would spend time planning lessons for the following day. My role was to improve the writing, reading and listening ability of each of the children in my class, by engaging them in a variety of games and activities.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learnt how to capture and keep the attention of a large group of people. It really improved my confidence in presenting to an audience and taking control.

I think it has broadened my worldwide knowledge and opened my eyes up to different possibilities. It shows that I am independent, inquisitive and have the ability to manage myself in foreign situations.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

My internship allowed for the classes to be smaller, allowing the children to gain a better educational experience. They were able to create classes of similar abilities to maximise the quality of the lessons. Being English myself it also gave the children and staff a new cultural perspective to the language.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

The length of time it took to plan lessons, took far too long to begin with. However the time was greatly reduced with increased experience and the ability to adapt previous lesson plans.