Placement and internship case studies

I saw the placement as a fantastic opportunity to travel and immerse myself in another language and culture while working. I also thought that the placement would broaden my skill set, since I have never worked with children for whom English is not their first language before

Through family or friends

The application process was straightforward and consisted of basic grammatical tests and describing why you think you would be a suitable ACLE tutor. The trickiest bit was submitting a video in which you had to show yourself pre-teaching an English language game to a class of imaginary children!

My main responsibilities included solo teaching a small class of children, supervising larger groups during activities, lunchtime and breaks, coordinating whole-school activities, games and songs and ebing responsible for the welfare of children under my care.

A typical day began with a warm up circle, which involved the whole camp and usually 3 songs and a game. This was followed by three hours of teaching my class of 10-15 children, split by a break. Teaching was done through the use of games and songs. Lunch was usually an hour long, followed by three hours of afternoon activities, again split by a break. Afternoon activities were conducted with the children split into mixed-level groups, and could consist of anything from a scavenger hunt to water games, or practising the camp song and dance. Afternoon activities usually involved some preparation for the final show which took place at the end of every camp.

I really enjoyed working with other tutors from around the world, and learnt so much about other cultures. I also really enjoyed the responsibility the position afforded me - at first it was intimidating to be in charge of a group as large as 70 children, but it is a real confidence booster when you learn how to keep their attention and successfully teach and play a game or other activity!

I found living in host families rather challenging. Most families are lovely and will do their best to make you comfortable, but others my have a low level of English and communication may be a struggle, or they may be unprepared to host a tutor.

I feel that my communication skills have been greatly enhanced, and I am now far more adept at communicating information succinctly. I also feel that my teamwork skills and leadership skills have been bolstered through working with other tutors, since there are times when you will have to work as a group and other times you may have to take charge.

My time on placement has made me realise that though I do not necessarily think that working with children is for me, it has reassured me that I love working with people and enjoy the challenge of communicating with people of different languages and cultures. It has therefore helped to solidify my career aspirations to work within a NGO such as Oxfam, providing humanitarian aid.

In order to get the most from your placement you have to truly throw yourself into it! Also, never be afraid to point out if something isn't working for you - this presents an opportunity to explore different options and broaden your skill set.