- Being an English language assistant – in my previous placements I have taught English to my classes, but a new experience for me will be to teach English outside of Scotland, to children who do not speak English. The school I am going to is not an international school therefore all of the children will only speak French. Being an English language assistant is different to teaching English because the language will be a lot simpler, mainly consisting of vocabulary and short, useful greetings and phrases. It will also mean that I won’t be teaching other subjects such as maths and science, as the vocabulary will be too difficult for me to be able to teach.
- Learning the French Language – having studied French at high-school to national 5 level, I feel that I have a good idea of the basics of the French language. In terms of conversational French, I think I will be very much a beginner. This will be challenging but I think spending 6 weeks in a French primary school will allow me to listen to how the language is supposed to sound and to practice speaking French in a friendly environment where learning is encouraged.
- Primary Curriculum in France – during my first-year placement I was given a good view of how the Scottish curriculum (Curriculum for excellence) works and how it is implemented in schools. I was also able to practice this in my teaching and explore the different curricular areas. Teaching in a different country will mean that I will learn about the French curriculum and how it compares to the Curriculum for Excellence.
Identification of Learning Opportunities
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