Workplace English Internship Reflection

Introduction

I came into the MA TEFL/TESL program here at CSU with no prior teaching

experience, but with the idea that Id like to work in adult education once I graduate.

When I saw that this workplace English internship position was available I

immediately jumped on it, because I wanted to get hands-on experience as soon as I

could. And, to be honest, I wanted to test that I truly did enjoy, and have a passion

for, adult education. This internship gave me both the hands-on experience and

confirmation of my interest that I was looking for, but it also gave me much, much

more. The workplace English classes are designed for non-native speaker adult

employees of CSU. Many of the students in the class work as custodial staff or in

food production at CSU. The class meets twice weekly in the afternoons for an hour.

For the internship, my peer and I planned lessons, delivered lessons, created a final

course evaluation, and met with our mentor for an hour twice a week to debrief the

lessons and reflect on our teaching.

Reflection

Throughout these 10 weeks, the mentoring that I have received from Andrea

Heyman is incredible. Andrea facilitates the workplace English class and mentors

interns in the program. Andrea works for Front Range Community College and

teaches adult English class. Andreas mentorship comes in the form of guided

reflection, constructive criticism, her personal anecdotes, suggestions for and

materials outlining activities, and encouragement. This experience was particularly

helpful because it included all the integral processes of teaching. I was able to gain
experience in lesson planning, lesson implementation, assigning homework and

projects, and creating a final evaluation. I think the most critical part to all of that,

though, was that after each and every session, I was able to sit down with Andrea to

truly reflect and dissect how the day had gone. This aspect of the internship is a

wonderful and unique opportunity.

This time to reflect meant that I didnt just leave the classroom thinking, Oh

yeah, overall that was a pretty good class. Instead, we talked about each activity,

what I couldve done differently, what went well, how to make accommodations and

adapt in a variety of situations, how to incorporate group work, and suggestions for

future activities. Andrea always gave my peer and I ideas on new activities, or

handouts with information on activities to try. I always attempted new activities

that would either stretch me, my students, or both my students and me, and it was

so supportive to have Andrea there to help guide me when I had specific questions

about an activity. It was her support and mentorship gave me the confidence to try

new activities and strategies that I was a little nervous about.

This class was a great first experience of teaching because in this context we

were able to focus on teaching all four skills: listening, reading, writing, and

speaking. In this way, I was able to make connections from the teaching methods

class (E526) I am taking and apply them in the classroom. Additionally, I learned

more details on how to teach pronunciation, which was wonderful because we have

talked in class how pronunciation often gets skipped over by teachers. I was able to

experience how incorporating different teaching methods and styles that we have

learned about in class can help keep students engaged. For example, we did total
physical response (TPR) activities such as role-playing, Simon Says, and charades.

We also did some purely grammatical exercises, but also taught in a communicative

way by fostering group and pair work and conversation. All of these examples fit

into molds of methods we had talked about, but actually doing the activities helped

me make solid connections between what weve learned and implementation in the

classroom.

As I mentioned above, I did this internship, in part, to be sure that I was

interested in teaching. I am so thankful, because that interest was confirmed. I

would come into the classroom to teach in the afternoon, sometimes with a

moderately low level of energy. However, as soon as I began teaching, I felt

energized and ready to go. I drew energy from teaching and from the enthusiasm

and progress I witnessed in the students. To dig a little deeper, though, this

internship really helped open my eyes to the realities of adult education. For

example, in the beginning I asked if we had a syllabus that we were going to follow.

Andrea explained to me that we have some content, or topics, that we would cover,

but that with adult education it is important to remember that you need to assess

levels, strengths and weaknesses, and the specific needs for the learners in the first

couple weeks of class. In that way, there may not be a set syllabus.

In adult education, there are a lot of variables to keep in mind, such as:

fluctuating health status of the students, job and home situations, learning

disabilities, literacy issues, and absences due to real life concerns. These issues

will come into play no matter what age group you are dealing with, but they are

especially prevalent in adult education. Different topics and levels of detail

regarding some of these issues arose at different points in time throughout the ten

weeks, but we did touch on all of these topics and how to accommodate them in

your teaching. By that I mean how to deal with these situations in the practical

sense, how to prepare for them, and also to face the reality that some of these issues

will arise. An example of a specific topic we discussed was how to deal with a

student who has an emotional breakdown in class. Obviously, this was not the first

topic that comes to mind when thinking about preparing to teach a class. However,

after we discussed it, I realized the importance of knowing how to best handle these

types of situations, because they will arise at some point (or at many points) while

working in the field of adult education.

An equally important insight into adult education that I gained from this

experience was regarding the students. This group that I worked with was

incredibly sincere, enthusiastic, and hard working. The students attended class

regularly and put in their best efforts when they were there, always asking

questions and never complaining. I saw a lot of improvement in not only their

English skills, but also a positive shift in their social and interactional skills. I wasnt

sure what to expect from the students when I came into this internship, but I quickly

realized that these students calmed any insecurities or questions I brought into this

experience at the beginning. They were the most wonderful group of students I

couldve asked for, and this program is mutually beneficial for them and for me.

When the students were presenting their final projects this week, I actually

got a little emotional. I was filled with joy to see how their English skills had

improved, I was impressed by their delivery and the projects themselves, I was sad
that this internship is coming to an end, but most of all I was thankful for this

opportunity. I can only hope to have experiences in the future that are as enriching

as this one has been.