Professional
This week, we were all very busy writing our exam papers. I
have chosen to write my exam paper on creative teaching approaches to the
teaching of English as a foreign language which I think is a particularly
interesting topic, and having visited a school in Denmark, I can see that it is
important to motivate children to learn English in a creative way. I have
explored ways in which teachers can create meaningful, real-life contexts for
children learning English as their second language particularly in Denmark, but
also in other countries. The paper is 5 pages long, as in Denmark they have
page and number of stroke limits, not word limits like we have in Stranmillis.
This was difficult to get used to at first as it is easier to keep track of
word limits rather than strokes!
Having explored strategies for teaching English as a foreign
language during class time while here in Denmark, and then having chosen to
focus on creative strategies for my final exam paper, I feel that I am quite
well prepared for teaching English as a foreign language in Northern Ireland.
One of my main reasons for going on Erasmus was the potential to equip myself
with the knowledge and skills to teach English as a foreign language to
children in primary schools in Northern Ireland as particularly in the area
that I live in, there are high numbers of children in primary schools who don’t
have English as their first language.
As well as studying the topic of teaching English in
university, having lived with many other Erasmus students who all spoke English
as their second language has allowed me to gain an insight into how they think,
feel, what they find difficult and what they like about learning and speaking
the English language. This will allow me to better understand the pupils I may
have in my class that have English as their second language.
After handing in our exam papers mid week, it was time to
enjoy our last few weeks here! We had our last international dinner with
everyone on Saturday night as some Erasmus students have already returned home
now. We each prepared a course and had dinner together. As the Danish would say
‘it was very cosy’!
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| Dinner time |
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