So, I knew I'm pretty bad about writing
blog posts, so hopefully this next series of posts will make up for
things. Now that I've been here almost two months, I want to write a
series of themed posts about my “life in Villach.” This post will
be about teaching.
So what are they paying me to do
anyway?
I am employed here as an English
teaching assistant. This means I go around to different Austrian
classrooms and present lessons and activities on various topics. The
main goal of this is to engage the students and get them to talk and
communicate in English.
I present almost no grammar lessons
and am not responsible for grading any tests or assignments. The
techers are also always present in the classroom, but usually don't
interfere. Some of the topics I've talked about include:
-Diversity in Florida
-Halloween
-Fracking
-Discussing an assigned play
-Discussing assigned articles
-The American school system
Though it was a little difficult at
first figuring out if something was too boring/difficult/confusing, I
feel like I caught on pretty fast as to what worked and what didn't.
Occasionally a lesson will work GREAT with one class, and just okay
with another.
Planning the lessons has also been a
lot of fun. I end up going on internet research tangents about stuff
I'd never look up otherwise. I also learned just how many different
ESL resources there are out there.
Who are my students?
I am one of the lucky TAs who is only
assigned one school. I teach thirteen hours a week. Some classes I
have every week, and a few I have every other week. So, all together
I am assigned 16 different classes. I've met over 300 different
students, so, unfortunately I have almost NO chance at remembering
more than a few names.
I teach at a Gymnasium
school which means it is a high school more geared toward academic
study at a university. Some other types of high schools students can
attend include a HTL,
one geared toward architecture and engineering; a HAK,
geared toward business; a Tourismusschule,
geared toward tourism and hospitality, among other types.
Age-
and grade-wise my students are between 14 and 18, their grades equal
to that at an American high school. The numbering system is a bit
different though:
5th
form= 9th
grade
6th
form= 10th
grade
7th
form= 11th
grade
8th
form= 12th
grade
At the
other types of high schools the numbering system is still different,
and many students attend high school for 5 years instead of 4 at
other schools.
Other
“fun facts” about School
-The
students all take the same classes together, and have their own
classroom for most subjects. The teachers move around instead. This
means each class really has its own personality, since the students
have been together for so long.
-Since
teachers don't have their own classrooms, they all share a
Konferenzzimmer and
have a spot at a table where they do lesson planning. Students aren't
allowed in.
-Students
have to wear house shoes, or slippers, inside.
-They
don't have the same classes everyday. Most subjects are 1-3 times a
week. The students' days also end at different times every day
-There's
no real cafeteria. There's a place to buy sandwiches, pizza, salad,
fruit, etc during the 5 or 15 minute breaks between classes, or
during free periods. Some students also leave campus in the afternoon
if they have several free periods to go home (if they live close) or
to the nearby supermarket or Kebap restaurant
-There
are no “school zones” students pick which school they want to
attend. This means a few people commute from really rural villages—or
even from the next town over. The other American TA's flatmate
attends a HTL, lives in dorm-style housing during the week, and goes
home on the weekends.
-Classes
also have some pretty epic field trips. One class I didn't meet until
my third week teaching because they were in London for over a week.
