CHC Internship Students in Hong Kong

CHC Internship Students in Hong Kong

Education students Rebecca Canas and Nicole Petersen have just returned from a few months in Hong Kong where they were on an internship program at Notre-Dame College.

Rebecca is a 4th year student and she is completing an internship as part of her final year of studies. Nicole is a 4th year student in Education. Between 29th September and 15th November they were receiving six weeks of valuable teaching experience. We caught up with Rebecca in Hong Kong…

What was the purpose of the internship?

We were there to assist students in developing the speaking, listening and writing skills in the English language. Furthermore, we were also furthering our teaching skills by acquiring strategies that assist in catering and teaching ESL students as we were engrossed in the Chinese culture and the perspective from which these students come from in regards to learning, social aspects, classroom behaviour etc.

What did you hope to achieve?

Pedagogically: I hoped to acquire skills and strategies for teaching ESL students. There are possibilities that I may have students in my future classrooms (in Australia or wherever God leads me) that speak English as a second language and to be able to teach them with a bit of experience under my belt is fantastic. Teaching students another language is a completely different field to what I am used to so it is an amazing opportunity to acquire those skills. I would also like to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Asian cultures and how this impacts the students’ learning. I feel that to be able to know the perspective and culture from which foreign students come from will greatly enhance and inform my future teaching practices.

Culturally: I wanted to be fully immersed in the Chinese/Hong Kong way of teaching learning and living. I have always loved traveling and embracing new cultures as I feel it broadens my worldview. It was so amazing to be able to see the vast difference in culture and people from Australia and Hong Kong, yet at the same time to be certain that we are all created in God’s image. To witness all of these things first hand was an amazing opportunity. This was certainly an experience that not many uni students can have for internship.

Would you recommend it to other students?

My short answer to that question is… Yes, I would recommend this Hong Kong experience to other students! After completing 6 weeks in Hong Kong teaching ESL students I would, without a doubt, recommend that other students undertake this same adventure. To be able to teach in a completely different cultural setting will completely broaden your teaching skills, perspectives and strategies. It has made me come to appreciate the different ways of teaching in other cultures and our own Australian culture. I have also been able to develop an awareness of the specific needs of ESL learners and how to cater for them. It was such a blessing to build positive teacher-student relationships with the students at Notre Dame College. Both the staff and students were very friendly and welcoming to both of us.

This Hong Kong experience has enabled me to not only grow as a teacher but also as a person. I know that the fun times along with the challenging (and this experience will certainly contain both) will build my character and life experiences. I consider myself very blessed to have been given the opportunity to participate in the Hong Kong internship.