Teaching Internship

Hi friends! You may or may not know this, but either way, you will know now. I want to be a high school teacher. BOOM. It's out there and I can't take it back! I used to want to go into healthcare since I love science (the human body in particular) and I love helping others. Part of me will always want to go into health care, but I think I made the right choice with my decision to pursue a teaching degree. It has always been my plan B and now it is officially my plan A!

A week ago, I learned about an internship opportunity through my USAC program that would allow me to teach English in French schools (elementary, middle, and high schools) throughout the week.

I freaked out.

Coming to Lyon, I didn't realize that an internship was available to me. It felt like God just dropped this opportunity into my hands and said, "Now." So, I jumped on it.

Below are a few of my journal entries (+/- details) over the past week describing my encounters with the kids I have met so far, what my schedule looks like, and the ups and downs I have encountered from teaching English.

Monday, 12.1.2020

Today was GOOD!

After class, I got to meet a few sixth graders at the middle school that I will soon be teaching English to!

We got to the school and had to wait before they moved us into another room, but in the meantime, I learned a little bit about the school:

• It is a private school for children in kindergarten to high school.

• Before it was rebuilt, it was a catholic church. Some of the stained glass windows were able to be preserved during the reconstruction of the building - mainly in the chapel room which is attached to the front lobby.

• The cafeteria has a section with normal sized tables and a section with little people tables (:

• The lunch room has a "cold" and a "hot" food section with a large emphasis on healthy meals for children.

We were in circles of five spread out around the room - two students and three middle schoolers. I was seated with another girl, Riley, when three young boys sat down beside us. They were SO CUTE! They were the smallest kids in the class. When they sat down, they were so excited! I could see the nervousness and the curiosity glistening in their eyes... I waved both of my hands, smiled, and said, "Hey!"

With their heavy French accents, they responded, "Hello!"

AW!! MELT!

Immediately, I could tell that they didn't know much English. They definitely knew less English than I knew French. We spoke in a mix of French and English, what we French students like to call "Franglish" (in English), or "Franglais" (en français). Riley and I had to talk very slowly, breaking up our words, and over-articulating each syllable to maximize their comprehension.

I don't remember their names, but I think the boy to my left was named Louis; he was blonde with blue eyes, wore a collared shirt, and was very quiet. The boy to the right of me was named something close to Fernando. He had thick, brown hair and was wearing a grey Oxford crewneck. I don't remember the boy's name to the right of Fernando, but he had dusty blonde hair. This boy was VERY outgoing! He was always the one to respond first when we asked a question, and he was always the one to ask questions to us. I think that Fernando could speak English the best and the other boy could understand the most out of the three.

They nearly jumped out of their seats in excitement, when I pulled out Google Maps to show them where I live in the United States because they knew some of the states! When I first showed them America, one of the boys yelled, "Amérique du Sud!"

I laughed and said, "No!" Showing them where South America was and he responded with, "Oh oui oui oui oui."

It was also funny because they would talk in French to each other to figure out what to say in English when we understood exactly what they were saying. At one point, the most outgoing boy turned to Fernando and whispered, "Quel est le mot pour 'homme' en anglais?"

But Fernando didn't know either.

He continued to ask us, "Do you have un homme?"

I originally couldn't understand the word "homme" since all I could hear was, "umm," but when he spelled it out and made a heart with his hands, Riley and I burst into laughter!

"OH! Un HOMME!" (a man).

In French, I responded, "Yes! Wait, no! Not now," making a broken heart with my hands.

He made a sad face and said, with a heavy French accent, "He is mean."

HAHA! I thought that was really funny and just laughed, how could I not?! I love these kids. Riley said she has "a man" who is studying abroad in Greece right now. The little boy asked her, "Vous monquez-vous?" (do you miss each other?). I thought that was really sweet. Turns out, this boy has a girlfriend! Fernando has a girlfriend also. Louis likes two girls that don't like him back ): He was blushing HARD when his friends started explaining his situation with the ladies.

When the teacher told the class that it was time to go, they shouted "No!!" and I laughed again. They were SO cute! I showed them how to first bump and how to finish with a "ba la la la la" (Big Hero 6) and they loved it. So, when we said bye, we fist bumped and "ba la la la la'd." As they were walking away, they kept turning around and waving back! Once they were gone, Riley and I looked at each other with smiles plastered on our faces.

