Goes...

Dear all of you,

It is really hard to come back. It is just weird to be back home and back to real life. I miss it a lot. I miss my pupils, my mentor, the school, my house and of course my friends.


So many things happened to me while I was living in Goes. I have learned a lot. The way they work is definitely different than the one we use in Belgium but I don’t think it would be possible to work that way here! The pupils are more independent. It does not matter if they do mistakes as long as they learn. So they are going to try several times before being able to understand stuff and the teacher is not telling them how to do it. He is just helping them to find a way to do it but that is it. They learn that you have to use your brain if you want to “survive” as an adult and that they have to be able to do things by themselves.


If I had to do it again, if I could choose some other place, I would just go back to Goes. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the place, to find friends, to be at ease when I was at school but it was definitely worth it!


I don’t think I would like to change anything about this experience. I had an adorable house-mate. My mentor was just incredible. My pupils were fun and respectful. My friends were Dutch. ... It was all perfect! Maybe giving more lessons would have been great. Sadly, because of the exams, it was complicated and I was more an assistant than a teacher. But I’m not complaining here! I liked it.

I can not say if I have changed or not. My way of teaching will definitely be influenced by this Comenius. I realised how important it is to make them work on culture subjects. The vocabulary is just a way of understanding everything. I have always worked with vocabulary topics like “Today I need to teach them how to talk about the weather”. During the internships in Belgium, when we asked our mentors our subjects it would be “the clothes” or “the past simple” or “the sports”. In Goes, when I asked her what I had to do she would just say: “Find something interesting for them. When you have that, it can only be good.” And it worked. I would not care about the vocabulary. I would choose a subject and then I would find the words they would need but I would not spend time on these words because that would never be the aim of the exercise.


What was also great during this last month is that Céline and Sarah came to visit me! They only came two days because they had to go back to work but it was so much fun to have them in Goes ad to be able to show them around. They met some of my pupils, my housemate, and my mentor. They have seen my village and my house. And we went to see a funny action movie (“I am Number four”) together.


I Think I am going to keep everything in my memory. It was a great internship. I really enjoyed it and I learned so much!

Hello all,

My overall appreciation of my time in the Netherlands has stayed positive throughout. The main boon with regard to my practice has been the strengthening of many of my initial premises and attitudes. I also got a glimpse of a slightly different school culture which is always a good experience.

If I were afforded the choice to participate in this project again, I would without hesitation. The situation I was in was genuinely useful to the pupils involved and this came through the absence of most of the restrictions a school environment usually imposes. I therefore got a lot of enjoyment out of helping pupils instead of mindlessly babysitting them (although I was asked to do this some of the time too).

I was also able to set my tongue free, metaphorically of course, to a great extent. The pupils were good enough to understand my speech as long as I didn’t purposefully use big words. They even claimed that I was far easier to understand than their teachers, which I found surprising. I imagine they are actually learning most of their English through television and other media: this might go some way to explaining it.

I don’t think it has qualitatively changed anything in my teaching practice, though. My job in the school was more akin to a coach and tutor than a teacher. I have had enough experience in this field to have rather stable practices and some logical fundamentals which aren’t likely to change within such a short time-span.

On a more personal note, the change of scenery was very welcome since I had many things to mull over. These are probably the memories which will stay with me the longest.

Sauce,

A

Leuven, oooh Leuven!!! :D

Our first time in Leuven (October 2009) remember? :)

Hi, J

I don’t really know how to explain what my feelings are. I’m pleased to have gone to Leuven. I have absolutely no regrets about it; Leuven is really a beautiful city with a lot of kind people.

Initially, it is not always easy to be in a new environment; but by the time you’re used to it, it’s time to leave. That’s why I can’t say that I’m happy about coming back to Brussels. I know that I won’t be there anymore. But who knows? J

I liked Leuven. During my stay, I travelled to other Flemish cities to visit some universities and I didn’t discover much about their system since I already knew that, in Flanders, you could choose to study Biology and English, or Maths and “PKV” (Arts).

I have learnt a lot more about the methodology the teachers there use. I never attended a lesson in which the teacher didn’t use a PowerPoint or the internet. I think that most teachers in Flanders often use the internet during their lessons. The students who will, within two years, become teachers at secondary schools also use the internet and PowerPoint during their micro-lessons. For each micro-lesson they prepare a PowerPoint related to their topic.

I think that the use of the internet in class is really interesting, because you can let your pupils listen songs, check lyrics or watch documentaries.

