This spring I decided to study abroad in Vienna, Austria. In doing so I was fortunate enough to gain access to an internship opportunity teaching English to students between the ages of 12 and 18 at a local public school, GRG 19.
Most of the days that I teach fall i
nto one of two categories. These generally can be characterized as conversation-based or classroom-based.
On the days that fall under the former, my role is primarily to conduct small-group discussions or conversations with the students. This can range from topics specific to the pages of the textbook they’re studying that day, or the general topic that the current unit focuses on, or a more free-form conversation designed more to get the students some practice with general conversation through asking me questions and vice versa.
The classroom-based days usually have me working with the entire class based off of the textbook, to varying extents. In some cases, I will mostly just follow the exact content of the textbook, asking questions, providing answers, and prompting the students to undertake the exercises within the book. Other times, I have more freedom to expand upon the subject matter, with additional questions or explanations based on my personal perspective on the subject matter. For the older students, it is not uncommon for the textbook to mention or engage with current socio-political issues in the United States, and the teachers I partner with encourage me to engage the students by sharing my own views or evaluating the accuracy of the textbook materials.
Overall I’ve found this experience to be extremely fulfilling. Initially, the idea of living in a completely different country and culture itself was plenty intimidating, let alone having to teach entire classes for the first time in my life. However, it ended up being that same sense of uncertainty that allowed me to take the plunge into doing something completely alien to me. In particular, I’ve enjoyed exploring the substantial cultural differences and similarities. On one hand, Austria is a very different country and has a very different culture to the US, yet through the proliferation of social media and American culture more broadly there are some commonalities that help bridge the gap. More generally, I’ve been extremely impressed by the English capabilities of many students, even in the lower grades, which I believe is in large part facilitated by our increasingly globalized world.
Ultimately, I’ve found this internship to be a really fascinating experience and has made me grow and realize things about myself that I would have never considered otherwise.
Experiences like Jake Obershaw’s are made possible by the Whitman Internship Grant, which provides funding for students to participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit, some for-profit, and government organizations. We are happy to be sharing blog posts from students who were supported by either a summer, fall, spring, or year-long grants at organizations, businesses, and research labs all around the world. To learn how you could secure a Whitman Internship Grant or host a Whitman intern at your organization, contact us at ccec_info@whitman.edu.