I am so excited.

Some people said that I "got lucky" with my group, but to me, if you put in the effort to include any kid, they will most likely have a good time and it will most likely feel just as rewarding as it feels right now.

Thursday, 15.1.2020

Today was cool!

Instead of visiting the middle school after class, I visited the high school with a few other classmates.

I was sitting at a table with four high school girls who probably knew as much English as I knew French when I was in high school. I introduced myself, told them how many siblings I have, where I live in the US, what I want to do after school, why I'm here, etc. Then I got to ask them questions: their names, their families, where they're from, what they like, their favorite food, music, subject, etc. I was able to have a conversation instead of just asking and answering questions like the middle school kids, which I loved!

It was cool to talk to French high school students because it gave me a new perspective on how other people view me when I speak French. The first week in France, I was getting over this barrier of embarrassment, and I think that's where these kids were at. I could tell they were not at all confident in their abilities to speak English, but to me, their English was pretty good and it made me happy to see them try! So in that sense, it was great to experience how other people would possibly see me which is in no way negative!

When I had to leave, the girls thanked me and said, "That was cool!"

If you've ever heard a French accent, the L's are heavily emphasized. I thought it was really sweet and funny that they told me, an American, that talking to them was cool. Like they thought "cool" was a very common American word (which it is), so I laughed, said, "Thank you guys!" and left.

Monday, 3.2.2020

Today was a sweet surprise!

I went to the private high school today for the first time to help teach English! I wasn't nervous since I knew that I didn't have to prepare anything, I just had to show up and do whatever the teacher told me to do... that changed quickly when they all told me they were 19 or 20.

AH.

I guess this is a post-bac (post high school degree) school. Anyways, they are all equivalent to second year college students when I thought I was going into a normal high school classroom.

We got to have a discussion about French and American stereotypes. I told them a big stereotype for French people is that they smoke all the time and, compared to the United States, I thought it was true. Before saying anything, the students always emphasized that they have heard it or that someone they know believes it. They wanted to make sure that they weren't tied to a comment if it came across as judgemental. I thought that was funny because I didn't care. I realize that there are stereotypes for every country and I was not likely to get offended easily by things that are true or false. A few points they said about the United States: Americans are overly optimistic, the American Dream is superficial, everything in the US is big, Americans care too much about their own world, and Americans do not have global awareness. Another way the student put that last one is that Americans do not seem to educate themselves about, or they do not find it important to learn about, worldwide issues. Wow. This was an interesting discussion that allowed me to reflect on my own life in America. I definitely agree with that last point for most of America; I feel that we, as a country, are not as globally educated as we could be. Some people are, but I am not and I know many people who are not either.

Even though it scared me at first, the reason I said that today was a sweet surprise was because of their age. I thought I was going into a normal high school age class, but instead, I walked into a college-age graphic design class full of 20 talented, well-spoken, young adults that I can connect to. Instead of high schoolers, these students want to be here, they want to learn, and they appreciate me being here as well. My advisor told me that kids in the past have gotten close to these students and gone out for drinks with them. How cool would that be? I have an amazing outlet for experiencing Lyon in a way that French students see their own city. I'm really excited to get to know them, to have more conversations with them, to become friends with them, and to learn what makes their hearts beat a little faster.

Tuesday, 4.2.2020

Today was pretty dang cute.

I went to teach at the elementary schools today and the kids were adorable! They barely knew any English so I had to go back and forth between French and English the entire time, but that's good for me! It's good for me to practice my French as much as I can.

When I first arrived, kids were running up to me, asking, "Are you American?!" in French. One girl ran up to me and yelled, "What's your name? What's your name? What's your name?" She continued to give me a pinecone, whispering, "This is for you!"

Today, I presented myself, my family, and my cat Marco. When I showed pictures of Seattle, the whole room went, "Oooohhhh!" And then when I showed pictures of the rest of Washington (mountains, lakes, trees, and the Palouse), the whole room went, "Aaahhhh!" I also included a slide with animals in Washington - a bald eagle, moose, orca, cougar, and an otter - that they don't have in France. They LOVED that slide. That was also my favorite slide because I would teach them the word "moose" by putting my thumbs on my head like antlers and saying:

"MOOOOOSSEE"

In a deep voice, I would say "repeat after me, MOOOOOSSEE!"