I’m sure that if we used this during our lessons, our pupils would find it really cool and would be interested in it because they aren’t used to it yet. Flemish pupils are probably more used to this type of material.

When I had to give lessons with a Flemish student from Mechelen (Britt Cools), I prepared my lessons like everyone in our class, without thinking about using the internet or other media. Then, we found out that we had to give a two-hour lesson in the computer room. Britt suggested watching the DVD “Madagascar” because the theme of our lesson was about animals. This is what we decided to do and you could see that she had already worked with this type of material and her worksheets were extremely well prepared.

I think this whole experience (staying in Leuven and training) was really something special to me. I wouldn’t have found anything better than this.

I’m pleased and, if I had to do it again, I certainly would do it again. But I would find a student room in Leuven to avoid taking the train every morning and to fully enjoy the student life in Leuven. J It would have been great if we had had time to go to a B&B, but unfortunately we didn’t.

I’m not sure I have changed much but I know that I have some projects in mind which I hope will come to fruition.

I’m sure I’ll always keep this experience in my memory. I won’t forget this adventure with Sarah and Romain. We had a lot of fun there. We took pictures and took part in projects and that’s why I won’t forget it.

We will share more information about our experience on the 31^st of May… J Be there! J

With love,

Céline

Snif snif!

Hello everybody!

Let me start by saying that I'm very happy all of you are back and it was so nice seeing you again!

I've lived a great experience in Leuven. I'm a little bit sad to know that it is coming to an end. I didn't think I would be sad to leave Leuven but I actually am. I really liked the city and the groups in which we are are cool and I think it would've been nice to spend more time with the students. I know that I'll still be going to Leuven for the exams and last lessons we have so it's all good!

I've learnt a lot by chosing to go study in Leuven. I feel more confident when using Dutch and that was the biggest point for me to improve. I feel like being obligated to speak in Dutch with native Dutch speakers helped me put my shyness away. They were all very nice about that saying that they would have loved to be able to speak in French like we do in Dutch. I'm happy I chose Leuven because it gave me the chance to improve my Dutch AND my English. The English level there is very high and it was nice to still work on my English with the students. I definitely feel that I've improved when it comes to both languages.

I would definitely do it again if I had to. I think it was the perfect choice for me. It was a change in my "life" (new school, new classmates, new teachers,...) but not a huge one like going to another country. I wasn't alone there so it helped me socialize. I liked the groups we were in and the lessons we followed. Leuven is a beautiful city so it helped a lot too. The only thing I would change if I could is the same one as Romain. I would have loved to follow lessons only with the "International Group". Having to follow lessons with 3 different groups was fun but sometimes difficult. It's more difficult to make new friends when you're only seeing them 4 hours a week. The "International Group" was my favourite because you could feel that they were all new like us and that it was natural for them to make new friends. The other groups we were in knew each other since last year so it was more difficult because we were 3 new people that were only there for 3 months. That's the only thing I would've change even though it wasn't that big of a deal.

I don't know if I've changed that much. I feel more independent that's for sure. I also feel more confident when using both languages like I said above. Other than that, I don't think I've changed that much :p

My stay in Leuven will influence my way of teaching. We've had the occasion to see how Flemish students teached and we've learnt new techniques. I've always taken my learner's culture into account but I will definitely be even more sensitive to that in the future. I've also seen how the atmosphere in which the learners are, influence their way of learning. It is something that has influenced me while in Leuven. Being in an environment with Flemish or international sutdents helped me feel more confident in my use of languages. I'm sure it is something I will use when teaching.

I'll always keep this entiere experience in my memory. The students I've met, friends I've made, teachers I've worked with, city I've studied in,... . I'll always keep all of the different things I've experienced there and new things I've learnt in my memory.

That's it guys!

Sarah

Visiting Victoria in Goes (with Céline)

The Already Ending Story

Once upon a time , the ERABEL-story of three students in Leuven....

Personnally , I feel divided about this experience. On the one hand , I feel a bit sad because the time has gone too fast and it is already (nearly) finished. But on the other hand , I am happy to have done this experience. It was a very positive one for me and I will keep a lot of souvenirs from it.

In the international group , I have met new people from different countries around the world (Ireland,Spain , China , Turkey , Ghana,...). During the lessons (and discussions,presentations,...) we have had together , I have discovered a part of their own culture. It was cool and enrichful for me. With the other students groups we were in , I have still developed my language skills and linguistical knowledge in Dutch & English.

All of this will , of course , have an influence on my way of teaching. As teacher , I will have to adapt my way of teaching as much as possible to my pupils and their culture(s). But I will also have to prefectly master my subjects (English & Ducth) in order to transmit it to the pupils and help them if necessary.

