My Long Adventure
What did you do on the 4th of
October 2004? You don’t remember? I do! It was my first day in New Zealand. I
came here for my PD (professional development). I taught English in Vladivostok
and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to advance my English. Guess
what? It wasn’t good; it turned out to be great!
I first heard about Languages International School from my friend in Vladivostok. She brought me to a seminar about studying in New Zealand. This is how I met
Larissa, a lovely Russian manager who
was so passionate about the school that I was totally convinced to come.
On the first day all students took a few
tests and were divided into groups according to our learning needs and
abilities. I had people from all over the world in my group! We have become
really good friends. Two weeks later, my friends from Germany, Sweden and
Switzerland and I rented a car and went for a long weekend drive up north; it
was super!
I
did a few different courses over four months: Certificate in English for 12
weeks and Certificate in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
for 4 weeks. We also learnt a few things about “Kiwi” English (Kiwiana) which
was introductory information about the country, its culture, people and
language. Students developed and
practiced skills in four different areas: speaking, listening, reading and
writing.
During our General English course we had
opportunities to discuss topics with other students when working in small
groups as well as individually with our teacher. We also read a wide range of texts,
answered questions and talked about what we had learnt from a particular text.
I needed some extra help with my writing, so I wrote short reports and essays
during my class and also after school. My teacher was very nice and she checked
all my work (though it was some extra
work for her as well)!
TESOL course was intensive. We had seminars
on English language teaching, methodology, language and skill development, and
observed qualified native speaker teachers. We also taught four tutor-observed
peer teaching sessions, gave a seminar on the website www.eslcafe.com and wrote
a profile of an English language learner. All these gave me a deeper
understanding as to what difficulties a language learner might have.
There was an awesome library on the second
floor. Students spent a lot of time there! Besides usual stuff (like books and
magazines) I worked on my grammar, spelling and listening skills using variety
of programmes on library computers. I watched DVDs there too. And if you need
any help or advice, there are always a few teachers there who can help you out!
All you need to do is to ask.
Teachers were very nice and kind. They know
that we come to the school to learn the language and sometimes we don’t know
some words. They are very patient and will always help you! Well, if there is
something you are not quite sure, Larissa will listen to your worries and will
tell you what to do; she is the best person to ask for an advice. We still meet
up for a coffee sometimes.
This is the best place to learn the language! If you don’t believe me – come and check it out yourself!
(После окончания курса TESOL и работы в различных школах, Валерия успешно защитила диплом University of Auckland на Степень Преподавания в начальных классax - и совсем недавно получила новую работу! )