All the little munchkins put their tiny thumbs on their heads and yelled, "MOOOOSE!"

SO CUTE!

After presenting myself, I taught them the words to the Camp Prov song I learned this summer, "Slippery Fish" (I hope I didn't have to get a copyright statement for that...). In the last few minutes, I sang it for them while they copied my hand motions (,: Normally, I would be self conscious since I was the only one singing, but luckily, I sang in front of a few select friends this summer and got comfortable with my voice.

It was really cute. It made me feel loved.

These are definitely the most difficult classes for me. First of all, these kids know the least amount of English and it is very difficult for me to communicate with them since I don't know much French either. Second of all, I am in the front of the class teaching. I have to prepare a powerpoint or a lesson of some sort before class which takes a decent amount of time beforehand. This is only a 30 minute English lesson, so I can imagine how difficult full class teacher planning will be in the future.

I climbed so many stairs to get to this elementary school... I tried to run all the way up but I couldn't make it to the top without stopping for a break! I'm going to try each Tuesday to make it up without stopping (highly unlikely). Once I finally got to the school (second picture) I thought I was done with stairs, but if you look closely, behind the pole, in between the two building clusters, there are MANY more stairs to go... RIP. The last picture is the beautiful view from the top of the elementary school. I CLIMBED THAT HIGH!

Wednesday, 5.2.2020

Today was... unexpected.

I taught in 3 classes at the middle school today. Equivalent to 5th grade, 7th grade, and 9th grade. I already talked a lot about the other classes so I'll try to keep this one short.

• The 5th grade teacher is somewhat new and he cannot manage his class at all. He is constantly yelling over everyone and there was never one point when I was there that he was the only one talking. Everyone was talking over him and he just ignored it... not ideal for me. Very frustrating. I left that class brainstorming how I can reward good behavior and ignore bad behavior... still not really sure how to do that. Mrs. Little, if you are reading this, please give me some ideas down below!! HOWEVER, I did go around and talked to a few kids. I met a little boy named Hugo. His parents are both involved in cancer research and he speaks English well because they speak English at work and they have been teaching him. He was very sweet and was not one of the kids who talked over the professor. I have a feeling that he is very intelligent based on our short conversation.

• The 7th grade teacher is strict but she manages her class. She told me that they are going to surprise their students with a Harry Potter themed day of school and that she would be Professor Snape because she's the "mean teacher." I thought that was really funny! Sometimes I forget that teachers are different outside of their jobs, this was a nice little reminder (:

• The 9th grade teacher is SO SWEET! I can tell she likes to teach. Today the class started by asking me questions and then a few of the students presented an interview role play that they have been preparing for a few weeks. The students speak English well for being in 9th grade and they all seemed interested that I was there which I appreciate. It makes me want to be there and it makes me want to get to know them more as students.

AWKWARD STORY

One of the 5th grade students asked if I had a cat, I said yes. I heard that the feminine version of "cat" in French meant the sexually vulgar word of "cat" in English... I hope you know what I mean because I'm not going to say it. So when I said, "Yes, I have a cat," I used the masculine form even though my cat is a girl. I thought I was being clever... UNTIL another student asked, "Is it a girl?" I thought if they asked like that, I would be okay... right? Nope. Right when I said, "yes," the entire class ERUPTED into laughter.

AHHHH!

I looked at the professor and he just shrugged at me. I should've just lied. I told my host mom and she said, "It's not supposed to mean that, but if you are ever working with middle school and high school students, just lie and say it's a boy. It makes everything easier." SO. EMBARRASSING. I should've known better with middle schoolers.

All that said, I am excited to continue this internship all semester long! I feel blessed to be able to experience another classroom culture and education system outside of the United States. I think it's a cool way for me to experience studying abroad and a way that is 100% ME. Hopefully I can learn from these teachers, what to do and what NOT to do.

Thank you for reading!

Lauren

P.S. Monday is by far my favorite day of the week.