Another souvenir will be the two "project" weeks we made in small groups at the beginning of our ERABEL-experience. We have had to create a game , to play it with other groups towards Leuven , to make a cultural presentation of the city... So funny :-)

If I had to do it again , I would surely do it. But I would only be with the international group of students (that's the one I most like). Or maybe in another school in another Flemish city (Ghent,...) I do not know.... Anyway , I don't have any regrets about my choice for an ERABEL experience !!

See you later at the ISPG !!

Romain

Hello,

I've just landed in Brussels and I already feel the need to return as soon as possible to Reykjavik.
I'm a little bit sad for leaving my colleagues of Menntaskolinn i Reykjavik and my Icelandic friends, but I'm of course happy to be back in Belgium, to see my familly, my girlfriend and all my Belgian friends and classmates. It's also very nice to see the green countryside (which contrasts with the black and white landscapes I was used to see there) and the spring mildness in Belgium.

I have learnt so many things during my assistantship and it would take to long to explain everything. I'll try to write in a few words the basic essentials.

Because of my background in Germanic languages​​, I have learnt to do some parallels between Dutch and Icelandic. These two languages ​​are undoubtedly different, but there are a lot of vocabulary words with identical origin and some common grammatical rules. I feel I have acquired some basic Icelandic language that would allow me to consider a longer-term stay in this country. After all, three months are not enough to learn a new foreign language.

I have learnt a lot of cultural elements which were previously stated in the blogg (very different culinary heritage, rich medieval literature, folk and popular Icelandic music, original and surprising architecture, superstitions, ...)

I have also learnt a lot of things about primary, secondary schools and education in Iceland thanks to several visits, meetings and researchs in the university of Reykjavik (notably about the teacher's statut in primary schools).

This teaching experience helped me to refine and to improve my teaching methods because it was the first time I had the possibility to exerce the teacher's role over a long period. I think it will help me to be more self-confident when I'll start my professional career.

I can certainly say that it's the most rewarding and enriching experience of my life and I would do it again without hesitation if I could.

I can't say if this experience have changed me fondamentally but I have even though the feeling to be less stressed about my studies and I have a bit changed my futur plans. I'm probably going to study teaching French to foreigners and I'll go back to Reykjavik. I would like to live there for a few years.

I will always keep in my memory the kindness, the courage of Icelandic people and the fact that they are very curious and open-minded.

I love Iceland!

Hello,

I haven’t been in Leuven during April because I was teaching and it was Easter holiday. But what I have learnt about the Flemish culture so far isn’t very different from what I knew before going to Leuven. I knew that Flemish people watched English movies and they were then able to speak English easily but what I didn’t know was that they had an extremely good level.

The English language has an influence on their way of speaking, sometimes you can hear a Flemish student speaking Dutch using a few English words (not always beautiful words actually)… but still you can see that their mentality isn’t the same as mine or people from the city I come from. Before beginning my studies at the I.S.P.G., I was more influenced by all the French TV programs and I wasn’t used to hear English or Dutch. But now that I’m studying English and Dutch I’m more used to it. I don’t know if it has an influence on the way I think, probably, but I’m not aware of it.

Since I’m studying at the I.S.P.G., I listen to the Flemish radio channels and even on the radio you notice that Flemish people listen to English, Dutch or French songs. If you listen to the French radio channels you won’t hear any Flemish songs.

There is another difference which is the one I don’t like… when you’re in a group of young people you don’t say hello to each other by giving a kiss but by shaking one’s hands. I don’t like it. I really like to give a kiss to people when I meet them and that I’m going to spend a day with them. I need this contact but they don’t and I try to respect that. I’m pleased to be with Sarah and Romain because if they weren’t there who would I kiss every morning and every evening? J

That’s the only culture clash I experienced. I didn’t expect that we were going to shake the hands or just shake our head to say ‘hello’. I have some friends who are Flemish speakers and I’m used to give them a kiss I didn’t know that it was going to be different here.

This last point isn’t something that influence my knowledge of the language, I still love learning Dutch and English.J

As Sarah and Romain said previously, we’re in a class of foreign students. They’re all nice and welcoming! It’s a pleasure to be with them! And what I like the most it’s that we have to speak English and that’s really great for me because I know that I have to improve my English and I like this class and the course we have with them because it’s real, you have to speak about your culture, the culture of the others and it happens in English because this is the language I would use if I was abroad.

See you next week!!J

Céline