My Summer Internship, Lucy (2021)
ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ´´ has an innovative Careers and Mentoring Programme, Lucy, one of several internship bursary recipients, tells us her internship story.
Tell us more about your experiences last summer
Last summer I spent six weeks teaching in an international school in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. This was initially quite a daunting prospect, travelling to the other side of the world, to experience a completely different culture, a foreign language, and a brand new work experience. I ended up having an amazing time, with boosted levels of confidence, a collection of new friends, and a realisation that teaching is a career path that I would highly enjoy.
Tell us more about the children you taught
My class consisted of around fifteen 8-14 year olds. The first week was quite overwhelming, we had been given little instruction or prior training – it was very much the case of learning on the job. But as the weeks went on, the teaching became increasingly natural as I established a rapport with the students and saw them grow in ability and confidence. As it was an international school the students came from all over, from Vietnam, Korea, Japan, China, and even France. This was a valuable part of the experience, from understanding differences in cultures and picking up different words and phrases in their languages, to seeing how, by the end of the six weeks, these students had made friends with each other regardless of the initial language barriers.
Any final reflections?
Overall, this was an incredibly rewarding experience that has pushed me to look further into education as future career path.
With the generous support of the Ting-Hway Wong Internship Fund, the College is delighted to be able to offer financial support to current students to undertake internships during their studies. The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to Lucy (2021).
